[ o2 Education ]

Portable Oxygen Cylinder

The Portable
Patients that need a portable lightweight supply of oxygen will have the choice of four different size cylinders. The cylinders are given an industry code letter according to thier size. The letter "E" designates the largest cylinder. The E cylinder is often used with a wheeled cart. The next size smaller is a "D" then comes the "C" cylinder, and the smallest cylinder is the "B" size. The D,C,and B cylinders are often used with a carry case that has a sholder strap. The patients liter flow will determine the time each cylinder will last.

The Regulator
Attaches to the top of the back-up cylinder and consists of two gauges. One gauge is the pressure or contents gauge. This gauge tells you how much oxygen is in the cylinder. The other gauge is the flow gauge. This gauge shows you how much oxygen is flowing from the cylinder. It is marked in liters per minute (LPM). There is a liter control knob on the regulator that will adjust the liter flow.

Attaching the Regulator
Remove the protective tape from around the neck of the cylinder. This is usually a white plastic strap with a gray washer inside.

  1. Open the cylinder valve slightly by turning the valve counterclockwise with the wrench provided. This will blow any dust out of the cylinder outlet. NOTE: MAKE SURE THE TANK IS NOT POINTING AT YOU OR ANYONE.
  2. Make sure that the regulator has a washer attached, if not use the washer that was under the protective tape.
  3. Slide the regulator over the neck of the cylinder and line up the pins on the regulator with the holes in the neck of the cylinder. Make sure the washer does not fall out.
  4. Hand tighten the Tee screw on the regulator by turning clockwise.

Operating the Portable:

  1. Slowly open the cylinder valve (A cylinder wrench will be provided) counterclockwise. The needle in the pressure gauge will register the amount of oxygen in the cylinder.
  2. Check the flow gauge and adjust the liter flow with the liter control knob. Make sure you set the liter flow to the prescribed liter flow rate.
  3. Attach the supply tube to the regulator. Fit the nasal canula or mask to the patient.

Turning off The Portable:

  1. Using the cylinder wrench, turn cylinder valve clockwise.
  2. DO NOT TURN FLOW KNOB - leave the flow knob set at the patients liter flow, this will allow the oxygen to bleed out of the regulator.
  3. Check to make sure the contents gauge drops to zero.

Need to know how much time is left in a cylinder?
Below is a program that will calculate the time remaining in your portable oxygen cylinder. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Choose your cylinder size.
Wheeled cart size is "E"
000000000000000000000000 Carry case size is "D"
2. Choose your liter flow from the drop down menu
3. Choose the pressure (Look at the pressure gauge attached to your regulator and find the nearest pressure reading below).
4. Click on "Get Tme Left".

Select cylinder size

Select patients liter flow

Select the nearest pressure gauge reading

o2 Education ]


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