Invacare Solo Portable Oxygen Concentrator Review
$2,795.00
Invacare Solo Portable Oxygen Concentrator Review
The Invacare Solo is DISCONTINUED, please consider the Invacare Platinum Mobile
There are no arguments that the quest to find the ideal portable oxygen concentrator is overwhelming and challenging. It’s sad to sometimes hear some patients on oxygen therapy complain about their devices not working the way they want or causing more discomfort than comfort. To avoid this, prospective users should benefit from reviews like this on what they would like to get before purchasing.
One of Invacare’s proven line, the Invacare Solo2 portable oxygen concentrator is one of the reputable oxygen concentrators in the market that offers continuous flow oxygen delivery with pulse dose settings. With such features, it can serve oxygen patients with almost any prescription. Other notable perks of this unit are the applauded Invacare Sensi pulse technology, near-quiet sound range, lightweight, and fairly long battery life.
In addition to examining the features, benefits, and accessories, this review would help you decide if the Invacare Solo2 portable oxygen concentrator would make a good companion during your therapy. Let’s get into the details.
Features of the Invacare Solo Portable Oxygen Concentrator
Special features:
- Flow settings: Invacare showed absolute brilliance with the flow rate of the Solo2 portable oxygen concentrator. It was designed with both continuous flow and pulse flow settings, which makes oxygen delivery during intense activity in the day and whilst resting at night. This would be perfect for you if your prescription recommends continuous flow at night and pulse flow during the day. With the push of a button, flow modes can easily be changed. The unit has continuous flow mode settings from 0.5 LPM to 3 LPM with 0.5 increments, and pulse settings from 1 to 5.
- Sensi pulse technology: This feature makes it possible for the device to deliver the same amount of oxygen per minute regardless of the user’s current breathing rate, whilst keeping a constant minute volume. If the breath rate slows, the device is instructed to pulse more oxygen at once in order to increase the body’s saturation levels. If the breathing rate goes up, the opposite occurs.
Size, Weight, and Design
The Invacare Solo portable machine might have the above advantages over its competitors but was designed to be slightly heavier. It is a clinically robust system that is 16.5 inches tall, 11 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. It weighs about 17 pounds without a battery and 19.9 pounds with a battery. In my opinion, the compensation for this was the addition of a sturdy wheeled cart to make moving from one spot to another less tedious.
Battery Life
This is always an important factor to consider before purchasing an oxygen concentrator. The Invacare Solo2 comes with a battery that lasts for about 2.5 hours on a continuous flow setting of 2 LPM and about 1.5 hours on a max setting of 3 LPM.
In situations where the portable concentrator has to be used for an extended period of time, the battery can be recharged via an AC power supply or DC power supply. No separate battery charger is needed.
The AC power supply can fit into any 110v wall outlet and power both your concentrator and battery while charging. Either pulse flow or continuous flow settings can also be used while recharging. The DC power supply on the other hand could be plugged into your car’s 12V outlet or cigarette lighter. The SOLO2 will provide you with oxygen and replenish the battery on every pulse flow setting whilst plugged in. However, the SOLO2 can only be used with a setting of 2 LPM or lower if you need continuous flow. The DC power supply won’t let you recharge your battery, but it will allow you to run the device off the battery in your car to prolong the life of your battery.
Control panel
The Invacare Solo2 portable oxygen concentrator is designed with an easy-to-read control panel with very few techy details to memorize for patient convenience. It has a small screen, an on/off button, and other buttons to adjust the flow settings as required.
Noise Level
This oxygen concentrator has been referred to as one to be extremely quiet for its size and capacity, producing just 39 decibels at a continuous flow setting of 2 LPM at even less on 1 LPM. That is quite impressive. For those who have had rough nights on louder oxygen concentrators, the Invacare Solo2 is for you.
Oxygen Purity
The device can produce oxygen concentration levels of 87 to 95.6% in nearly any setting.
What Accessories come with the Invacare Solo Portable Oxygen Concentrator?
Other useful components that have not been mentioned above include the following:
- Three filters: Gross particle, Compressor inlet, and HEPA outlet
- Molecular sieve
- Flowmeter
Accessories that come with the package include the following:
- Battery
- DC adapter
- AC power supply
- Cart
- Humidifier kit with bottle
- Air tubing
- Accessory bag
- User manual
Is the Invacare Solo FAA Approved?
Yes, it is. Giving patients the freedom to travel as much as they would wish.
Is this device compatible with a CPAP/BiPAP machine?
Yes, it can be used with the Invacare Solo portable oxygen concentrator. So, patients with sleep disorders can also benefit from using their CPAP machines with ambulatory systems like this one.
Warranty
The device has a three-year limited manufacturer’s warranty and a one-year limited warranty on all accessories.
Conclusion
To summarize, the Invacare SOLO2 portable oxygen concentrator is a reliable and one-of-a-kind oxygen unit loaded with a ton of features that will make using oxygen an excellent experience overall. Invacare SOLO2 is a device you should look into if you or a loved one has just been diagnosed with COPD or any other lung condition and is seeking an oxygen concentrator that will encourage better health and an active lifestyle. Make sure you have a prescription from your respiratory specialists before obtaining a portable oxygen concentrator and be sure to confirm that it provides the right amount of oxygen and settings for you. This is my recommendation.
Videos: Invacare Solo Portable Oxygen Concentrator Review
Aaron –
This is surprisingly one of the quietest portable oxygen concentrators that I’ve heard. When one of my patients received it, I had never seen one before in person and by the looks of it, the size and everything, I wasn’t expecting it to be as quiet as it is.
I’ve heard other models small than that and they were louder. This is great for people who have to use oxygen while they sleep, since it’s so quiet and easy to get used to. It’s weight and the fact that it needs to be wheeled around on a cart might be a problem for some people and it isn’t for those who want to go exercising with their oxygen concentrator, and those who need less than 3 LPM pulse dose or those who do not need continuous flow.
Jerry R. –
Doesn’t bother anybody, even if someone is sleeping in the same room with me. No loud drone or ear piercing beeps. Runs great.
Aaron T. –
I love a concentrator that I don’t need so many accessories for. I like to travel light and this thing allows me. I’m happy with my concentrator..
Adela K. –
The battery life on this portable will last a good while on continuous flow but isn’t the best in efficiency. It’s a good portable concentrator in all other ways.
Ada R. –
This has a good range of continuous and pulse dose flow for being a small portable concentrator. I recommended this to a few of my patients who needed low continuous flow. A pretty good unit all around.
Shane Y. –
The sensi-pulse feature is great. It’s nice to have a machine make sure I get enough oxygen with each individual breathe. Good and dependable.
Amelia J. –
The cart is really smooth to maneuver around. I took my Solo with me on a trip to New York City and was afraid it would get in the way. I was able to move it around very comfortably.
Tony C. –
I got the supplemental battery along with what came with my Solo. This was a great decision I’m seeing, because one battery isn’t totally great by itself. The rest of the concentrator makes up for that though.
Patty H. –
I like that I don’t need to charge the battery separately. All I need is my car charger most of the time, since I usually just travel around town by car. Meets my oxygen needs and that’s what I wanted over everything else.
Rick K. –
The concentration is always a really good, high percent. That’s what I like most about this. That and it’s very dependable.
Tammy D. –
The sensi-pulse keeps me saturated even when I’m walking around a lot, or when I’m sleeping and my breath changes. It’s a really nice concentrator.
bruce mcalister –
I have had this unit for over a year. works fine on ac power but not very well on dc. my first unit was replaced because it did not work reliable on dc power. The second unit is not any better. Hard to take a trip in the car if you can,t trust the unit to work therefore I rent a backup unit when traveling.