Oxygen concentrator, potable?

[vpt]

How exactly is oxygen separated to be pumped into cylinders? Is it a portable process? It is possible I asked this before and can't find the thread.

[loose nut]

One methods is to cool air down and compress it into a liquid state and then let it expand back to a gas. At the right temp, I don't have any idea what it is, the gas vaporizing will be O2. You just collect the gas at the right temp. and bottle it.

[tdkkart]

I have to assume it is a portable process now as some elderly people that are on o2 now have "oxygen machines" at home rather than using bottles.
Unfortunately I know noting about the machine in question other than it's about the size of a dehumidifier and it will put out some amount of medical oxygen at low volumes.
(I work an ambuance, so I don't typically have time to get the details of household furniture and equipmemnt while I'm there.)

[Yow Ling]

Was simpler than I thought
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_concentrator

Cant wait to get one !

[oldtiffie]

I think that if I needed one I'd have a battery back-up and/or a UPS as if there is a power outage there may be a problem.

[kf2qd]

An Oxygen Concentrator uses a process that absorbs some of the nitrgen out of the air giving a higher concentration of oxygen. It is not "pure" oxygen by any standard and would not be clean enough for welding and cutting processes, which need to be purer than breathing oxygen.

[Tait]

[kf2qd and I posted about the same time, so the first paragraph is redundant to his post] This may be of limited utility, depending on what you want it for. If it's because you need to breathe a higher concentration of oxygen, a concentrator may be very helpful. It will not be pure enough or pressurized for, say, oxy-acetylene use.

@oldtiffie: Rather than a battery backup/UPS/etc, many people just keep oxygen tanks around to use if the concentrator is unavailable.

[oldtiffie]

In the retirement village next to us (we live outside and adjacent to it) they had a major transformer or main distribution box "blow up" and it was likely to be out for a week and "took out" half the 50-unit village.

The owner asked us if we could use our power to power both an oxygenator and (I think) a defibrillator in one of the units near us. We supplied a UPS as well and all went well as the owner shouted my wife and I to a very good dinner out.

Some of the tenants elected to stay on and use LPG heating and/or to eat/shower with others whose power was on, others had caravans with gen-sets brought in and others went off to stay with relatives. It was all a very smooth operation really and a very good community effort all round. It was a talking point in the village and the town for quite a while after.

As the power was supplied from my shop and to make sure I didn't "blow a fuze", I stayed out of the shop until it was all over - about a week.

[oldtiffie]

On a related topic.

Are people who are on an oxygen bottle (for emphasema etc) allowed to drive motor vehicles? I can't recall seeing one and most I've seen are in wheel-chairs and need Carers and most certainly don't look as if they could or should be driving.

[Tait]

Normal sized bottles of oxygen, last on the several hours to a couple of days at the flow rates concentrators provide. I can see why a week long interruption would be a problem!

I agree there are a lot of folk on oxygen who maybe should be driving! In California, oxygen therapy can be a factor in reviewing medical qualifications to drive (link). If I recall correctly, oxygen therapy disqualifies for commercial driving.