Portable Oxygen Concentrator Versus Oxygen Tank - A Users Perspective

A portable oxygen concentrator has become a "must" for the many people with COPD and who have need to receive supplemental oxygen. Simultaneously this sort of machine can be a godsend for those who assist or live with them.

For both patient and the caretaker, too little oxygen saturation is difficult - the patient must live with either a shortness of breath and all that this entails, or must receive extra oxygen. Those who assist, and this could be a relative or someone from the medical profession, must also provide help and to do so must know their way around the oxygen machine, in this case a portable oxygen concentrator.

There are several basic differences between an oxygen concentrator and an oxygen tank (either liquid or compressed oxygen) that make for another approach.

A portable oxygen concentrator extracts oxygen from the encompassing air. After that it delivers the oxygen in a concentrated form, to the individual. An oxygen tank delivers oxygen to the patient from its reservoir or stored oxygen. The essential difference is due to storage. A tank holds or stores oxygen while a concentrator does not - it delivers the oxygen as it extracts it.

The difference between a stored and non stored oxygen system has another implication. A tank will deliver the amount of oxygen it stores. The tanks capacity depends on its size basically and the oxygen will last a restricted time - how much exactly will depend on how full the tank is and the delivery rate. For a portable oxygen concentrator, the delivery will last as long as the machine is turned on.

Another difference also follows on from the previous one. A tank or cylinder that holds oxygen, both compressed or liquid, will deliver oxygen at a certain adjustable rate, using the pressure being released from the tank. oxygen therapy does not require an additional power source to provide the oxygen. A portable oxygen concentrator however delivers the oxygen it really is extracting from the air around it and this extraction is possible because of its power source which makes the extraction mechanism work. Electricity - be it from a battery or because of being plugged in. Portable oxygen concentrators use rechargeable batteries which increases dramatically its possibilities for oxygen delivery and by being plugged in, where many models can also be connected to the automobile lighter socket for instance.


These three basic differences may appear small in nature but in reality are the reason why portable oxygen concentrators haven't only become so popular but also have increased the amount and kind of activities COPD patients are enjoying. From the point of view of caretakers - especially family - they are experiencing less demands and have therefore less stress.

In short:

Longer oxygen supply. Even though not plugged in, the battery option that may go from 2 hours onwards depending on the flow rate and the battery capacity. But with a change of battery the whole cycle begins again.

The relationship between weight and amount of oxygen that's stored is not any longer an issue.

You don't have for a refill - this being among the logistic problems and limitations which used happen to everyone on supplemental oxygen before the arrival of portable oxygen concentrators.

Size and shape make these machines more portable.

Travel, short distances, long distances or the equivalent in time intervals is much easier. This ease of travel is due to the durability of the oxygen supply and also because public carriers (airplanes, trains and buses) have less restraints than they do for oxygen containers.