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Members strongly cautioned against purchasing non-prescription oxygen concentrators advertised for around $500, explaining that legitimate... Read more
Exactly what @A MyCOPDTeam Member demonstrated, @A MyCOPDTeam Member.
As for the prescription question, @A MyCOPDTeam Member, too much oxygen can hurt you and harden your lungs, making lung function worse. This is why it’s a controlled substance in the US.
If they don’t need a prescription, they are a scammer and only recirculating room air vs providing actual supplemental oxygen.
Room air is about 20% oxygen, 80% other things. (Not trying to be specific here, but trying to get the 80/20 numbers to stick in someone’s memory).
In the case of legitimate oxygen equipment providers, their equipment provides just the opposite - about 87-95% pure oxygen, and 5-13% other things.
The only way I know of to save money purchasing equipment is to buy a used / refurbished unit vs paying list price.
Hope this info and chart helps.
Sunday morning, 18-JAN-26
@A MyCOPDTeam Member Can you buy one of those with no prescription. When I call they always as me if I have a prescription I don’t want everyone to know.
They way I see it is that if you have a constant flow of 3 lpm and take 20 breaths a minute you are only getting 1/3 of the 3 liters which is 1 liter.
If you look at the Inogen chart on the amount of oxygen you actually get on pulse settings and multiply the total by 3 you would get the equitant amount of constant flow.
The image shows a technical table detailing the performance specifications of the Inogen One G5 portable oxygen concentrator. The table illustrates the relationship between the flow setting, breathing rate, and the volume of oxygen delivered.
Understanding the Table
The Inogen One G5 is a pulse dose oxygen concentrator, which means it delivers a burst of oxygen with each breath a user takes, rather than a continuous stream. The amount of oxygen per breath adjusts to the user's breathing rate to maintain a fixed total volume of oxygen per minute (fixed minute volume, FMV) for each flow setting.
• Flow Setting (1-6): This is the prescriptive setting determined by a physician. Higher numbers indicate more oxygen output.
• Breaths per Minute (BPM): The user's respiratory rate. The device's Intelligent Delivery Technology adjusts the bolus (burst) size based on this rate.
• mL/breath: The actual volume of oxygen delivered in a single breath, which decreases as the breathing rate increases to maintain the minute volume.
• Total Volume per Minute (ml/min): The constant, fixed amount of oxygen produced by the device at each setting, regardless of the user's breathing rate.
• Equivalent Constant Flow: A guideline to help match the pulse setting to a physician's continuous flow prescription. These are approximations, as pulse and continuous flow delivery methods differ significantly.
Key Takeaways
• The maximum oxygen output of the Inogen One G5 is 1260 ml/min on setting 6.
• The total volume per minute increases by 210 ml for each incremental increase in the flow setting.
• The amount of oxygen per breath is inversely proportional to the breathing rate for a given flow setting.
Disclaimer: Oxygen therapy is a medical treatment and must be used on a prescriptive basis as directed by a physician. The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice.
Portable ones do not last long and there not free flow
Thanks for the information. This helps me understand this better.
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