I hate to rain on your parade, but I really like my portable O2 bottle. I
used to have a Saratoga with built in oxygen, and it was a pain in the neck
to use and re-fill. The nice thing about portable is that if I am going
somewhere with a heavy load and know I will not need oxygen, I just put the
bottle in the car and the useful load goes up 50 pounds. Refills at the
welding shop are a snap.

"Kyler Laird" wrote in message
...
(JDupre5762) writes:

Any ideas on installing something like this in an Aztec?

I would start with research in an Aztec Parts book and see if something
similar
was an option. I serviced oxygen on an Aztec recently. I remember the
servicing port being on the right side aft of the rear window and before
the
horizontal stab.

Whoa! That's interesting. That's opposite the side of the tank.

The gauge was in the overhead above the rear baggage area.

Yup. It's not great when filling nor in flight, but it works o.k.

I
would think most of the parts would be available from salvage yards or
readily
manufactured like the lines. If you are going to do this it would be
simpler
from an approval standpoint to duplicate the Piper installation for
everything
including mounting the oxygen tank.

Indeed! I had no idea anything like that existed for the Aztec. I just
have the plain (1966) factory installation. Perhaps it came on the
later models.

The hardest part will probably be approval. I would talk to the IA who
will
approve the installation and get his take on it first. Depending on the
cooperativeness of the local FSDO it could be really simple or a long
drawn out
affair. Using all Piper parts and manuals will be easier since that
installation is already approved on Aztecs.

Agreed. I'm going to start asking around.

There may be an STC as well for
such an installation but that might mean purchasing a new bottle etc.

This is the only oxygen-related STC I see.
Capitol Aviation, Inc., Capitol Airport, Springfield, IL62705

SA3-94:
PA-23 Series
Narco 1016 antenna and/or remote compass transmitter,equipment
shelf, oxygen bottle mounting.

If the problem is really getting connected to your bottle maybe
purchasing the
appropriate fitting would be a good compromise.

That's what I had planned, but it's still a pain to get to the fitting
with the compartment full (as it usually is when I need a fill). I also
don't like the stress on the parts there. I've had problems with the
gauge and the shutoff valve.

If I had something that I could top off with just a few simple steps while
it's in the hangar, my whole attitude about keeping it topped would
change.

Thanks for the info!

--kyler