CPAP + O2 Concentrator Issue?

[TechGuy]

All medical grade oxygen concentrators have a built-in purity checker and all they will raise an alarm if the oxygen concentration drops below certain level of around 85% for medical grade oxygen. If you want to try it, just raise the oxygen flow much over the capability of the machine - 5 L/min. (adjust the ball of the flowmeter much over the top of the scale). Soon the oxygen concentration will drop and you will get a low oxygen alarm. If the EverFlo displays only the -green light-, and not the yellow or the red light, you can be sure it is working good and within the specs.
(If you are using a humidifier bottle for the oxygen, just make sure its lid is tightened enough, so no oxygen escapes out of it. But with CPAP I think you should not be using an oxygen humidifier bottle anyway.)

For completeness I have to mention that not all oxygen concentrators are a medical grade machines. As with anything else, there are also fakes on the market, made by unscrupulous people and sold at high prices to make they seem like quality machines. A pretty good example is youtube.com/watch?v=0S2zyvCAlO8
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S2zyvCAlO8][/url]In the above video, titled "DEDAKJ Oxygen Concentrator - Tech Review", a blatantly ignorant girl explains how this wonderful machine "takes pure water and converts it in oxygen". Sure you will get the bubbles and the blue LED chinese light show, but I have seen and once I disassembled such a machine, so I can tell it's made on the cheap. Its capability is up to 2 L/min. when new, but it will degrade in months. The advertised "ädjustable flow rate/adjustable purity" only means that if you set the flow at 5 L/min. (which is well over the capability of the machine), you will get at most 35-40% of concentrated oxygen, and so they advertise that as "ädjustable". And it does not have a built-in purity checker! Instead of oxygen it could give out pure air and it will not raise any alarm.

[mogulman]

Got the yellow flashing light/beep with this test. That's a high oxygen flow warning, so not a great test but still. Maybe that means it's still good. Think I should bring it to Denver to be tested anyway?

[mogulman]

Ok. O2 concentrator is working fine. Good purity and flow is right on also. So going to mess with my rate and tubing. We'll see.

[mogulman]

Ok...So long story short, the Pulse Oximeter downloads I was using from my watch were all wrong.    I picked the wrong setting and was downloading recordings from 2018 rather than now.   Someone slap me (ducking).   I feel like such a moron.  Anyway....  No wonder my scans looked the same every day...duh!

These are updated scans.  Seems pretty good.  A few spikes below 90% but mostly good.  This is at O2 2.5 L/min and the adjusted CPAP settings (10-12, EPR3).   Think I should increase my O2 any more with just these small spikes?

[ArcherNeedsSleep]

I find that I feel best when my SpO2 trends right around the 95% line.  It looks like your "steady state" (when you're stable and not spiking all over the place) lands between 90-95%.   If it was my data, I would bump up the O2 a bit.  But only a bit, because if I get into the 97% range, I end up with headaches just like when I'm too low.  YMMV.

[mogulman]

I find that I feel best when my SpO2 trends right around the 95% line.  It looks like your "steady state" (when you're stable and not spiking all over the place) lands between 90-95%.   If it was my data, I would bump up the O2 a bit.  But only a bit, because if I get into the 97% range, I end up with headaches just like when I'm too low.  YMMV.

Thanks...trying it around 3 L/Min.  for now.  We'll see how it ends up.