How do I look after the oxygen concentrator and its filters?

Keep the oxygen concentrator in a well-ventilated spot with clear airflow, dry and away from spilt water, and clean or replace its filters depending on use. Every concentrator we supply is a 5 l/min unit at 93% ±3% purity, rated for continuous operation.

The concentrator is the part of the system with moving parts and filters, so it is where regular attention actually pays.

What you have

Unless we have specified otherwise for your order, every concentrator we supply is a 5 l/min unit at 93% ±3% oxygen purity. An oxygen concentrator does not store oxygen; it makes it, by pushing compressed room air through a molecular sieve — a bed of granules with pores sized to hold nitrogen back and let oxygen through — and venting the nitrogen between cycles. The sauna draws a constant 2 litres per minute from it, well inside the unit’s rating.

The oxygen concentrator supplied with the sauna is a medical device in its own right. The model we currently supply is FDA-cleared and CE marked. The FDA clearance applies to the concentrator, not to the sauna.

Filters

Filters need cleaning or replacing from time to time. How often depends on use: a machine running all day needs it more often than one used twice a week, and a dusty room more than a clean one. Keep the intake clear and the filters clean and the concentrator should run its average lifecycle of 15,000 hours.

Placement and airflow

Give the concentrator clear space to draw room air. A machine pushed into a cupboard or hard against a wall is being starved.
The room needs ventilation anyway, both to clear escaping ozone and to keep enough oxygen in the room for the concentrator to work properly.
Keep it dry. Clean up spilt water immediately, especially near the concentrator or electrical wiring.
Keep open flames away from the concentrator and its tubing. Candles elsewhere in the room are not a fire risk, but nothing burning should come near an oxygen source.

Order of operations

Switch the concentrator on and confirm it is running before switching the sauna on. On shut-down, switch the sauna off first, then the concentrator, then unplug at the wall. Running the sauna for a prolonged period without the concentrator will burn out the ozone generator.

Alarms

The concentrators have an alarm function, including a purity alarm. If that sounds, the machine needs attention rather than a different setting.

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