[Equipment] The Quietest Oxygen Concentrator? Help!

[LindanHotAir]

An oxygen concentrator works by separating nitrogen molecules from everything else. It has a periodic exhaust cycle when it dumps the nitrogen. Machines 5L and under are typically quieter. A 10L machine frequently has 2 compressors and is much louder. Moving it into a different room, preferably with clean air and good air circulation is helpful. Concentrators also generate a lot of heat, so placing them in a room that needs heat or can get rid of the heat is helpful.
A home fill machine can be useful for local travel with a demand regulator. It fills C tanks with special fittings while the concentrator is running. A C tank will not run very long on a full flow regulator. We had various 5L machines until my wife needed 10L for end stage emphysema, lung cancer, and COPD.

[joeb]

I have one comment about the Everflo Oxygen Concentrator 102001.

I've recently obtained a Rx for a O2 concentrator through my Medicare Kaiser Advantage Insurance and their contracted DME supplier in my area, Apria.  It took four trials of different machines to finally acquire one that works well for me.  Along the way, I had a brand new, never-before used, model 102001 for three days.  It did not work out for me because after those three days, it failed to power on.

The model 102001 does not have a reset switch.

I suspect that all that the 102001 needed was a hard reboot that cannot be accomplished simply by powering it on and off.  As a result, I had to go one night without oxygen, but Apria delivered a replacement (also brand-new) machine the next morning.  Apria took away the Everflo for repair. The concentrator  Apria brought as a replacement was a different brand. At first I was disappointed because the Everflo was so quiet.  However, the replacement (a Invacare Perfector2 V) has a reset button. The Invacare is not as quiet at the Everflow, but it's tolerable because I have it in a room on a lower level of my house.

Now I believe that the not having a reset button is a deal breaker for the Everflo.  

It took me most of the night of the everflo power-on failure to contract apria and make arrangements for the replacement.  I did not demand a replacement that night, but Apria might have accommodated me if I had. I cannot be sure, but the Everflo might have been easily restored to service if it had had a reset button. 

-joeb-

[S. Manz]

If the decible rating is below 45 db then it is as quiet as your refrigerator, so look for "sound level"

[chandlertj53]

I keep my concentrator in an adjacent bedroom and I added wall plates in both sheetrock walls so the tubing runs directly from one bedroom to the other.  My head is probably only three feet or so from the concentrator, but with the wall, I do not hear it at all.  May not be "code" but it works great and there is little or no chance of triping over the tubing.  And most importantly, it keeps my wife very happy!

[Ratchick]

I have some model of Everflo OPI oxygen concentrator (which according to the guy who delivered it is the quietest one they have, and I'm lucky they had one to loan to me). I can barely hear it through my ear plugs which reportedly reduce noise by 33dB... It's definitely noisier than a Resmed 10, but it's not painfully loud enough to disturb me. The app on my phone says that it's about 48-50dB when it's running in my otherwise quiet bedroom (just my laptop idling) and I'm literally right next to it. It said that's like a quiet office.

[newb]

Definitions first. 
Total silence is: 0 dB.
Noise doubles every 3 dB. e.g. 6dB is twice louder than 3dB; 48db is nearly 8 times noisier than 40dB.
Quiet in the library means noise less than 40 dB. This is the highest the concentrator for human use should be.

The Everflo Q model 1020014 new was rated at 40dB. Other models' with Q were at 43dB, i.e. twice noisier. Without the Q, Everflow is at 45dB, i.e. 4 times noisier than 1020014.  Unfortunately, Philips stopped making the Q. The crappy cheap insurance companies do not want to pay little extra, other mfg make false claims of quietness, and the DMEs employ people that either lie outright or have no clue what they are talking about.
This is how you got unacceptably noisy DeVilbiss with 48dB when running at 2 lpm new. When it gets to 5 lpm used, it can compete with your town's busiest intersection.

It is possible to manufacture the machine down to 30 dB when new at 2 lpm, but the manufacturer refuses to sell them with a delivery address in USA.

[clownbell]

I suggest op go to the oxygen concentrator store website and look through the specifications to see which oxygen concentrator has the lowest decibel rating. We have had several oxygen concentrators over the years. The first few nights seemed really noisy but then we got used to it, and it is like "white noise" and drifts into the background. We have had Invacare oxygen concentrators and one brand-new Devilbiss. The Devilbiss seems quieter. All seem to trend louder over a period of time.