Best Oxygen systems

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4RNB

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4RNB
I have a mountain high (EDS) O2 system. It senses when you are inhaling and gives a gentle puff of O2 at the start of inhalation. My sats, while a bit anxious, at 13000 feet today were 84-86%, while using the mountain high system.

I could use a system that gave continuous O2.

Is there any data what kind of set up is best for aviation? I prefer formal study and opinion but welcome other evidence if clearly stated as anecdotal.
 
If you're looking for a traditional tank system, I loved my Aerox system while I used it. The oxy-saver cannulas let you set the flow rate wherever you want, but still save vs completely free-flow systems. But all tank systems share the frustration and expense of constantly refilling. A couple of years ago, I transitioned to an Inogen oxygen concentrator, and I'll hopefully never have to go back to a tank system. It too gives a puff of air (called a bolus), but it easily keeps me in the mid 90's above 12K MSL
 
Have you tried a different breathing technique? Air has the same percentage af oxygen at higher altitude, but the pressure is lower and your lungs don't work as well at low pressure. Try building pressure in your lungs after inhaling by restricting your exhale through your lips while building pressure with your diaphragm. You can also hold your breath for a few seconds while compressing your diaphragm, but I doubt you'll need to go that far. You already have an oxygen saturation meter so try different breathing techniques while using it. I'll bet your numbers improve dramatically. It might work and it is free.
 
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William Pete Hodges said:
Have you tried a different breathing technique? Air has the same percentage af oxygen at higher altitude, but the pressure is lower and your lungs don't work as well at low pressure. Try building pressure in your lungs after inhaling by restricting your exhale through your lips while building pressure with your diaphragm. You can also hold your breath for a few seconds while compressing your diaphragm, but I doubt you'll need to go that far. You already have an oxygen saturation meter so try different breathing techniques while using it. I'll bet your numbers improve dramatically. It might work and it is free.
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I’m not willing to do focused breathing while flying an airplane over mountains. I could do such things to save my life, but I’m not gonna put myself in this situation where I have to do that.

I did a little bit of that yesterday and I was able to bring my numbers up into the 90s, but then I wasn’t as focused on things in and outside of the plane as I should have been

I’m also not willing to have my family be put through that
 
@4RNB Every couple of minutes or so take an intentional full deep breath...get those alveoli in the bases popped open. You will probably see your SaO2 rise five percent or more. When I am flying over 8000 I wear an oximeter. I will have my SaO2 fall into the upper 80's at times and it will rise up to 94%+ with an occasional deep breath. I would suspect with your O2 system it will get better than that (with my Inogen 5 on 1/5 setting this maneuver will get my SaO2 to 96-98% at 8000-9000').
 
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I just bought an Inogen G5 and tried it out on a recent flight. At 17,500, on setting 4, my pulse oximeter was showing 98%. Combined with the fact that you never have to find refills, I've been very impressed.
 
Don't be so quick to discount breathing techniques and exercise. These are also things that should be practiced on the ground, not in the air, so that you don't have to consciously think about them to benefit from it. As an added bonus, they are free and will work with any system you end up choosing.

As a scuba diver, doing more cardio and practicing breath control greatly increased how long I could stay down and my mind was actually more focused on diving since I wasn't stressing about my tank meter because my O2 consumption became much more regular and predictable.
 
DeadStick said:
Don't be so quick to discount breathing techniques and exercise. These are also things that should be practiced on the ground, not in the air, so that you don't have to consciously think about them to benefit from it. As an added bonus, they are free and will work with any system you end up choosing.

As a scuba diver, doing more cardio and practicing breath control greatly increased how long I could stay down and my mind was actually more focused on diving since I wasn't stressing about my tank meter because my O2 consumption became much more regular and predictable.
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I am not discounting them. I have discounted my willingness to do them all the time and to make my passengers (family) do that rather than avoid the scenario altogether or finding a better means of dealing.
 
Katamarino said:
I just bought an Inogen G5 and tried it out on a recent flight. At 17,500, on setting 4, my pulse oximeter was showing 98%. Combined with the fact that you never have to find refills, I've been very impressed.
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I searched a few minutes and can't find much data on how much this system gives the user. Maybe I saw that it gives less than 2l/min. Do you know any data on what the user breathes in?
 
4RNB said:
I searched a few minutes and can't find much data on how much this system gives the user. Maybe I saw that it gives less than 2l/min. Do you know any data on what the user breathes in?
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I don't know specifics on flow volume. It does not have continuous flow - it detects when you breathe in and sends a pulse of oxygen.

BeechTalk has a few good discussion threads about it.
 
The actual flow is

Inogen One Model : Available LPM Flow Rates Ranges

Inogen One G3 : Pulse Dose: 1-5 Settings; 0.21 – 1.05 LPM

Inogen One G4 : Pulse Dose: 1-3 Settings; 0.21 – 0.63 LPM

Inogen One G5 : Pulse Dose: 1-6 Settings; 0.21 – 1.26 LPM

As mentioned, these are pulsed, with the bolus (puff of oxygen-rich air) delivered right as you start to inhale. So it is very efficiently delivered with little waste, as compared to a continuous flow that is just dumping oxygen continuously whether you are inhaling or exhaling. Inogen's numbered settings are supposed to approximate LPM continuous, so my G5 on setting 6 delivers effectively the same amount of oxygen to my lungs as a continuous flow system at 6 LPM.

I like Inogen's analogy to a water fountain: "Continuous flow oxygen offers the same LPM continuously, regardless of the user’s breathing rate. The oxygen flows identically on your inhale and your exhale, meaning some of that oxygen will be wasted. Think of it like a water fountain: if you stand in front of a water fountain flowing at 1 liter per minute, you don’t actually drink one full liter of water. The amount of water you drink is determined by the number of sips and the size of the sip. The rest of the water is wasted. The same applies to continuous flow oxygen; the net amount of oxygen inhaled is a combination of the flow rate, the number of breaths and the size of the breaths."
 
The MH system is a great system. If you feel like you need more flow use the F settings per the Instructions.
using the 02 Oximeter is a great way to tell how you are reacting to the flow it is providing...

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Brian
 
I run an O2D2 and when my sats are a bit low, I go to F1 and all is good. Unless your sats are low at F5, just turn it up
 
Katamarino said:
I just bought an Inogen G5 and tried it out on a recent flight. At 17,500, on setting 4, my pulse oximeter was showing 98%. Combined with the fact that you never have to find refills, I've been very impressed.
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What sort of cannulas were you using?
 
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