How long do Oxygen cylinders last on an airplane?
Posted on March 3rd, 2010 by admin
please help me
On conventional commercial aircraft there are two types of oxygen systems installed (I am only talking about Boeing and Airbus aircraft for those of you about to give me the "thumbs down").
The system for the pilots is a large oxygen pressurized cylinder installed usually in the avionics bay or forward cargo area (depending on the model). This system has lines connected to outlets in the cockpit, which masks are attached to. The flight crew can activate this system at will. There is typically enough oxygen in the system for 2 hours or more.
The second system is a series of chemical oxygen generators installed in the overhead passenger service units (PSU). These have no pressurized cylinders from which to feed, they are very simply a chemical reaction between two elements that create oxygen. They are the reason the flight attendants tell you to give a little tug on the mask when it deploys, this pulls the pin out of the system and starts the process. These generally only last about 15 minutes (enough time for the pilots to descend to a safe altitude).
This system can either be deployed by the flight crew by flipping a gaurded switch, but more often than not, the cabin pressure controller will deloy them when a preset saftey limit is reached. That will (on some models) also trigger an auto-announcement to don the deployed masks (we call it the rubber jungle).
Finally, the flight attendants also have access to a limited number of "walk around" bottles distributed throughout the cabin. These will generally last about an hour. These are not hard mounted in the aircraft like the cylinder or the generators, rather they are simply hung in quick-release brackets at their installation points.
I hope this answers your question.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:39 am
i’m not sure but i thought about 15 minutes.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 10:21 am
the ones above you will last about 8-12 minutes. they are only designed to give you air to breath until the plane descends to a lower altitude.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 10:47 am
There are of course oxygen tanks for long duration flights in unpressurized airplanes. Their length of time depends on their size. I think the average is around 2-4 hours.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 11:06 am
Depends on the flow of oxygen, type of regular system. Most commerial aircraft use oxygen sparsely, So a tank will last for a long time before it has to be servieced.
A Dilluter Demand system uses less oxygen, than a continous flow stye mask, as it adjusts the flow based on alitude.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 11:55 am
All high pressure bottles installed on aircraft have to be hydrostatically tested every 5 years, including oxygen bottles.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 12:45 pm
On conventional commercial aircraft there are two types of oxygen systems installed (I am only talking about Boeing and Airbus aircraft for those of you about to give me the "thumbs down").
The system for the pilots is a large oxygen pressurized cylinder installed usually in the avionics bay or forward cargo area (depending on the model). This system has lines connected to outlets in the cockpit, which masks are attached to. The flight crew can activate this system at will. There is typically enough oxygen in the system for 2 hours or more.
The second system is a series of chemical oxygen generators installed in the overhead passenger service units (PSU). These have no pressurized cylinders from which to feed, they are very simply a chemical reaction between two elements that create oxygen. They are the reason the flight attendants tell you to give a little tug on the mask when it deploys, this pulls the pin out of the system and starts the process. These generally only last about 15 minutes (enough time for the pilots to descend to a safe altitude).
This system can either be deployed by the flight crew by flipping a gaurded switch, but more often than not, the cabin pressure controller will deloy them when a preset saftey limit is reached. That will (on some models) also trigger an auto-announcement to don the deployed masks (we call it the rubber jungle).
Finally, the flight attendants also have access to a limited number of "walk around" bottles distributed throughout the cabin. These will generally last about an hour. These are not hard mounted in the aircraft like the cylinder or the generators, rather they are simply hung in quick-release brackets at their installation points.
I hope this answers your question.
References :
21 Years A&P
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Emergency O2 bottles will last approximately 45 minutes to 72 minutes. These are NOT the O2 bottles passengers and pilots would use to breathe, they are the medical oxygen botles required to be carried.
The pilots oxygen bottles will last anywhere between 15 to 60 minutes depending on altitude, diluter selection, demand, and other factors.
Generally, the oxygen supplied to passengers is not stored in a bottle, but is produced by a cylinder called an oxygen generator. those produce oxygen (and some heat) for about 13 minutes. That is enough time to get the airplane from high altitude to a lower one where people will be much less likely to die of hypoxia. Generally about 10,000 feet.
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