Aviator's Oxygen

I use an inogen G5 successfully to 18k. Just me though, not shared. I would not use it above 18k - 1) its basically maxxed providing O2 at 18k and 2) id need a full mask which it doesn't support.
 
sarangan said:
I am curious, do these concentrators work well at high altitudes? I've seen aviation units with a compressor to pressurize the intake air, but it doesn't seem like Inogen has a compressor.
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I've heard mixed results where the concentrator will work great for some people and even at 10K the O2 saturation keeps dropping for others. Best thing to do is find out what your normal O2 saturation levels are on the ground where you live. A few tests at on different days at different times to get a good average. They say that you should use O2 when your numbers drop 5 points from your normal. So if the concentrator isn't keeping your numbers around -5 or higher from your norm, I'd say it isn't working for you at your current altitude.

And they say -10 from your norm is when you must use O2. So if your numbers keep dipping while you're on the concentrator and are getting around -7 to -10, you need to get on another O2 system or land. Now you're basically getting into the area of flying at high altitudes with really no supplemental O2.

(This is only my recommendation from what I've read and heard in seminars, etc. I'm not a medical person.)
 
M20K said:
I've heard mixed results where the concentrator will work great for some people and even at 10K the O2 saturation keeps dropping for others. Best thing to do is find out what your normal O2 saturation levels are on the ground where you live. A few tests at on different days at different times to get a good average. They say that you should use O2 when your numbers drop 5 points from your normal. So if the concentrator isn't keeping your numbers around -5 or higher from your norm, I'd say it isn't working for you at your current altitude.

And they say -10 from your norm is when you must use O2. So if your numbers keep dipping while you're on the concentrator and are getting around -7 to -10, you need to get on another O2 system or land. Now you're basically getting into the area of flying at high altitudes with really no supplemental O2.

(This is only my recommendation from what I've read and heard in seminars, etc. I'm not a medical person.)
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I have low O2 to begin with and use the Inogen at all altitudes above 8k. I get O2 sats in the 92+ range at 18k. Works fantastically well. My usual cruise is in the 15-17k range. I also have an aerox bottle in the back seat as a backup in case it fails (although so far has worked perfectly). It does draw a copious amount of power though.
 
Nick Geber said:
I have low O2 to begin with and use the Inogen at all altitudes above 8k. I get O2 sats in the 92+ range at 18k. Works fantastically well. My usual cruise is in the 15-17k range. I also have an aerox bottle in the back seat as a backup in case it fails (although so far has worked perfectly). It does draw a copious amount of power though.
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The O2 saturation levels one can achieve will be highly dependent on each individual. A more objective number would be max flow rate of O2 vs inlet pressure. Inogen G5 doesn't give a clear picture of this. It says "Oxygen Concentration = 90% - 3% /+ 6% at all settings" with a foot note that says "Based on atmospheric pressure of 14.7 psi". Then it also says "Environmental Ranges Intendedfor Use: Altitude: 0 to 10,000 ft".The flow rate is specified as 1.2 L/min. I don't think that means that it will maintain 87-96% of 1.2L/min all the way up to 10,000 ft. How exactly to interpret the "10,000ft" is also unclear. Maybe there is a more technical specification elsewhere, but I could not locate it in the user manual.
 
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