I am a proud user of ambulatory oxygen kindly provided by the NHS. I use it with the rucksack like bag with which it comes. However - the design of the (blue) carrier bag bares little relationship to the design of the Oxygen cylinder. For example, the gauge displaying the amount of gas left is at the back, there is a hole at the front that you can look through, but there is nothing to see because the gauge is at the back. The spigot to which the cannula attaches is so long that it extends beyond the confines of the rucksack and it isn't impossible to get the cannula out of any of the available holes without kinking the tube thus reducing the regulated rate of the airflow. My equipment is provided by Air Liquide Homecare. Has anyone come across a better designed carrier?
Oxygen in a Bag: I am a proud user of... - Lung Conditions C...
Oxygen in a Bag
Sorry John. That does not sound anything like the black one I have provided by Baywater Health or the one I had from Air Products. It may be a silly question but can you not turn the cylinder so that the gauge faces front?
Indeed I could but then the on/off valve would be covered and inaccessible, rather than accessible behind a velcro flap.
I only use the valve on the side initially, after that I just use the knob on top
Using the regulator on the top requires unzipping the bag, resetting the regulator from Zeor to (in my case) 3 lpm. Alternatively with the on/off valve (after all, that's what it's for) situated behind the velcro flap the on/off operation is quick and simple, especialy if you conserve gas by turning it off when you don;t need it. At 3lpm a cylinder lasts two hours therefore barely lasts for a single shopping trip.
Hi
Having first turned on the cylinder by the side valve. Slide cylinder into bag gauge facing front. The gauge is accessible by pulling down the Velcro flap.
Above which there is a second opening giving access to regulator connection. Pass the tubing through this opening connect to regulator. Open top regulator valve to required LPM. pull front flap up and secure with zips. The tubing comes direct out of the front of the cylinder.
There is a pocket at the bottom for installation of a conserver. Above which there is a net pocket to store the conserver expansion tubing. If using a conserver the tubing comes from the side to your cannula
Not all the bags from Air Liquide are the same. After having the straps break on my husbands bag the replacement one was different and much more difficult to use.
The velcro flap is on the RHS (looking from the front). There is a small circular opening (no flap) at the front but it is some 2" higher than the gauge, if the cylinder is turned to put the gauge at the front, therefore it's not visible. If the gauge us turned to the front then it's impossible to turn the on/off valve without unzipping the the whole thing, because the velcro flap is on the opposite side.. I can't believe it's supposed to be accessed in this fashion.
Hi
I use the the top regulator valve on top to turn on/ off. The Velcro flap I use to access the contents gauge and the rectangular hole above to connect the tubing. The smaller round hole I see no useful purpose.
Apart from the supplied bag, I have tried others non which are 100% suitable, not sure what type of cylinder they use for design purposes.
Next time you order, ask the engineer to explain the correct fitting.
Can you upload a picture.
Using the regulator to turn the gas on/off, as well as regulating it's flow seems wrong, especially as the flow setting needs to be set only once during the whole use of the bottle. The on/off valve accessed through the side velcro flap is much quicker and positive. I don't see how a frequently used regulator can be guaranteed to shut flow off totally when set at a zero flow rate. Certainly other flow regulators for diving, welding etc, can't be relied on in this way. I know the gas is free but at 3 lpm a cylinder only lasts two hours therefore you don't want it leaking overnight when set at zero flow rate. I would suggest that you don't need to view the contents gause as often as you need to turn flow on/off.
I find the pocket at the bottom to be ideal for storing a water bottle when doing pulmonary exercise classes.
Why not give the BLF helpline a call? 03000 030 555 during office hours. Welcome to the forum. 
My bag sounds just like yours John - hardly any of the openings/flaps etc seem to relate to anything on the cylinders (thought it was just me).
I can’t walk and carry mine I’m too breathless as the weight affects me xx
If you haven't got one already Dietrech you can request a wheeled cart to pull your oxygen rucksack around as I do - less strain on the back.
I have a standard 2L cylinder. The problem is that at 3 lpm the cylinder only lasts two hours. My wife has an NVQ (not very quick) in Shopping therefore a 2L cylinder barely covers the bus to town, shopping, a bottle of Pignot Grigot in Plato's and the bus home.
Why not just butcher the bag if possible to suit your needs,make openings if possible where you require them,i to have an air Liquide supplied bag,blue in colour and equally awkward to use correctly but i ended up purchasing a 2nd hand portable concentrater as it is far easier to transport and will cover my 2 lpm habit quite well with the additional larger battery .....best wishes Ski's and Scruffs x
That is exactly what I have done. I've even made my own right angle connector so that I can connect the cannula without putting a kink in the connecting tube (which reduces the airflow. Because I am a 3 lpm consumer a 2L bottle only lasts two hours so I look for every opportunity to switch the gas off, which means that easy access to the on/off valve is important. (Love this site. It's a bit like Twitter for hypochondriacs!)
Like your wife john I have an nvq in shopping and I found portable cylinders useless to enable me stay out longer than a couple of hours hence for the last 2 years Ive been on a liquid oxygen high flow portable flask which can last me 4 hours on 3 setting when active or longer if I switch it down when resting.
I think the bags were designed for the bigger cylinder, my first bag had sponge filler in the bottom so everything lined up....
Hospital bag
Had a laugh at my Oxygen Clinic today.
Night time oxygen 
Anyone else had this - blocked nose on oxygen 24-7
