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Portable
Oxygen: A User's Perspective
Making O2
at Home: The Homefill Concentrator
IMPORTANT:
The information here provided is for
educational purposes only and it is not intended nor implied to be a
substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your own
physician or healthcare provider with any questions you may have
regarding a medical condition. |
The feature stories for March and April focus on devices that allow you
to fill oxygen cylinders at home. Both of these devices consist of a
concentrator that simultaneously
produces the oxygen for you and the cylinders, and a compressor which
fills the cylinders.
March's feature story addresses Invacare's Venture ™ Homefill II ™.
April's feature story addresses Chad
Therapeutics' Total O2 ™.
The Homefill II
The Homefill II is a device that compresses the
oxygen it receives from a concentrator into the cylinder connected to
it. The following sections describe the compressor, concentrator,
cylinders, and the process of filling cylinders.
The Compressor
The Homefill II is a compressor ( image ) that requires 2 amps of current and
consumes 200 watts of power. It has about the same size footprint as a
concentrator, stands 15 inches high, and weighs about 33
pounds. Its average noise level is less than 50 decibels. It takes
up no more floor space than your concentrator if you purchase the
optional table. Set the table over your concentrator and place the
Homefill II on top..
The Concentrator
The concentrator that accommodates the Homefill II is
Invacare's Platinum 5, a 5 Lpm concentrator ( image ). This concentrator can support your
oxygen needs up to 3 Lpm while simultaneously allowing Homefill II
to fill a cylinder. It requires 4 amps of electrical current
and consumes 400 watts of electrical power. It has a footprint of 14 by
18 inches, stands 26 inches tall, and weighs 51 pounds. Its
average noise level is rated at 60 decibels. The Homefill
II compressor and the Platinum 5 concentrator are
available in both 110 volt and 220 volt configurations.
Penny from PA writes:
I've got the Homefill II about 6 weeks ago and it is really
great. You asked how noisy the Homefill is. I guess if I were watching
TV in the same room, I would have to turn the sound up a bit. But,
I keep it in the bedroom next to mine and I neither watch TV nor sleep
there, so I hear very little from it.
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The Cylinders
The Homefill II will fill only those cylinders that come
with it, which are the M6 (or B),
ML6, and M9 (or C) cylinder. The typical Homefill II user
orders two cylinders. You need to determine and order enough
cylinders to support your needs. If you travel, you must carry
sufficient full cylinders with you, have a Homefill II
available at each destination, carry your concentrator and compressor
with
you, or you must temporarily rely on portable oxygen from a different
source. The table at the end of this article should help you decide
both what type and how many cylinders you should order.
Each cylinder has a contents gauge and a
pneumatic conserver that are permanently attached to the cylinder.
The Contents Gauge
The contents gauge measures the internal
pressure of the cylinder. When full, the internal pressure
is 2000 psi (pounds per square inch), and the gauge's pointer
is in the green area. When the pressure falls below 500 psi, the
pointer is in the red area, indicating that in a very short time,
the cylinder needs to be replaced.
The Conserver
The EasyPulse (
image ) is the conserver that has been modified so that it
can be permanently mounted on Homefill II cylinders. Although
it has an Invacare label, it is a product of Precision
Medical . Its rotary switch has seven positions: Off. CF
(continuous flow), and five pulse positions.
When set to 2, the EasyPulse provides the 20 bpm (breaths per
minute) user with a 28 ml pulse on each inhalation. If
the user breathes either slower or faster than that, the volume of
the pulse automatically adjusts so that the user receives the same
volume
of oxygen each minute. For example, at the same setting, the pulse of
the 10 bpm user is 35 ml and that of the 30 bpm is 21 ml.
According to its manufacturer, the EasyPulse extends the life
of a cylinder by a factor of 3.5. For the 2
Lpm user whose breathing rate is 20 bpm, this means that a full
M9 cylinder, which empties in 2 hours on continuous flow, will last
about 7 hours with the EasyPulse . A full
M6 or ML6, which empties in 1.4 hours on continuous flow, will last
about 5 hours with the conserver.
It is known that there is a higher percent of oxygen in a cylinder that
is filled by your provider than in a cylinder filled at home by you
concentrator. The difference is so small that it had been clinically
demonstrated to be the same. (J. Lewarski, et al. A clinical comparision of
portable oxygen systems: continuous flow compressed gas vs.
oxygen concentrator gas delivered with an oxygen conserving device. (RC
Journal 48:1, 2003)
The Filling Process
The Homefill II compressor fills an M6 or ML6 in about an hour
and a half, and an M9 in about two and a half hours.
The compressor seems to be easy to operate for a person who reads the
instructions and abides by the safety messages that appear in the
users' instruction manual. There is also a 15 minute VCR video that
describes the complete filling process and provides troubleshooting
guidance.
After turning on both the concentrator and compressor and allowing them
to warm up, place an empty cylinder in the compressor's cradle and
connect it to the compressor. The five indicator lights on the
compressor's control panel monitor the filling process to completion
and note any problems along the way. When the process is complete, the
color of the lights assure you of the amount and purity of the oxygen
in the cylinder.
Penny from PA writes:
The cylinder is a cinch to connect to the compressor. All you do is put
it on and press down until you hear a click. To remove it, you
merely pull the collar down to release the cylinder. Piece of
cake (except maybe for arthritic hands)..
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Selecting the Right Number and Size of Cylinders .
The following table shows the weight of an EasyPulse
system with the M6, ML6, and M9 cylinders. It also shows the duration
of these cylinders at its five pulse
settings, assuming a breathing rate of 20 bpm, and its duration on
continuous flow. Use this table to select the type of cylinder that
is both not too heavy for you to carry and has the duration you expect
at your prescribed setting. Once a type of cylinder is selected,
you can calculate the number of cylinders you need to order with the Homefill
II .
Table of EasyPulse Values
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Duration (in hours) at 20
bpm, when set to:
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Cylinder
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Weight*
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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CF**
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M6
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4.5
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9.2
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4.9
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3.6
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2.9
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2.5
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1.4
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ML6
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5.2
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9.2
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4.9
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3.6
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2.9
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2.5
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1.4
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M9
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6
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14.2
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7.6
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5.6
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4.5
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3.9
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2.0
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*
approximate weight in lbs., with full cylinder
** at factory-set 2 Lpm
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Penny from PA writes:
I have two M6 cylinders that I use when "out and about,". which I
fill from the Homefill. I also have 2 D cylinders that my oxygen
provider keeps full, which I use while exercising.
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Click here
to see a list of other feature stories.
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© 2003 Copyright
Peter M. Wilson, Ph.D.
Founder of PortableOxygen.org
You have permission to
print this document for your personal use. You also have permission to
print, copy, and distribute this document
to oxygen users and their caregivers.
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