Commercial vs. Residential
If you want a commercial hyperbaric chamber. GET A COMMERCIAL CHAMBER. THER IS NO IF THIS.. IF THAT.. OR COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PRICE.. Yes they are more expensive. So is a top of the line Mercedes with all the bells and whistles for safety you will ever need. Heck, I have a commercial elliptical machine in my home and a commercial treadmill. I prefer commercial grade and so does everyone. If you can afford a commercial chamber,then by all means buy one. Even infuse all the steel valves on it and really pimp it out if you can.
How to choose a commercial vs a residential chamber:
There seems to be a big rumor out there being spread by a couple companies about how consumers would be better off with commercial grade chambers as they provide greater therapeutic benefits all around. I have interviewed probably 40 different hyperbaric clinics over the years as well as personally visiting 15 of them as part of the research done for this website. As usual these rumors and claims we hear floating about are stated way out of context and are overly vague. The only truth I have found is that there can be a difference in treatment outcomes when it comes to very high ATA (atmospheric pressurization of oxygen) vs. the legal limits defined for lower ATA with residential users/sales. But even the increased benefits with the difference in ATA levels between commercial and residential chambers will depend on what condition the person has and their health goals. It will even depend on what country they live in and what their prescription says!
For example, when we say commercial chamber, many times the facilities that use these are also using Pure Oxygen as part of the therapy. If that is the case this is referred to as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. To add to the confusion they could also be using commercial grade chambers buy be using oxygen concentrators. If they are using concentrators (most clinics are) then this is referred to as Mild Hyperbaric Therapy. Notice that the latter name does not contain the word oxygen in it. To contain that word implies the use of 100% pure oxygen being delivered inside the chamber. Concentrators only concentrate the oxygen that exists in a room to somewhere around 95%. Commercial chambers can also be used just like residential chambers pressurizing the room oxygen without use of oxygen tanks, or concentrators.
Why am I educating you on all this technical jargon? It’s important to understand because there are companies out there who will try to sell you on buying a commercial grade chamber implying that this automatically means greater benefits for you. But based on what I just said above there are many other variables that effect therapeutic outcomes.
Do you really need a commercial grade chamber? In general commercial grade chambers are designed for use in clinics or other medical type facilities. That means that they will be used many times 18 hours a day or sometimes longer. You better believe that these things will have to be overbuilt compared to residential grade chambers. Do you really need quadruple ply window seals with 4 layers of stitching with Kevlar threading if you will be using it at home by yourself or with a family member? Probably not. The only exception is if you plan to be sleeping in the chamber all night, every night for years to come. I do have folks who do this to manage a very serious disease or condition and a commercial grade chamber is ideal for this level of usage.
Commercial grade chambers have the best quality belts, seams, valve components etc etc. This statement is true! And they better have that because these chambers are designed to handle twice or more the legal ATA limit in this country (US). And that’s the key…if you are a residential user and only allowed by prescription and FDA regulation to use your chamber between 1.3-1.5 ATA then why do you need a chamber that is designed to go up to 3 ATA?! I asked this question to a sales person trying to impress me with the high ATA specs and he couldn’t respond. It reminds me of those performance car fanatics who get a car that is street legal, but can go up to 250mph. What’s the point!? Hey I guess it’s an option there if one wants to take the chance and lose their license or kill someone along the way.
If you, your family, or fiends plan to use it a whole lot and you are able to make the investment knowing you will be using it for decades to come, then investing in a commercial chamber would probably be a good idea. For everyone else just go residential.
UPDATE:
I have seen a trend between two competing manufacturers in the last couple years with incorporating commercial grade designs and components into their residential lines. Part of the reason for this is because in the last 5 years the popularity of hyperbaric chambers has skyrocketed and this has lowered production costs for both residential and commercial products. Now I have only found a couple models with two different manufacturers thus far that have made these upgrades. The truth has been that no matter the manufacturer and brand, there have always been components and aspects to residential chambers that are the usual weak points in terms of durability and versatility of usage. I give my thumbs up to these proactive companies that are integrating better quality design that are more commonly used with commercial grade chambers and making this more accessible to the residential user.
After all unless someone is rolling in the money, very few residential users need a full blown commercial chamber with all the bells and whistles. But there are definitely aspects to those chambers that would be excellent to upgrade into residential versions and without costing the consumer and arm and leg to buy it.
Residential versus commercial chambers part 2
This is somewhat of a misnomer.
All chambers reviewed can be used in both environments. What I mean by commercial is who the manufacturer/seller is targeting. The most expensive chamber dealers seem to be targeting medical doctors with hyperbaric training.
Residential chambers likewise are targeting home users.
So when looking for a chamber I recommend you purchase from a company that targets your use. If you are going to use it in your home buy a chamber targeted for your home. It has been designed for use in your environment. I still recommend everyone either shield their compressor or infuse it. This is a growing concern especially among parents with autistic children and Lyme as their voltage is usually the most off.
Commercial chambers on the other hand focus more on working in an industrial environment. More focused on a trained medical provider to operate versus an individual in their home. Especially when going over 1.3 ATA and using 100% oxygen.
All chambers residential and commercial give you the same clinical benefit but just the qualities can be different.
Some come with 2 year warranties others a 1 year warranty. The length of their warranty in my opinion tells me the reliability of their chamber. If a company came out with a longer warranty that would say a lot.
When buying look for the features you really want and need to avoid paying more than you need to. Not everyone needs dual 2000 dollar compressors with their chamber in their home.
