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The Windblade kit for $300 includes a power converter from 24 volts to 12 volts. Plus the cannulas. Pure Medical sells a kit of 10 cannulas and two splitters for $50, shipping included. You have to contact them for the link. I just ordered a kit and will update when I get it. I have built in O2 plus the concentrator. I use a Mountain High O2D2 with my built in system. So far, my tank has gotten filled once per year at annual. And anything over 2 hours, I am in the teens. I normally run the O2D2 at N5 setting, so it starts feeding a bit of O2 at 5000 feet, and increases as I got higher. I have run the concentrator with two people at 14,000 feet. I wear a Wellbue ring pulse oximeter. I got a couple of buzzes from the ring, but a couple of deeper breaths and I was fine. This was on a 7 hour flight to TX for a Mooney Pilot Proficiency Program. And I am older and have some issues so my sats are sea level are not what they used to be. Above 14,000, I run one person on the concentrator and I use the built in system. I seldom fly with more than one other person, but may do so in a couple of months. I may try two people at above 14 on it, with me on the built in system. I just saw a report on BT that people have been OK with 2 people at 15,000.

Sounds like you are already doing what I would advise which is to run off ship power. I used to run my G3 on setting 1-3 to save battery but now that I can run it off the planes power I can run it at setting 5 as long as I want. The battery will charge while running so if something happens to ship power I still have several hours of battery backup. My older unit does great, it’s a great alternative to bottled oxygen for 1-2 people. Here is a testimonial for it. A couple months ago I was down in St George Utah to see my son perform at Utah Tech University. He had driven down earlier in the day with my wife. I flew down because I had to work that day. After he was done I gave him the option of flying home with me which he took me up on. We were flying back after dark at 11500 when about 2/3 of the way through the flight the battery died on the O2 concentrator. I hadn’t been able to charge it after the flight down and this was before I could use plane power. A couple minutes after the O2 stopped I started feeling much more tired and got really sleepy. It was shocking how fast things changed. Now I use oxygen anytime I’m over 9000 feet, especially at night. I paid 400 for my unit used and then replaced the canisters for another 100. Maybe the best 500 dollars I’ve spent in aviation. I think O2 is underrated.

Oh yeah, definitely. Those things are my backup solution to get below 10,000 in case the concentrator fails. Won't do me much good over the Rockies, but I hear all battery-operated devices get +2 resilience and +2 mana over mountainous terrain by default..

I have a concentrator that doesn't get used (permanent loan from my mom). My Mooney does have built-in O2, but like the OP posted, filling it is becoming a royal PITA and my local FBO has a $75 fill fee as they are catering to the "money no object" crowd. My primary doc is a pilot and has a Cirrus (of course). He was like, let me give you a script for O2. I carried that into my local home health store. They gave me an M9 tank, regulator and nose plugs for nothing. Refills are $6 and change. I have a splitter that feeds my wife and I and this has been a no brainer solution that's borderline free to use. I loved the idea of the concentrator; it was easy to power off the cigarette adapter, but above 14K it was not keeping up. I rarely cruise above 12K, but if the winds are good, or we're heading over the Rockies, I need the room to go up high. One thing that does not get talked about a ton is Boost cans. We did use them a few times to supplement the concentrator and 3-4 quick hits gets the O2 saturation WAY up. If I were using the concetrator as my sole source of O2, I'd add some Boost cans as a quick fix. My wife stole my cans of Boost as she likes to use them when she writes...like a super power.

I think maybe the best use of a concentrator is to use it well before you’re required to be on O2. If your older you might want to use it even under 10K, and if flying at night 6K. I think if you do you will find your less fatigued and at night it really improves night vision substantially

I have cut the tubing to remove most of the slack and added this splitter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09K45R3J5 Works great for me and the passenger, mostly at setting 4 or 5, sometimes switching to MAX when my workload increases. Not tested above 17,500 ft. I think being a concentrator it will most likely not work in flight levels where the initial oxygen levels are very low. The unit lives in the passenger's footwell. I decided against connecting the concentrator to ship power and use two large batteries instead. One battery is more than sufficient for a 4-5 hour flight.

I have had one for 4 years - actually the identical OxyGo Next. I can set mine up for one or two users. You can find the connectors, swivels, flow indicators from any medical supply/O2 concentrator supply or from Amazon. These guys want to sell you the hoses for $315 Products — Windblade Aviator™ aviation-based oxygen concentrator Interface Kits This may not be all the parts but I bought and created my own connector/splitter/hoses/cannula setup: RES010TC to connect to the large outlet on the G5/Next Salter 1225 Swiveling O2 Supply tubing connector (Male to Female) AGISH749 - AG Industries Y adapter for O2 tubing from Amazon (2) ComfortSoft Plus Nasal Cannula w/ 4 ft clear O2 supply tubing Even though you may hear the G5/Next concentrator pulse when you breathe, I wanted a visual indicator. The Windblade set up above shows an indicator also - actually two (2) for the two user set-up. I just went with one on the main line. SP Bel-Art Roto-Flo Polystyrene Flow Indicator for ¼ to ⁵/₁₆ in. I.D. Tubing (H19937-0002): Enema Flow Indicator: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific It is a red spinning wheel We fly in the low teens. Works fine.

If you have to change the tank anyway... The O2D2 is pretty miserly, so you might get more time. But remember: "Nothing exceeds like excess" Esp. With a kevlar bottle the weight might not be a big issue. If it were me, I'd figure the price breakpoints and factor in convenience. If you want to be creative and techie, look into a hybrid system with a concentrator and bottle... Maybe chat with Aithre. They're also in WA and run by a very smart and innovative couple.

I can't see not flying a turbo up high. I have a Mountain High O2D2, and with that, the tank gets filled during annual, and that is it. And I now have an oxygen concentrator, so when 14K or below, it will supply 2 people. And above 14K, I am on ship's O2, and my pax on the concentrator.

Has anyone had any luck with a semi-permanent installation of an FAA-approved (for commercial airliners, anyways) compact oxygen concentrators? I am contemplating an addition of a 12V port and a couple of straps in the back of the plane to run one that I can get essentially for free with prescription. Currently looking at a SeQual Eclipse 5, a continuous flow model.

Hello fellow aviators. I recently started to use an oxygen concentrator to keep me from experiencing the mild hypoxia one experiences while cruising in the 10k-13k altitudes I normally use. I currently route the oxygen line around the back of my chair which keeps it fairly out of the way but it does catch on the back of my chair which pulls the cannula out of position on my face. Not the end of the world but it’s annoying and a distraction. So my question is how do those of you who regularly use oxygen route your oxygen line? I’m thinking having it come down from the ceiling with a bit of slack is the way to go. I could mount a clip to the ceiling pretty easily. My review of using an Inogen G3 oxygen concentrator is that I feel much less fatigued after my flying trips. As a result I plan on continuing to use it going forward and would like to get the setup as trouble free as possible. Thanks Craig

They are drying and or purging the cables as I understand it, not the boxes. I believe there is pretty much zero gas flow so once purged/ dried the the cables stay that way for a long time. Nitrogen is used a lot to displace O2 for different reasons, it’s used in Beer brewing to prevent oxidation of the beer I guess. We even had an NIU (nitrogen inserting unit) on the Apache that pumped nitrogen into the fuel cells so the gas above the fuel wasn’t explosive, the NIU was really just an O2 concentrator, just the O2 was expelled overboard and what was left was mostly N2 and that was dumped into the aft fuel cell, the fwd fuel cell vent opened at a slightly lower pressure than the aft so the N2 flowed through both cells and overboard thru the front. It had the side benefit if extending the life of the fuel cells it seemed.

I haven't used that one but the idea of an O2 concentrator is a great one, I use the Inogen G5 and it works well and is much easier than filling bottles.

No idea about the Aithre product, but many MSers are happy with the Inogen G5. Search for “oxygen concentrator”

Consider an Inogen oxygen concentrator. These portable units are good into the high teens and preclude the expensive, awkward and arcane traditional oxygen tank systems. You will save huge amounts over time just avoiding the expensive O2 refills, even if you fly with a small backup tank. See recent Av.Consumer discussion.

Yes, I know the product is the same. But also, there is no place around that will refill a tank for me. I have to exchange the tank. And they'll take care of any purging and testing of the tank. So I'm going to have the tank exchanged because what's in this particular tank right now might be someone's homebrew oxygen concentrator to a compressor made out of an old VW engine that they previously used for chlorine, ammonia, and the covid virus.

Sounds like you were using a pulse ox which is good, but I find it very unlikely that your pulse ox was above low 90s at 11,000 feet without O2 Unless you live at very high elevation. I fly a lot out west and we are all affected differently, but I see mine decreasing starting around 8000. If I cruise at 11,000 for a long time, I’ll probably be sitting high 80s low 90s. standby oxygen or I use an oxygen concentrator is very helpful. Maybe try a couple different fingers?

I have a mountain high O2D2 system and a D bottle. It works pretty well. I leave the engine full throttle and 2400 or 2500 RPM. I frequently fly over 10k because you gotta get up there time you leave California (and sometimes even to go SoCal to NorCal). But I don’t fly above 12.5 all that often; maybe a handful of times per year. For longer trips that are more than a couple hours at >= 10k, using O2 is great for reducing fatigue even when I’m not at altitudes that require O2. I’ve experimented enough that I know my symptoms of decreasing O2 sat pretty well (I start to yawn a lot when it dips below 90). Even without supplemental O2, I can keep the level above 90 with focused, intentional breathing. The cannula takes a little getting used to, I have to pay attention to my breathing to make sure I’m inhaling through the nose, and not taking shallow breaths. The system works well but I might buy a concentrator if I were doing it again.

Oxygen concentrator

I always use O2 when at or above 10000, used to use a portable bottle, now an O2 concentrator. As to the mixture question, in my M20J as close as I can recall I would be seeing about 8gph at 13000 but I just head on up and lean as normal, no red box to worry about up there.

Easier to answer was it NOT going in. G3X Touch 10" with EIS G3X Touch 7" (right side) GTN-750Xi GTN-650Xi (already had) G-5 (already had) GFC-500 with pitch trim and yaw dampener GTX-345 Remote PS Engineering 450B Sirius XM WX500 Storm Scope Replacing all the rocker switches with toggle switches LEMO jacks for the front seats. USB power on both sides in the front Cigarette light in rear for O2 concentrator

I wanted to open this up to the quorum and see what the consensus is on tanks vs concentrators. I don't fly in the mountains regularly, but like most of you, I have read that even flying below the required altitudes, many are now recommending supplemental oxygen. I've not experienced low O2 sats (I have an oximeter and do check it on long trips) but I'm intrigued by the possibility that by adding supplemental oxygen could be beneficial. Normally I cruise between 7-10K, mainly during the day (I'm an insufferable morning person) and when I do fly into the evening or night, I do have Boost Oxygen which I use periodically. So here's the question, which do you use and why? Third option... none, you just don't need it. As always, I do appreciate all responses.

You may want to just pick up an Imogin G5 oxygen concentrator. No more filling. Reports are they are least good enough for 2 people at 14K and 1 person at 18K. Main Line Supply will sell them to you without a prescription if you send them a copy of your pilot certificate. Inogen G5 ON SALE - Free FedEx Delivery! (mainclinicsupply.com) There is also a guy that is on BT that sells them. Inogen G5 Pilot Package- 5 Year Warranty (puremedco.com) this place sells a setup to run two people off one concentrator and also can sell you a 24 to 12 volt converter.

Just looked up the Inogen G5 found this spec on the first distributor that came up on google: https://www.directhomemedical.com/inogen-one-g5-portable-oxygen-concentrator-is-500.html?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwh4-wBhB3EiwAeJsppOaEWn8m-GS8LqmljeJDCch6LY2bVMZxdt79K8ZJBKLoYJM9NQMxyhoCAvYQAvD_BwE OPERATING ALTITUDE Up to 10,000 Feet

As an option have you looked into a Gen5 oxygen concentrator? They are tested up to 18k for 2 people and you wouldn’t have to worry about refills.