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Oxygen Bottle - Where?

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David Paule

Well Known Member
Now that I've started the fuselage, I've been thinking ahead to the systems. One of them is oxygen, which I'll need to install. Where would you put in an oxygen bottle, about 4.5" diameter? It might be as long as 26" but 16" is a possibility.

Its valve will need to be reachable from the cockpit.

The canopy will be the tip-over kind.

Thanks,
Dave
 
David Paule said:
Now that I've started the fuselage, I've been thinking ahead to the systems. One of them is oxygen, which I'll need to install. Where would you put in an oxygen bottle, about 4.5" diameter? It might be as long as 26" but 16" is a possibility.

Its valve will need to be reachable from the cockpit.

The canopy will be the tip-over kind.

Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...

Between your legs
 
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Thanks for thinking about this for me.

The space between my legs is about the only pilot-accessible storage space on a 3. Unfortunately the armrest width is far too narrow, even for me, to stuff an oxygen bottle into.

Still looking for more suggestions....

Dave
 
O2 bottle location

I've put O2 into 2 airframes (not -3) and flown with them. I found a primary concern for me is to be able to turn the bottle on/off while in flight and a close second is being able to read the pressure gage while in flight.
I put the bottle longitudinal in the fuselage; behind the seat; with the gage and valve handle protruding out so as to be accessible to the pilot. I also put in a filler valve as used in sailplanes for easy fill at airports with gliders. Just thoughts you may want to consider on your -3.
 
Since you're going light..

..would you happen to have any room in the panel? My thought is you could make a tube to hold your cylinder in place, kind of like a map box. It would be accessible, but would mean even less space available for avionics.
 
Unfortunately, in the 3, there's not enough room to put a bottle on or in the armrest, or for that matter, behind the seat and have it still be accessible, unless it was under the canopy but external to the turtledeck, and I'd like to avoid that. In fact, even there, more than likely the roll bar would be in the way.

Mike's panel suggestion would be good if there were room. There probably won't be, though, if I install a full-sized iPad on it, as I plan to.

Perhaps I can locate a bottle forward of the panel and have some sort of remote valve and gauge.

Thanks, everyone,
Dave
 
Oxygen bottle

Put it under the seat. Unless you have a really long torso, there is room there. The handle and guage would protrude to the right side.

Bill Newkirk
 
David Paule said:
. . . if I install a full-sized iPad on it, as I plan to.
Click to expand...
Now there is a plan I would vet very very thoroughly before you committed to it.

I have been flying with a full sized IPad in my cockpit for 5 years now. I run Garmin Pilot and/or Foreflight on it but it is NOT mounted on my panel. I do have it mounted on the side panel bracket where the panel attaches to the longeron. Even in this position it is not acceptable as a full fledged usable instrument. Until or unless Apple upgrades their screen to be fully functional in direct sunlight and not shut down due to overheating there is no way I am going to entrust my life with whatever information it may display.

In my opinion it is a fantastic tool for flight planning, on the ground. It is a completely unacceptable tool as a flight instrument, in the air.

There you go, my .02 and you didn't even ask for it. :cool:
 
I appreciate the comment about the iPad, however I have enough experience with one to be comfortable with it on the panel, and in any event, I'll decide that at the time. There will also be a full-featured EFIS.

In this thread, though, the question is where should I put an oxygen bottle in an RV-3. There are numerous threads about using an iPad in the cockpit.

Thanks,
Dave
 
RVbySDI said:
So I guess I don't get it. Could you explain exactly why you consider this individual an "idiot"?
Click to expand...

Sorry Steve, inside joke between him and I. I should not have gone public with such a remark. I'll apologize to him as soon as we meet again.
 
David Paule said:
I appreciate the comment about the iPad, however I have enough experience with one to be comfortable with it on the panel, and in any event, I'll decide that at the time. There will also be a full-featured EFIS.

In this thread, though, the question is where should I put an oxygen bottle in an RV-3. There are numerous threads about using an iPad in the cockpit.

Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...
Ok, then pardon me for the thread drift.
 
BruceEicher said:
Sorry Steve, inside joke between him and I. I should not have gone public with such a remark. I'll apologize to him as soon as we meet again.
Click to expand...

Ha! Ha! I about fell off my chair Bruce. Tell him hello from me!!


David - could you use a divers gauge if you put your tank in a remote location? I know the gauge on my regulator is about 24" long and that would at least let you know how much ox you had left. Not sure how to figure out the on-off problem.
 
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rockwoodrv9 said:
Ha! Ha! I about fell off my chair Bruce. Tell him hello from me!!


David - could you use a divers gauge if you put your tank in a remote location? I know the gauge on my regulator is about 24" long and that would at least let you know how much ox you had left. Not sure how to figure out the on-off problem.
Click to expand...

Rocky, I think that we can mount the tank vertically on the RS behind pass and see the gage easily. That is what other 6-7-9's have done, and is my plan. Also the tank valve can be reached. Search oxygen and "Bob Mills" and find some nice pictures. There are a couple of very good, old, threads. The JD tank is a nice length for this.

Sorry, off topic for -3.
 
oxygen for small spaces

Recently I posted a quick link that PHODS systems had popped up on ebay. Previously, I had not researched these systems built by Aqua Lung. They are primarily for helicopters and are body worn. At first glance, the specs are such that I discounted the whole thing as not practical. This was due to the 1.7 cu. ft. bottle. I went ahead and purchased a set, as did some other members here, since the price was attractive and my main interest was the Mountain High Pulse delivery box.
Now that I have done more reading and research, I am convinced that it might be ideal for single pilot flights in cramped planes such as the 3. The bottle is quite small and the army data from helo pilots and crews shows about 3 hours duration at altitudes from 10K to about 15K. It activates at 10K without pilot intervention and then shuts off about 8k when coming down. Just about how I use oxygen. An override can also turn it on manually. I am going to plan on transfil from my large bottle in the hangar each time it runs down. The bottle could be mounted just about anywhere, due to the small diameter... so in your case options abound.
If more hit the market, at attractive pricing (I paid 225 and it was new) RVers will hear about it... and you might consider the system. Research it ahead of time, there are two articles on the web from army studies in alt. chambers and then pilot comments from the field. If not surplus, more could be spent at Mountain High on retail equipment for glider pilots. The key is the extreme efficiency with the pulse delivery box. It allows much smaller bottles to be practical in RV's than historically installed. When I fly two up, I mount a larger welding O2 bottle behind my seat. It is just strapped down with webbing and snap lock plastic buckles. I use a pediatric regulator and cannulas for each person on T plumbing. That combined with a finger tip pulse oxy device... and we stay alert. Good luck on your project.
 
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other systems

There are other systems out there that can be mounted remotely and turned on with just a switch in the cockpit. If you are going to the Big show next week look around, you will find you don't need a hi-pressure manifold, just a valve that mounts onto the cylinder head that can be triggered with it's own low pressure switch. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888
 
I actually did get one of those small PHODS systems - thanks for posting that link, it was a great find! - and plan to use the metering device, but not the bottle nor the regulator. I expect to use a larger bottle so that I don't have to fill it as often, and it's the location for that which I'm concerned with.

I found a couple options for a remote valve/switch device and can do that if I must, that also was a decent idea, thanks. I'd prefer to have a manual valve that's accessible.

I won't be going to Oshkosh.

So far the main choices that might work are, in the order I recollect them,

a) Under the seat cushion, where there's plenty of room but visibility or access to the side is quite limited, and it would also mean some interesting cushion-support work.

b) Just forward of the wing spar on the centerline. Here, there's clearly ample room, but this is the only cockpit-accessible general-purpose storage area.

c) Behind the seat or behind the baggage-compartment aft bulkhead, and either using a remote system or turning it on before flight and off afterwards. Here, I'd have to land to get to it if I forget, and since I don't need oxygen every flight, that's a possibility.

d) Diver's regulator - I'll have to look into this since I know nothing about it, not a whit.

e) Forward of the panel, mounted vertically or more likely tilted forward, with the valve and regulator at the bottom so they'd be marginally accessible.

Dave
 
David,
Im not sure why I didn't think of this before, but when I built a hospital - there was ox pipes all over the place with valves and hook ups. The best idea may be to mount the bottle someplace and run hard tubing with a valve and pressure gauge. It would be like a built in system with a removable supply tank. Let me think about it a bit and I will get back to you.
 
I bought an O2 system at Oshkosh a few years back and installed it on the seatback in the baggage compartment. I mounted the clamp in the center of the seat back and routed the tubing through a small gap between the seat and the seatback bulkhead. I use a pulse oxymeter to measure O2 concentrations in my blood.
 
Oxygen tank location

How about a bracket mounted up high under the instrument panel in the center of a side by side RV? The bracket could be removed with a half dozen screws and the bottle could be held in the bracket with a screw clamp of some sort. The bottom of the tank would be near the rudder bars, not touching anything, of course, and the valve & gauge of the tank could be below throttle, mixture controls. Easy to get to and would help with aft center of gravity issues on long cross country landings with low fuel and baggage. I would want it to be very secure but easy to remove both tank (to refill) and bracket (to get to wiring & avionics).
 
Rob, that would work. That'll be my back-up plan.

Greg, the RV-3B is a single-seat aircraft, but your idea ought to work on it too. It has a lot of room ahead of the panel where the fuel tank used to go before Van's designed the current version with wing tanks. In fact, that's my primary plan. The bottle will be on an angle from somewhere near the top of the firewall down to just below the panel.

Dave
 
Why not build a set of these pods, as seen on an RV-4:

One can hold your Ox bottle and the other can be either fuel or baggage.

A friend has a pair that came with his RV-6 and they attach very easily. There are two plate nuts on the top of the leading edge. The cuff screws in to these two plate nuts and the third bolt goes into the tie down fitting.

rvpods.jpg
 
Use These, and Put the Bottle Anywhere

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/123/223/=16d5an1

Quick disconnect couplings with shutoff can be mounted thru panel, armrest, etc. and are available in plastic or metal. Use standard medical tubing from bottle to the fittings - barb connectors for the tube should be sufficient. When you're making a trip where Ox use is likely, just open the valve on the bottle before strapping in. You won't flow oxygen until you plug into the port. Same setup used in hospitals and industry. If you want to be sure of flow, just get a cannula with an in-line flow meter. You don't need high pressure couplings as the pressure out of the regulator is very low.
Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP
 
Have you mounted O2 yet?

David - have you mounted your O2 bottle yet?
Did your behind-the-panel decision change?
 
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