Ken,

Sorry no one has answered your question before now.

Yes, it is indeed simple - common sense will avoid a nasty accident. Welding rigs and large medical tanks are essentially the same. Attach your regulator after turning it "down" which is always counter-clockwise. Attach it to the tank, tighten well, then open the hand valve on the tank.

The regulator is designed to accurately control flow with small adjustments. The main valve on the tank was designed more as an open/close device so don't try to control flow rate from there - although some valves will.

Things to remember when using medical or welding O2:

- Oxygen itself doesn't actually burn, but it makes virtually everything else burn vigorously when saturated with it.

- Oxygen is colorless and odorless. It is easy for your clothing/blankets/upholstery to become saturated without you realizing it. A shirt that you couldn't start burning with a lighter, will burn fast and hot when saturated in O2.

- Oxygen under pressure can completely change the combustion properties of many materials. For example, common aluminum exposed to pure O2 at 1,200 PSI (look at your gauge) will burn like a flare.

- Same with oils. Look at the gauge on our regulator. It will say something like "use no oil" - they aren't kidding. Even a small residue of certain oils will burn rapidly when exposed to pure O2 at high pressure.

If you think about it, nothing I've said is worse than putting gasoline in your car. In fact, that is far more dangerous because gasoline does burn. Like fueling your car, a little common sense will suffice.

Marc

I've tried the O2 for two hits now and it doesn't seem to do anything to relieve the pain.  Here is exactly what I did:
   
-  I woke up with a moderate hit (K6/K7) around 1:10 AM.
 
-  I dialed my regulator all the way up to 25lpm.
 
-  Started with the mask, but it didn't feel like it was sealing around my goatee, so I switched to the plastic mouthpiece thing and plugged my nose with my free hand.
 
-  I took rapid, short breaths from the oxygen tube alone for about 10 minutes straight.  After the first 100 or so breaths, my arms started to tingle and I felt dizzy.
 
-  After 10 minutes, I felt no letup in the pain whatsoever and finally shut the tank off in frustration.
   
Can you guys tell me if I am doing something wrong here?   It just doesn't feel like the O2 is doing anything.  Should I be taking long, deep breaths instead of short, rapid ones?  Do you guys usually feel a letup in the pain as you use the O2, or does the pain just switch off after a certain point? 
   
Thanks in advance for your input.
-Ken

Kevin,
 
Thank you very much for the reply.  I will try what you suggested next time I get hit.  A couple of short follow-ups, though if you will:

1.  What happens if the lower flow rate isn't filling enough volume for me to breathe comfortably?  Even on 25 lpm, I was draining my 3L bag pretty frequently and having to wait (hold my breath) for it to refill.  I'm a rather large guy and I guess I have pretty big lungs.  On a lower flow rate, is it okay if I have to take a few breaths of regular room air if the bag isn't filling fast enough?  Or should I just get a bigger bag and wait for it to fill up completely before I start breathing?
 
2.  Should I feel the O2 gradually easing the pain of the hit, or should I just expect the attack to cease suddenly?  When I pound down an energy drink, for example, I can feel the pain above my eye diminish instantly after I get a couple of swallows down.  For those of you that use O2 regularly, does O2 normally affect the pain in this manner?
 
Thanks again for your guys' advice.  I really do appreciate it.
-Ken