I am buying Oxygen E tanks & regulators from Craigslist.

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 7:51 pm

I found an ad for 6 E bottles and 2 regulators for sale.

I spoke to a lady who said they are current and full of oxygen. She assured me it is oxygen in the 6 tanks and I can try the regulators to make sure they are working.

1. What should a person look for when buying oxygen tanks? Other than the
date on the bottle, which I will check.

2. Before I breathe through the regulator, how can I clean it?

3. How can we tell the difference between ordinary air and oxygen?

4. Anything else to look for?

Is $100 a good price for these tanks and regulators? It sounds too good to be true. I have also considered a relative died and these tanks will need to be cleaned on the exterior. The lady I spoke with sounded "mature".

Any suggestions appreciated.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:22 pm

dllfo wrote:I found an ad for 6 E bottles and 2 regulators for sale.

I spoke to a lady who said they are current and full of oxygen. She assured me it is oxygen in the 6 tanks and I can try the regulators to make sure they are working.

1. What should a person look for when buying oxygen tanks? Other than the
date on the bottle, which I will check.

2. Before I breathe through the regulator, how can I clean it?

3. How can we tell the difference between ordinary air and oxygen?

4. Anything else to look for?

Is $100 a good price for these tanks and regulators? It sounds too good to be true. I have also considered a relative died and these tanks will need to be cleaned on the exterior. The lady I spoke with sounded "mature".

Any suggestions appreciated.

One thing to check for, does she have the bill of sale for them, they may belong to a DME.

Also if they are owned by her is a company local to you willing to refill them and at what price.

I don't know about how O2 tanks are marketed and filled, but with welding gasses, you better know those things before you buy. Jim

To test for O2, hook up a regulator to the tank, let the O2 escape the hose, carefully put a lit match into the gas stream, the match should burn very fast.

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:18 pm

Is there any other easy way to do it? Oxygen and matches scare me. But I will take matches.

I thought about them being stolen. We have 15 or 20 DMEs in our area, maybe more. I could call the sheriff to see if they have any stolen DME equipment out, but they would probably

They are supposed to have medical oxygen in them, but it could be welding oxygen. I have a prescription for oxygen, so I can buy it I guess.

Anyone know what an E bottle costs to fill?

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:26 pm

The bottles should say Medical Gas on them!!!!

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:40 pm

I searched google for "medical oxygen or welding oxygen" and found this article. It seems to explain the difference in the two types of oxygen.

I just brought an E bottle from Apria in. It has a large yellow diamond that says Oxygen and a small 2. THEN, in size 1 font, requiring old guys to swear and get the 5 power magnifying glass. Line 2 has the word medical in it. I wonder if Apria has missed putting a sticker on it? I am serious. I have more than one bottle, I will go look.

"There are four kinds of oxygen that are merchandised or sold to users; Aviation, Medical, Welding and Research. There is a ongoing controversy if there is any difference between the different types. Oxygen gas is produced from the boiling off of liquid oxygen. It would appear that the oxygen is therefor the same. Where we obtain oxygen, all the different types of oxygen are supplied from the same manifold system. Then someone says that medical oxygen has more moisture in it. That is partly true. The oxygen going to a hospital bed is plain oxygen that comes from liquid oxygen. At the bed location, there is a unit on the wall that adds moisture. At this moment we now have medical oxygen. If the oxygen is in a pressure vessel or in a manifold system (like inside a hospital) then it is regular oxygen. The cost of medical or welding oxygen is normally much less than the oxygen you get at an airport.

Also of interest, we have been told by the suppliers of welding oxygen, the purity level required for welding and cutting purposes is more critical than for breathing.

The bottom line about the different types of oxygen is in the insurance liability of the oxygen supplier. The gas is the same but the insurance liability is different."

BarryKaraoke · Post by **BarryKaraoke** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:49 pm

dllfo wrote:"There are four kinds of oxygen that are merchandised or sold to users; Aviation, Medical, Welding and Research. There is a ongoing controversy if there is any difference between the different types.

Interesting...I have actually experienced this controversy in a completely different light..

I am a home brewer...I make my own beer. Oxygen is often used during the proofing process to "kick start" your yeast for fermentation. Many home brewers use medical oxygen based on it's perceived purity, while others simply use a "bernzo-matic" oxygen welding cylinder from the hardware store (at 1/3 the price).

The purist homes brewers say "you must use medical oxygen", while the thrifty brewers say "it's all the same, except for the lawyer/liability factor".

I don't have an answer...except I use the non-medical oxygen for my yeast.

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:20 pm

The lady who owns the bottles says they are full of oxygen and still have the paper "seal" on them.

I need to clean them before I breath the oxygen from them. I will google it and see what is best.

I wonder if they make a filter for inline on oxygen. We have Bacterial filters and others for the air we breathe in XPAP. Hmmmm. More to look for.

BTW the welding oxygen must be ok or you would see some beer drinkers getting sick. No?

akcpapguy · Post by **akcpapguy** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:24 pm

dllfo,

As Goofproof stated I would check to make sure they don't belong to a DME. If they do, you could have problems being in the possession of stolen goods. Also, "Medical Oxygen" (I'm not going to get into the debate about the difference) is considered a drug, WE (my DME) are required to have a Pharmacy license in the state to sell it. Please check the laws in your state about the sale of "Medical Oxygen".

Recently here the State Troopers ran a sting on a large group of people who were running a underground program selling drugs. Among the drugs listed were "Medical Oxygen" D, E, M6, and M9 tanks.

I'm not trying to scare you off, but please check things out before you buy these tanks.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:40 am

I would call Airgas and ask, those tanks have to be inspected every so often. They should have a sticker on them to indicate where they were filled.

I thought most people got rid of filled bottles and went with an oxygen generator? I use CO2/Argon mix on my MIG welder, comes on the same truck as that medical oxygen.

I purchase my tanks from Airgas, then just return them there for exchange, the difference is I only pay for the gas I use, I don't pay any monthly rental charge for the bottle.

They keep on file at Airgas, that I own a bottle.

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:47 am

I can't imagine anything scarier than buying these things from a stranger on the net. Nothing would convince me to take a chance on them (but then I wouldn't use anyone's 'slightly used' mask either no matter what I cleaned them with).

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:31 pm

I bought the 6 tanks and 2 regulators. They may, or may not be stolen. I wrote the ladies description and tag number down. I intend to call the Sheriff's department Monday to find out.

I know major companies DO sell their equipment. I have an offer to buy my equipment from Apria. The regulator is $147. I can buy them all over the internet for a fraction of that. After I don't need it anymore, I will probably sell it. As for needing a medical license or something like that. We have people selling CPAPs, etc. every day.

I have an RT in the family, I can have him check the unit out if necessary.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:07 pm

What kind of regulators are they, dllfo?? Continuous flow or pulse or one of each?

rebeccacox86@yahoo.com · Post by **rebeccacox86@yahoo.com** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:31 pm

I HAVE A TANK THAT WAS FILLED UP ON 4-11-11, I WILL SEND YOU A PICTURE IF YOU ARE INTRESTED.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:36 am

rebeccacox86@yahoo.com wrote:I HAVE A TANK THAT WAS FILLED UP ON 4-11-11, I WILL SEND YOU A PICTURE IF YOU ARE INTRESTED.

This thread is 3 years old, hopefully he's made up his mind on what to do, if not he's very patient. Jim

I am buying Oxygen E tanks & regulators from Craigslist.

I am buying Oxygen E tanks & regulators from Craigslist.

Re: I am buying Oxygen E tanks & regulators from Craigsl

Re: I am buying Oxygen E tanks & regulators from Craigslist.

Re: I am buying Oxygen E tanks & regulators from Craigslist.