Hello, thank you in advance for your response to a quick question. We just received a non rebreather mask in the mail today and have never used before. There are no valves on the mask as pictured in the oxygen info section. In that case should the mask be removed to exhale and returned to the face to inhale? We have it assembled correctly but not sure what to do if there are no valves on the mask. Thank you!

Oops I meant a re-breather mask. The one with the bag shown on the oxygen info page. We bought it directly from that site.

Can you post a picture of it?

If it's the O₂ptimask, it is a non-rebreather.

yes it is the O2ptimask. Exactly as pictured on the oxygen info page and purchased through that link. It has the red mask. There are no holes in the mask as shown with the blue mask and used to exhale but closes at inhale or to cover with your finger as also explained.

I attached a photo. Let me know if you can open.

Thanks!

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The green plastic "T" valve assembly has a set of one-way valves that allow you to exhale directly through the apparatus.

With that in mind, I'll tell you that I always remove the mask to exhale. It keeps the inner workings of the valve assembly MUCH cleaner, and it will last longer.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will pass on the info to my CHer. Appreciate the support here.

I love the groovy mask. Get another...you will be glad you did. I try to keep the old ones around for parts....high flow is the way to go.

Hi Molly,

That mask from ch.com store you posted a photo of is the exact same mask that has saved my sanity and aborted close to 1,000 attacks successfully.

Each and everytime I successfully aborted I held the mask flush to my face while hyperventilating at 25 lpm to 40 lpm flow rates.

After the pain subides (abort) I continue using the mask but not hyperventilating.  I choose normal breathing at a reduced flow rate of 15 lpm for 5 to 10 minutes which has helped greatly to avoid a re-attack. 

I ALWAYS inhale & ALWAYS exhale with mask flush to face!  Bottom line...I saw no reason to ever pull the mask away from my face to exhale.

That's my 2 cents, experiment and see what's best for YOU, "to each his/her own!" ;)

-Gregg in Las Vegas

I would have thought that removing the mask to exhale would allow air to enter the mask and thereby reduce the oxygen concentration when you inhale. Admittedly, if the mask is only lifted very slightly from the face, the amount of air 'contamination' would probably be small but even so I can't see why you wouldn't want to do everything you can to maximize the O2 percentage, and minimize any oxygen wastage from the mask.

In effect this style of mask is modeled on 'anaesthetic' face masks that are used for positive pressure ventilation of non-breathing patients. They are intended to be applied to the face to form a perfect seal and as far as possible that seal remains intact throughout use. They are in effect designed to stay on the face throughout the respiratory cycle. The valve assembly will allow exhalation without removing the mask and it is designed for that purpose.

Also note Molly that this style of mask is different to the 'traditional' non-rebreather face mask and is intended to achieve higher oxygen levels by forming a much better seal than the mask you would have seen in the illustration. That is why you won't see the valves on it that are on the 'standard' non-rebreather and this would have been the source of your confusion. The better the seal you achieve with your face the greater the percentage oxygen you will inhale.

Good luck. 

02 supplier say's you can put a bubbler on an E tank.
Never tell a headbanger you cant. Here's my gig.
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I'll huff and I'll puff. ;D :D
Flotec 25 lpm...all hardware is brass and 1/8 in. NPT(nominal pipe thread). 11.00 bucks. Has to be brass or stainless as 02 is an oxidizer. I like the mouthpiece, the snot and tears dont invade the butterflies and muck stuff up as Brew stated...cuts down on cleaning and germs..... 8-)

I do the mouthpiece as well, but I still don't exhale through the valves. A LOT less cleaning involved.