Broken Millennium Oxy Concentrator

[white flame]

So I just received a Millennium oxy con in the mail and it was damaged in shipping. I turned it on and it started pumping, but nothing was coming out the outlet. So I opened the filter cover on the back and the filter was broken off. So I took the whole outer case apart and found that the little mini regulator had broken off of the seive bed as well. Is it possible to get replacement parts for this?
Here are some pictures so you can see what I'm talking about.
Filter
http://whiteflameglass.com/images/IMAG0806.jpg


Where the filter connects to the machine
http://whiteflameglass.com/images/IMAG0807.jpg


Connection to seive bed
http://whiteflameglass.com/images/IMAG0808.jpg

Broken regulator
http://whiteflameglass.com/images/IMAG0810.jpg

http://whiteflameglass.com/images/IMAG0811.jpg

As I said it does seem to be functioning. I held just the hose up to the hole where the oxy is now coming out and I could get the flow meter going but it would go up for a bit then the flow rate would drop down then would build back up again. Is this because of not having the regulator on there? I'm just wondering if its even worth trying to fix this, or should I just try to find another machine? I already waited for a couple weeks for this to get my homefill going and have been working (very conservatively) on k tanks, but I'm being charged $98 for those so I can't keep using those for too much longer and just need to start filling my own tanks asap. If anyone has any experience with these and would like to chime in I would greatly appreciate it!!!

Thanks

[gn0me]

The filter housing can be pieced back together with JB weld. Depending on the situation I might do the same for that regulator, but it's going to have to hold 45psi or so, so your best bet is going to be calling respironics or to try finding a local shop that services oxy concentrators.

Edit to add: this is assuming you can't return it. Drew's got a good point in that your sieve beds may have been damaged in such a harrowing incident, and that's probably the first option you should explore.

[drew1492]

I am not familar with milleniums, but do they have a holding tank that the regulator hooks up to? I think I have an invacare laying around. Honestly I would return it more could be damaged than you see I had an oxy con have a sieve bed damaged that crapped out a couple months later.

[white flame]

I stuck the reg back on there and and got the filter hooked up as best I could. I did manage to get the homefill filling, but it keeps flipping back and forth between o2 below normal. This is due to low purity right? How can I tell if the sieve beds are damaged?

I'm not familiar at all with these machines. This is my first concentrator. I assumed the regulator was hooked up to the sieve beds, not sure if it's a holding tank.

It was a huge pain trying to get this thing here in the first place, I don't really know if I will be able to send it back so I'm just trying to get it going good enough until I can find a better concentrator.

thanks for the help so far

[gn0me]

Low oxy purity can be caused by a number of things: low air pressure to the sieve beds, which can happen if you've got leaks (check all your lines on the inside carefully with soapy water - avoid getting electronics/filters wet (duh)) or if your compressor is starting to take a dive, especially if the compressor is loud at startup and gets quieter as the machine operates (or just stays loud). Look up the maximum pressure for your compressor and test the pressure it's putting out if you can, otherwise a rebuild is hardly ever a bad idea (especially when parts are $25-50 for the full kit). If your pressure's good and you have no leaks, your sieve bed may be damaged, but can be repoured (either locally or there are several shops on the net).

[white flame]

I think I got it! The JB weld seemed to do the trick and I have the homefill filling right now. It's been on for about an hour now and has remained "filling" the whole time. Thanks for the help and all the info! For now I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the JB weld holds.

The compressor doesn't seem to start out loud and get quieter. It is a little louder than I was expecting, but I've never heard one run before so I don't know what its supposed to sound like. The whole thing is a little rattly though but I think it's just from the damaged case. The rattling seems to build and then quiets down a bit. The machine only has 1400 hours on it though so I'm hoping it won't need any rebuilds for a bit.

Thanks again!