Skydiving Oxygen System on ebay

[catfishhunter 1]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Skydiving-Oxygen-System-4-cu-ft_W0QQitemZ160191393026QQihZ006QQcategoryZ106980QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Anyone seen these? I have heard about personal bailout oxygen systems and been thinking of getting one since i'm a smoker and the oxygen is at the front of the plane at my home dz so it's a pain to get to on long go arounds. (yes i know quitting smoking would be better) This looks rather cumbersome are the bailout systems like this or are they smaller? This is actually the first one I have seen so any feeback or links to see others would be appreciated. :)

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[monkycndo 0]

Calling BillVon.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[taylor.freefall 0]

I dont think this is anything more than a portable, emergency kit that would be used as part of a first aid kit. I dont see how its been adapted for skydiving. It just looks like the usual thing you would see at a dentists or on a cruise liner etc etc?

[skybeergodd 0]

Well aviation oxygen has all the moisture removed, not a real desireable trait when treating traumatic or medical emergencies but it will work in a pinch. Plus it's easier to get a medical O2 bottle filled and to refill aviation O2 bottles.

[SwampThing 0]

Quote

Well aviation oxygen has all the moisture removed, not a real desirable trait when treating traumatic or medical emergencies but it will work in a pinch. Plus it's easier to get a medical O2 bottle filled and to refill aviation O2 bottles.

All oxygen is the same, if it comes from a pressure vessel.

Moisture is ADDED to medical oxygen after it's released from a pressure vessel.

The difference is what it will be used for pertaining to purity.

Welding oxygen has to be the purest believe it or not.






http://www.c-f-c.com/supportdocs/abo1.htm

The Pessimist says: "It can't possibly get any worse!"
The Optimist says: "Sure it can!"

[skybeergodd 0]

Hate to call you wrong, but there is a small amount of moisture in medical oxygen. Hence the difference between medical and aviation oxygen. Aviation oxygen is bone dry. No chance of any freezing at altitude. I'm not trying to start a huge debate so please don't reply, I don't want to hear it.

[billvon 2,379]

>Hence the difference between medical and aviation oxygen.

There's no difference in the gas itself. I have watched them fill both sorts of tanks at the local Westair.

You may be thinking of the humidifiers often used with medical oxygen; they're the 'bubbler' things that mount on the oxygen receptacle in many hospital rooms. They add humidity to help prevent drying out mucus membranes when used long term.

[billvon 2,379]

There are three systems I have used and can recommend.

The first is the one used by Superior Skydiving, basically a modified HALO system. Full-face, allows prebreathing, will do everything you ever wanted to do with an oxygen system. Not very compact. Very expensive.

I don't have a source for one of them. Scott Campos might know.

The second is the E-Ox 36 liter system. This system is about medium sized - about the size of a 1 liter bottle of soda. Maybe a little smaller. It comes with a regulator that can be set between .25lpm and 4lpm. At 1 lpm (which is all you should need at normal exit altitudes) you get 36 minutes. The tank is refillable either at an aviation supply place or by yourself using a transfiller hose. (Usual warnings apply - do not try this at home, you'll shoot your eye out kid) I put such a system on a sling and stick it under my jumpsuit where it sits on your side between your main lift web and your rig. It's not too in the way in that location. $199 for one bottle and the regulator. To use this for skydiving, I'd recommend cutting off the mask and just sticking the end in your mouth. It takes a few minutes to learn how to breathe that way, but it's not too hard.

http://www.aeromedix.coresense.com/product-exec/parent_id/2/category_id/3/product_id/1106/nm/E_Ox_System_36_


The third is the Co-Pilot system. It is very small (will fit in any jumpsuit pocket) and gives you 2 liters per minute of O2 for about 10 minutes. It uses disposable cylinders that cannot be refilled. It is sufficient for occasional backup usage. Again, just remove the mask and stick the end of the hose in your mouth. $195 for the regulator and 3 cylinders. $15 a cylinder replacement cylinder.

http://www.mhoxygen.com/index.phtml?nav_id=28&product_id=390

[catfishhunter 1]

Thanks Bill. Will check those out.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[verticalflyer 11]

Out of interest why is anyone after additional O2 outside of doing HALO's. Smoking or otherwise if you need additional O2 to make jumps thats scary for you and other jumpers, if your regularly jumping at altitudes over 12000ft and realistically 15000 with a jump aircrfat that cannot sustain a 1000ft per min climb rate then you should have a ring main O2 supply in the Aircraft or not be jumping. Not trying to source your own gear.

I am intrigued as to what people are up to here.

Dont just talk about it, Do it!

[catfishhunter 1]

your over thinking my post. Our ground alti is 4500 we jump at 13.5 agl so we are at 18kmsl. on occasion we end up on 5min or more holds. Oxygen is available on the plane. On occasion I have gone to the front to hit the oxygen and being a smoker I might want/need to hit it a little more often then a non-smoker.

this post wasn't about not having or even needing it but having heard about bail out systems then seeing this one one on ebay and asking questions. If a personal system is easy,safe and reasonably priced vs. rewards then why not

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[riggerrob 558]

You are quoting an old textbook.
These days all welding, medical and aviation oxygen comes from the same mill.
Moisture is added to medical oxygen late in the process.

AVIATION CONSUMER Magazine did an excellent article on this subject a couple of years back. Granted, AC Magazine was talking about in-cabin O2 systems for Bonanza pilots, but they work the same as in-cabin systems for skydivers.

[verticalflyer 11]

I see know, thats fair enough, though generally my rule of safety is keep it simple more gear to check and be aware of tendds to just add more links in the chain that can go wrong. But if it works and you can get it cheap afford servcing refill etc then go for it.

Happy New Yesr

Fraser

Dont just talk about it, Do it!

[heavydude 0]

You might want to check out MH Oxygen systems, they make systems for hang gliders and GA pilots, the EDS system is compact reliable and can interface to a variety of bottles, Glider pilots use these allot.

[billvon 2,379]

>Out of interest why is anyone after additional O2 outside of doing HALO's.

Well, HALO has a pretty specific definition for most people - a jump with military gear at or around 30,000 feet (even though a regular jump from 12,500 meets the strict definition of HALO.) A few possible reasons people might use O2 below 30,000 feet:

1) Some medium sized bigways (like the Fusion 100 record we're doing in a few weeks) go to 18,000 MSL. Onboard O2 works OK for jumps like this, but in some cases (say, the cameraman, who has to climb out on the green light and hang there without O2 for 20 seconds) the jumper may run out of "stored" oxygen before he gets back down to 12,000 feet.

2) Other specific record attempts go even higher. At 300/357/400 way records we saw altitudes as high as 26,000 feet - and at those altitudes, you have only about 3 minutes of useful consciousness. Add even a little extra exertion or delay and you're in trouble unless you have bailout oxygen.

3) Some jumps go to 15,000+ altitudes almost accidentally without O2. At Lost Prairie loads regularly go to 16,000 feet MSL - and getting 17,500 for someone showing their boobs is not unheard of. Not many people think about O2 because their altimeters are still showing 12,500 AGL at exit time. I have seen several people get pretty hypoxic during those jumps.

4) I think many skydivers are slightly hypoxic during some normal altitude skydives - late in the day, 5 minute holds etc. Most skydivers get down to around 80% saturation under such conditions, which is usually not enough to be really noticeable - but is enough to affect brain function and muscle power. FAA studies have shown that people who fly planes above 8000 feet without O2 make more errors than people who use oxygen.

We often rely on our bodies ability to "store" a little extra oxygen to get us past these sorts of problems, but take a 5 minute hold and add it to a strenuous exit, and that margin gets eaten up very quickly. Might a 4-way team be willing to use oxygen to avoid 1 bust a meet, to potentially add .3 points to their average? Perhaps.

[hackish 8]

Medical grade or USP oxygen does not contain a significant amount of moisture. Since aviation (ABO) grade or "E" grade oxygen accounts for a very very small percentage of overall use no supplier has a separate supply line for this - their USP supplies are guaranteed to meet the requirements. In the USA there is a federal law that requires all human consumed oxygen to meet the USP requirements. At minimum it has to be grade "A" which is still 99% pure with the remainder being CO2 and CO.

Even welding gas is the same stuff as ABO and you definitely don't want moisture in that! The only practical difference between welding supplied oxygen and USP is that the USP requires the tank to be evacuated before filling.

The Air Liquefaction process used to purify the oxygen before it's bottled by definition removes the moisture.

Here is a decent article on it for those interested in ABO.

http://www.warmkessel.com/jr/flying/td/jd/13.jsp

-Michael

[skybeergodd 0]

I'm glad to see these forums are full of Gas Experts.....One question...Did you read any of the above posts? Your in put was about a month late.

[SwampThing 0]

Quote

I'm glad to see these forums are full of Gas Experts.....One question...Did you read any of the above posts? Your in put was about a month late.

But he is right---RIGHT?!

The Pessimist says: "It can't possibly get any worse!"
The Optimist says: "Sure it can!"

[verticalflyer 11]

Cheers Bill, nice post and opened my eyes to the other areas that 02 is needed for.

I'd agree that many skydiver may be slightly hpoxic certainly where i jump

Dont just talk about it, Do it!