How much oxygen to carry for emergencies?

[sandiegoaes]

I went as cheap as possible setting my O2 setup up for our personal craft. I bought some used E cylinders off craiglist for $5 apiece. A nursing facility was selling them off after some their patients went into hospice. They were already filled so I verified the O2 content with the dive shop analyzer to ensure it was O2. I found some 15lpm non-DISS outlet regs on EBay, so I can accommodate two divers on two separate cylinders. Non-RB masks were $5 apiece from an online CPR supply store. I used an old canvas bag I had laying around, scotch guarded it and put everything in the bag, which is kept in a cabinent on the boat. I also bought some clear tubing and threw in some CPR masks with inlet valves into the bag that I had left over from a CPR class for CPR oxygen. The entire setup cost me around $60. It will work for 99% of the diving we do.



The DAN kit is nice but way overkill for most people. MTV isn’t necessary unless you are way offshore, or you are teaching a DAN course. They price out at about $500 apiece and require annual reg service. Way too much hardware for most people. A simple set up as described above works much better in most circumstances.



If you are more than an hour offshore, you can add components, but that adds complexity and cost. Most of the time, if we are more than an hour offshore, we are going on a commercial boat and they have their own oxygen onboard. We either supplement that by 1) bringing our own kit along with us or 2) confirming what their setup is and that it will work for the dives we do.

 

[Stoo]

The DAN kit is nice but way overkill for most people.

They are. I was fortunate in that I was at a dive show years ago where they had a draw for a Rescue Pac. The girl who won it, looked stupefied as to what it was and why she would want it. (Turned out she wasn't a diver, but was thinking about taking it up.) I approached her and asked if she wanted to sell it. She said, "Maybe. How much?" I offered her $100 CDN and she was thrilled. Everyone left happy.

I don't have much dry storage in my boat, so the Pelican case keeps everything dry and protected.

 

[sandiegoaes]

I don't have much dry storage in my boat, so the Pelican case keeps everything dry and protected.

I tend to think the pelican case is a crutch. Sure it protects the oxygen kit but I also think it lends to people forgetting about it since it is in such a nice package, thus forgetting to open it and maintain the equipment. The thing I like about the waterproofed canvas bag is that it forces me to inspect my oxygen kit at the end of each trip.

 

[Stoo]

I tend to think the pelican case is a crutch. Sure it protects the oxygen kit but I also think it lends to people forgetting about it since it is in such a nice package, thus forgetting to open it and maintain the equipment.

Well I suppose, but if the gear isn't being maintained, that's hardly the Pelican case's fault!

My kit would be out in the elements... rain, sun, spray, dog stomps etc. It wouldn't have survived a year without a case, but that's just my situation.

 

[Cthippo]

Firefighter / EMT here, so slightly different world, but we use a LOT of O2. When doing CPR with a BVM we usually run our regs at 20-25 LPM and figure a D cylinder will last maybe 15 minutes. Of course, we may not always be starting from a full bottle, so that is 15 mins minus whatever was already used. This is why the second due company should always bring spare cylinders in when they arrive, but I digress. In my county we have gone to using child sized BVMs because with all the adrenaline it is very easy to over-ventilate the patient and you can cause barotrauma with a BVM.

 

[Etmutt]

just an AL80 filed at 140bar. Local gas companies won't require any cert of any kind and will happily filled any tank with medical oxygen for next to nothing, but they won't go above 140.

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@tbone1004 was discussing the EAN rescue a few month back, i'm waiting for mine to arrive.

I'm really not a fan of those DAN pelican case : bulky, limited qty of oxygen. Unless you really are within 30min of professional care, I tend to think they are more for show.

 

[happy-diver]

Dude get yourself some dcs and you will be thankful for your bulky, limited qty of oxygen
and seriously then sit next to yourself without oxygen and check out how each of you feel

 

[Etmutt]

I think you missed the first part that speaks of al80. to clarify: I m not a fan of Dan pelican case as opposed to other solutions.

 

[leavenotrace]

D and Jumbo D are the normal in EMS and Fire. E are long and slender, fit great under a gurney but are a pain to haul around and there aren't cool bags and packs for them. If you're serious about O2 there's woven/spun fiberglass bottles that we use for SAR and helicopters, light and hold a ton of air, but they're an expensive investment.

The jist, as people have mentioned - it depends on where you are and how long you want to administer O2. Check out life assist, dynamed (galls.com), chinook medical, north american rescue as a starting point for gear.