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Oxygen

2001-09-24 20:40:24

Oxygen

<HTML>Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between Aviation Oxygen and Medical Oxygen? From places that I have been checking it is much more reasonable to get a portable tank refilled with Medical Oxygen then at a Airport with Aviation Oxygen.</HTML>

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2001-09-26 00:48:50

Re: Oxygen

<HTML>Whoo Hooo! This subject can get more heated than mogas vs avgas!
In theory, Aviator's Breathing Oxygen (ABO) is different than Mecical/Theraputic Oxygen. The primary difference is in moisture content and purity specifications. In recent years however, most Breathing Gases suppliers have simplified their inventory situations by carrying only one product that meets the highest standard of all oxygen types normally requested by their customers. (Technically, ABO is dry, so that moisture won't freeze a regulator at altitude. Medical oxygen has moisture content that prevents a patient on long-term therapy from drying out their repiratory system. What really happens in many cases however, is the medical facility adds the moisture at the bedside, and the supplier provides liquid oxygen, by necessity quite dry, to the hospital storage tank. The problem still however, is that the medical oxygen is not certified ABO, and therefore it is illegal to use in an aircraft breathing system, no matter how good it might be. It would be like using a wheelbarrow innertube in your Cessna,....it might fit, it might hold air just fine, it might even be made by the same folks, ...it's just not legal. Have a blow-out, collapse a landing gear from the broken wheel, and injure a passenger, ...and see what happens when the FAA and the Insurance folks look into it.)
It finally boils down to what's legal, and what specification they'll certify as having delivered. You should contact your local supplier and see first, if they'll supply ABO. You may find they will say no, even though the gas they have in stock meets the specification, because they won't want to assume the liability.</HTML>