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Complete O2 Systems: Aeromedix is Top Value

Its no secret serious use of a personal airplane requires climbing far above pattern and practice altitudes where the air is thinner and true airspeeds peak. That, more than anything else, may explain the veritable explosion in complete, state-of-the-art portable oxygen systems and the accessories that go with them. If your airplane doesnt have built-in oxygen, and the time and money to add it isn't in the cards, youre a prime candidate for a portable system. Total cost for a two-user system? Under $500. But if you usually carry more people or need a few bells and whistles, things start getting complicated: The choices available from some vendors can be almost as dizzying as five hours in the teens without O2. In the January 2008 issue, we examined in detail new accessories such as regulators and cannulas, but we skipped discussing full systems. So in this article, were considering the whole enchilada, so to speak-complete, in the box systems. Since we last examined this topic five years ago, the market has become more competitive and there are some excellent values out there.

Aviation Consumer Staff
Verified

Its no secr

et serious use of a personal airplane requires climbing far above pattern and practice altitudes where the air is thinner and true airspeeds peak. That, more than anything else, may explain the veritable explosion in complete, state-of-the-art portable oxygen systems and the accessories that go with them. If your airplane doesnt have built-in oxygen, and the time and money to add it isn’t in the cards, youre a prime candidate for a portable system. Total cost for a two-user system? Under $500. But if you usually carry more people or need a few bells and whistles, things start getting complicated: The choices available from some vendors can be almost as dizzying as five hours in the teens without O2.

In the January 2008 issue, we examined in detail new accessories such as

regulators and cannulas, but we skipped discussing full systems. So in this article, were considering the whole enchilada, so to speak-complete, in the box systems. Since we last examined this topic five years ago, the market has become more competitive and there are some excellent values out there.

The Basics

A basic portable system includes a cylinder, a regulator, some method of measuring and controlling oxygen flow, a cannula or mask to deliver it and hoses to connect it all together. Cylinders are probably the most ubiquitous component, since the vendors we surveyed all offer the same basic sizes, measured in either cubic feet or liters. And size matters, since larger cylinders offer greater duration and fewer refills. Depending on cylinder size, we can breathe happily on a coast-to-coast round-trip without a refill.

Most cylinders available from the vendors we surveyed are aluminum and come in standard sizes, ranging from six cubic feet or smaller to 24 CF. Precise Flight offers a 22 CF M-size cylinder with its systems; other sizes are by special request.

Higher-capacity cylinders are available, including a whopping 50 CF steel bottle from SkyOx. Mountain High offers a Kevlar-wrapped product capable of 115 CF along with silica- and carbon-fiber-reinforced cylinders allowing higher pressure and greater volume.

The drawbacks are weight and cost: The 50 CF whopper from SkyOx checks in at a portly 33 pounds-smaller aluminum ones weigh 10 pounds or less-while Mountain Highs 115 CF Kevlar-wrapped cylinder lists for $1500 without a regulator. The only real issue weve found with larger cylinders-O2 doesnt go bad if you don’t use it-is where to mount and store them. For tight cockpits or solo use, smaller cylinders might make more sense.

Aviation Consumer Staff