How Do You Choose Between an Oxygen Tank and Oxygen Concentrator?

Both the oxygen tank and the oxygen concentrator are part of a group of medical equipment that provides oxygen therapy. These are used by patients who are unable to put enough oxygen to their system on their own. They are simply metal tanks containing oxygen and designed to carry oxygen to patients at home or on the go.

So how do you choose between the two? Here we will be discussing some tips so read on and discover what they are.

Oxygen tanks are metal cylinders containing pressurized medical grade oxygen for use by patients at home or in the hospital. They are often mounted on rollers so they can be moved around easily as these cylinders are very dense to prevent explosive depressurization.

Pros

1. It requires no power. This is one of the distinct advantages of oxygen tanks, it can be used anywhere, with or without electricity. They release their oxygen content via a valve at set flow rates, ensuring that the tank will deliver oxygen until the contents are used up. It is also the reason that oxygen tanks are very quiet.
2. They are less expensive initially. They are the traditional way of ensuring personal oxygen delivery to a patient, hence the lower initial cost. If the initial purchase is your concern, you have to get oxygen tanks.

Cons

1. It is very heavy and cumbersome. For continuous use throughout the day, you will need to have the tank that is at least 5 feet tall. This means you will have limited mobility and will essentially be confined to a spot.
2. Their contents are also limited. If it runs out, you will have to buy another tank. That is why patients are urged to purchase several tanks at a time if the need is chronic. Again, this limits mobility for the patient as well.

Oxygen concentrators, on the other hand, use a set of filters to take the ambient air, filter out the oxygen and convert it to medical-grade standards for delivery to the patient. They are available in large types for home use and portable ones.

Pros

1. Its design enables it to be lightweight and provide unlimited oxygen as long as it has power. It is also very versatile since it can be used in the home or can be portable. It can even be brought on a plane. This is quite often noted as the most useful feature of concentrators.
2. Its only significant cost is the initial purchase. They don’t need to be refilled and its only major upkeep is in maintenance and repairs.

Cons

1. It requires power. This makes it noisy and limited as to how far you can take it outside. However, this is easily remedied as there are more efficient solar chargers and batteries with bigger capacity available.
2. It is quite expensive. But as stated above, this is about the only significant cost so in the long run, you will actually save money.

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