Inogen

[Danb]

We’re all different in the way we breath and the saturation for each.eg using no oxygen at 8,000 ft I’m at 88% while Fran is still in the in the high 90’s near 99%. Therefore I need O2 at 8,000. As we increase altitude Fran is still above 90 % at 14,000ft. While on oxygen her saturation levels did not change much. We realized she is a mouth breather so she got little benefit from the oxygen, I decided to try her on the basic mask that came with the system and her levels obviously increased. Since her sat’s are much higher than mine I need to have my flow settings quite high while hers are set considerably lower. Thinking Don’s and Shirley’s levels are similar to each other while Fran’s and mine are dramatically different surprisingly I expected the opposite between us since she’s had a few heart attacks while my heart is ok.

The point being before reliance and assuming the settings of you and your passengers are in similar ranges may not be true we should early in the flight determine the oxygen needs of each. Assuming we’re in the range as given by the FAA for oxygen use shouldn’t be assumed.

I went to Oshkosh last week and brought a younger guy in very good shape and some 25 years younger I was alarmed when I tested his saturation at 8,000 it was around 87% this being tested with the three oxymeters I carry.

 

[EricJ]

25 minutes ago, Danb said:

I went to Oshkosh last week and brought a younger guy in very good shape and some 25 years younger I was alarmed when I tested his saturation at 8,000 it was around 87% this being tested with the three oxymeters I carry.

Was he impaired at all?   My sats run comparatively low with little to no impairment.   I outlasted everybody in my PROTE session and was still doing puzzles and answering questions at the end...I was impaired, but that was at the equivalent of 25000 ft.   Sats aren't really even comparable from person to person, so even if his sat looked low he may not have been impaired, or maybe he was, but the sat won't necessarily prove it one way or other at that level.

[Danb]

11 hours ago, EricJ said:

Was he impaired at all?   My sats run comparatively low with little to no impairment.   I outlasted everybody in my PROTE session and was still doing puzzles and answering questions at the end...I was impaired, but that was at the equivalent of 25000 ft.   Sats aren't really even comparable from person to person, so even if his sat looked low he may not have been impaired, or maybe he was, but the sat won't necessarily prove it one way or other at that level.

No although I thought he was going to fall to sleep I only did 11,000 and 12,000 due to his issue 

[Will.iam]

5 hours ago, Danb said:

No although I thought he was going to fall to sleep I only did 11,000 and 12,000 due to his issue 

Sleepiness is just one of many symptoms you can have of becoming hypoxic. That’s why you see most babies and small children that are crying on the ground in the cabin goto sleep once the cabin gets up to 8500ft. 

 

18 hours ago, Danb said:

We’re all different in the way we breath and the saturation for each.eg using no oxygen at 8,000 ft I’m at 88% while Fran is still in the in the high 90’s near 99%. Therefore I need O2 at 8,000. As we increase altitude Fran is still above 90 % at 14,000ft. While on oxygen her saturation levels did not change much. We realized she is a mouth breather so she got little benefit from the oxygen, I decided to try her on the basic mask that came with the system and her levels obviously increased. Since her sat’s are much higher than mine I need to have my flow settings quite high while hers are set considerably lower. Thinking Don’s and Shirley’s levels are similar to each other while Fran’s and mine are dramatically different surprisingly I expected the opposite between us since she’s had a few heart attacks while my heart is ok.

The point being before reliance and assuming the settings of you and your passengers are in similar ranges may not be true we should early in the flight determine the oxygen needs of each. Assuming we’re in the range as given by the FAA for oxygen use shouldn’t be assumed.

I went to Oshkosh last week and brought a younger guy in very good shape and some 25 years younger I was alarmed when I tested his saturation at 8,000 it was around 87% this being tested with the three oxymeters I carry.

 

Yes i have tested professional pilots that were below 87% at 8500ft and they didn’t feel anything was different or wrong and they were performing all their duties normally. They even think the device is not working properly until they put on an oxygen mask and it goes up to 99%. Again get your base line at sea level. You might be surprised to see you are not at even 95% on the ground! What worjs for one person could be lights out for another person at that level. Just like we note what the egt is at sea level and keep that number in the climb for best power. I keep what i read at 10,000 as my bare minimum for anything higher. 

[Scooter]

Agree with what’s right for one may not be right for another. During chamber rides you would notice some people effected faster then others and displayed different symptoms.

[Hank]

2 hours ago, Scooter said:

Agree with what’s right for one may not be right for another. During chamber rides you would notice some people effected faster then others and displayed different symptoms.

An important part of the altitude chamber experience is to notice and record your symptoms, so that you will have an opportunity to recognize and correct the issue if it happens, before falling into the happy hypoxic place.

[CCAS]

On 7/29/2025 at 3:15 PM, wingslevel said:

While running at a setting 5 or 6 I popped the breaker for the cigarette lighter (which is located back by the batteries on the Acclaim). Anybody else ever experience this? I replaced the 5 amp fuse with a 10 and fished a heavier gauge wire to the aft cigarette lighter. Now no more popped breakers.

While emailing back and forth with Jon at Pure Medical he advised the following:  "The amps while using without the battery are 3 amps, but if you charge the battery and use the unit, you will be using 10 amps."  Seems like a 10 amp CB (at least) is needed.  

[Aaviationist]

It’s not being a Karen when you are just stating facts. 
 

The experience of other in this thread show this unit has limitations, and you seem fine with operating WELL outside of those limitations both expressed by the manufacturer AND others in this thread. 
 

do what you want, just don’t crash into MY house. 

[N201MKTurbo]

I had a friend who went to Oshkosh with me in 13. On the first leg we were up high and on O2. I put the pulse ox on and it read mid 90s. I put it on him and it read 78. I was freaking out! I asked him how he felt. He said he felt fine He said “those things never work on me”. He said doctors an nurses always freak out whenever they use one on him.

[Hank]

55 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I had a friend who went to Oshkosh with me in 13. On the first leg we were up high and on O2. I put the pulse ox on and it read mid 90s. I put it on him and it read 78. I was freaking out! I asked him how he felt. He said he felt fine He said “those things never work on me”. He said doctors an nurses always freak out whenever they use one on him.

As we always said in the medical devices manufacturing community, "every body is different."

[Scooter]

I work on an ambulance and use a SPO2 monitor on all patients. I have and should notice a difference between the patients. A couple of readings I got were machine driven in that one minute it will read in the 80’s and the next it will read mid 90’s. Another factor that I have found is placement of the finger probe. Different finger’s different readings. In other words the finger is a reference.