Refilling O2

I agree – a great company. I have bought loads of bits from them.

About 2-3 years ago, at Friedrichshafen, I was having problems on the way there with my old oxygen system (at FL200) and I decided to buy the O2D2 before flying any more in that sort of wx. The man at the MH stand (who was actually the owner of the company) didn’t have one with him so he went for a “walkabout” around the show and spoke to somebody he knew who had one (a new one) and came back with it, and took my credit card details on a bit of paper. A really nice and helpful bloke. Not many companies would have done that.

Gas pollution by trichlorethylen is very unlikely in Europe as this has been banned for decades. And gas cylinders are never handled without the valve fitted – in my country at least. So pollution of the cylinder is not possible as valves are fitted with a sinter filter inside. All cylinders here are pressure checked in intervals of 3 or 5 or 10 years and without this inspection badge you will not have a refill. You´d have to have a check at a certified company – TÜV. This includes a look inside for corrosion so no risk there. If you are worried about gas contamination: Have a carbon filter installed in your O2 system like in air fill compressors for divers. Done. Vic

Another difference being that patients may not be in a situation to notice or react if the gas smells funny whereas pilots would.

Still, you can see why regulators get worked up about medical oxygen standards in light of that report. The other thing I hadn’t considered was CO2 being deposited into cold lines then flowing into the oxygen tanks.