cool emergency oxygen solution

[mdax]

I recently found a great solution for providing emergency o2 that is so cool i have to share with you'all.
I wanted a way to provide o2 to a victim leveraging the aluminum 40's of o2 we already have on site. We keep our 2nd stages hand tight on all regs.

I wrote to RescueEan who were more than happy to find a converter from regulator hose to lp/inflator input and get me a solution worked out so i could use their product to provide a fixed rate of o2.

This kit is really small, no extra o2 cylinders or other equipment required.

The folks at RescueEan set up a tech/cave diver offer to make the price more attractive for us folks in the U.S.
RescuEan promotion
With the converter it's $130 with shipping, $120 for just the unit without converter.
I'll post another review when i have the unit on site with some pictures and video.

 

[Rich Keller]

Would it not be cheaper to get a fitting that converts a regulator or inflator hose to the outlet fitting on the pod? Bypassing the pod you could then use a mask and regulate the flow just by cracking the valve on the tank. The mask and hose coming from the outlet on the pod can be bought on line for about $5. You could also take an old regulator or a regulator you are not using on that dive and have it preset to use for this purpose. This will not get you a fixed rate but it will due until EMS gets there. If you have an old regulator you no longer use to dive you could just replace the mouth piece on the second stage with an oran nasal mask and set the second stage to free flow. Again you will not have an exact fixed rate but it should due for the short term.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I wrote to RescueEan who were more than happy to find a converter from regulator hose to lp/inflator input and get me a solution worked out so i could use their product to provide a fixed rate of o2.

They have been commonly available for years to allow conversion of an LP reg hose for use with an inflator.

I use an LP hose to inflator QD converter for analyzing deco gas. As noted above you just unscrew the second stage and install the converter to connect to an O2 analyzer with a QD fitting.

I do not however keep the second stage hand tight. I stopped doing that about a decade ago after I had one come partially unsrewed and extrude the o-ring. Feathering the valve for the entire deco was required and I still lost a lot of gas. It's not hard to keep a wrench handy with the analyzer, or in this case with the EAN pod. As such, it makes no sense to increase your in water risk just to make an out of water emergency (that is unlikely to be encountered) slightly more convenient.

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Personally, looking at the web site listed above, I like the idea they suggest - heating the inlet for a pocket mask in hot water and then pressing it over the outlet for a normal second stage, creating a demand valve mask for very little cost. I suspect most of us have, or could cheaply obtain a spare second stage that could be screwed onto a deco reg. Many of us no doubt have both a spare first and second stage that could be devoted for use with the mask.

Would it not be cheaper to get a fitting that converts a regulator or inflator hose to the outlet fitting on the pod? Bypassing the pod you could then use a mask and regulate the flow just by cracking the valve on the tank.

Most scuba valves open very quickly so regulating small rates of flow is problematic. Also, that flow rate is then dependent on tank pressure.

I have a trimix analzyer with a restrictor attached to an inflator QD and then outputs to a barbed fitting to connect the plastic O2 hose leading to the anlyzer. It delivers about 2 liters per minute at normal regulator working pressures (120-145 psi) and the same thing would work with an O2 mask if you use a larger orifice in the restrictor.

Given that the intermediate pressure of a regulator is constant relative to atmospheric pressure, you can control flow rate by controlling the size of the orifice in the restrictor. With that inmind, you could use the same concept (QD fitting to restrictor to barbed fitting for an O2 hose supplying a mask) and eliminate the need for the Rescue EAN.

The major advantage the Rescue EAN seems to offer is 15 and 25 lpm flow rates. But I could put together two reparate flow restrictors as outlined above for about $25, and they'd take up a lot less space and have no maintenence reqirements or seals to fail.