A long time ago we used to see suggetions about getting oxygen from a welder's supply outfit.

My understanding was that there was no question of quality.

What is the thinking now?

Hey Bob,

Still no problem...  Welder's and medical O2 come from the same distillation systems used by industrial and medical gas suppliers...  Hence, same purity.

The only real difference comes during the cylinder fill process where medical oxygen requires a "cylinder purge" by some medical gas suppliers before final fill. 

I've had a complete oxyacetylene system in my garage for years...  I do braze on occasion... I've also refilled my Aluminum M60 oxygen cylinder from it frequently before I developed the anti-inflammatory regimen and started taking it in October or 2010...  I only use it for demo purposes now...

At 50 cents a day ~ $15/month for the anti-inflammatory regimen nutrients...  this regimen is a lot less expensive than the $100/month I was paying for the three welder's O2 cylinder refills at $33/refill.

I hope that makes cents...

Take care,

V/R, Batch

Bob,

I spent considerable time and effort researching this question.

Yes, with the exception of a very specialized grade of "scientific use" oxygen - medical, welding and aviation oxygen tanks get filled from the same source, with the same hose.

Standard practice (the law in many areas) dictates that before filling:
- Medical/aviation tanks: Pull a deep enough vacuum to remove the contents and flash any remaining moisture to vapor for removal.

- Welding tanks: Minimum procedure is to open the valve for a "sniff test" to detect any acetylene contamination due a faulty check valve system from the previous user. Most will blow off any remaining contents before filling with new O2. Many will flush the tank with new O2 via the bleed port.

This is first hand information from me standing there watching the process while talking to the technicians at the three largest manufacturers/suppliers.

Is there "any" potential for a problem? Yes, of course because humans are involved in the process. Same as with "medical" oxygen tanks. I value my life dearly, and I decided that the risk is far less than most other potential catastrophic events in our daily lives.

Marc

Thought someone would find this interesting. Past cycles my med supply place that my ins. used always RX'd M tanks. This time around we have different ins. and a different respiratory supply place. They brought me Q tanks for my O2 this cycle, instead of the standard M.

Regards,
:)mel

The old Green M-size oxygen cyliner, 125 Cu Ft held roughly 3000 CuFt of oxygen...  The 80 Cu Ft Q-size oxygen cylinder holds ~ roughly 1920 Cu Ft of oxygen...

Batch wrote on Nov 16^th, 2015 at 11:39pm:

The old Green M-size oxygen cyliner, 125 Cu Ft held roughly 3000 CuFt of oxygen...  The 80 Cu Ft Q-size oxygen cylinder holds ~ roughly 1920 Cu Ft of oxygen...

I'm sorry, I meant M60, not M. My bad.

Hey Mel,

I bought an M60 years ago to use as my "roadie."  I keep it filled from a welder's O2 M-size cylinder in the garage.  It doesn't get much use except for demo's...  The M60 is perfect for a little lady like you as they're light enough to lug anywhere.

Howz the vitamin D3 working for you?

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch