Climateline hose .. how can you tell?

[Arizona-Willie]

I've had my Climateline hose for 2 years and I was wondering .... how can you tell if it is working?

[RandyJ]

It should feel slightly warm if you put your hand around it. The air coming into your mask should be warm rather than cool, and you should not be experiencing rainout.

Remember to replace it regularly (Resmed recommends every 6 months but many people who are not afraid of bacteria will go longer than that).

[Arizona-Willie]

I figured since I have used nothing but distilled water in it, bacteria shouldn't be a problem.

I wonder how long it takes the hose to warm the air. Seems it is cool when I first turn it on but I go to sleep very very fast so I don't know how long it takes to warm up.

I was hoping somone might have ohm meter measurements across the terminals on the hose. That should tell us if the element is still intact.

I just washed the hose out for about the 2nd time since I got it and it is hung up to dry now.

Think I will try to take some readings when it dries --- just out of curiousity.

Wish I had thought to do that when it was brand new.

Hmm, guess I could get a new one from my DME but I hate to order something that doesn't really need to be replaced.

[Uncle_Bob]

I can tell the difference if i don't do a pre heat cycle. The air is much cooler.

[chunkyfrog]

Just a thought: but wouldn't the machine fail to recognise it as a climateline if the heat element were broken?

[Arizona-Willie]

Well i took some readings but since I don't know what they SHOULD be I don't know if it helps or not.

Counting the pins left to right as you look down the tube's connection end ...

Pin 1 to Pin 2 = 0 resistance
Pin 2 to Pin 3 = high resistance 10 K ohms
Pin 1 to Pin 3 = high resistance 10 K ohms

I'm puzzled why pin 1 to pin 2 shows 0 or a short, but measured every other way it shows good resistance.

Ha, it's been so long since I used that meter I forgot how to zero it

I've just edited this post because I had talked about how the meter wouldn't zero.

It will ... just a dumb operator.

[bwexler]

I think it would be prudent to have a spare on hand in case something happens to the original.
I don't know how your insurance and DME work with you.
Mine provides a new hose every six months or so.
I too am still using the original climate line hose after a year and a half.

[Arizona-Willie]

Well yesterday I cleaned the hose out, ran a cpap wipe through it and ran hot water back and forth and hung it out to dry.
Cleaned the humidifier and that got rid of a musty smell.

This morning, as i woke up, I reached up to check the hose to see if it was warm.
Nope, felt cool.
But then I have it set for 75 degrees and the thermostat for the house is at 72 so it might not need heat.

But then --- but then --- I felt air blowing on my hand!!

I thought that was strange because the air discharge from the Quattro FX was not blowing down.

So I probed around a bit trying to find the source and it seemed that it was coming from the hose right where it goes into the grey connector that slips onto the mask fitting.

So I got up and let the cats out and took a look.
At first I blamed one of the cats. He likes to snuggle under my arm early in the morning and sometimes he goes up around my head and nudges the hose. He has a habit of giving things love bites and I suspected he had bitten the hose.
But when I saw the hole I realized he didn't do it. It looks like it just plain wore out.
The hole is very near my face and he doesn't mess with the hose there.
The hole opens and closes as the hose flexes.


I have wrapped it up with duct tape until I can call my DME Monday morning.
It doesn't seem to be too significant because the 95% leak rate in Sleepyhead was 6.0.
But I'm gonna replace the hose as soon as possible.
At least I will also be able to get some resistance readings on a brand new hose so people will be able to check their hose's heating element.

I guess I can't complain --- it lasted two years.

[DrBucky]

Well i took some readings but since I don't know what they SHOULD be I don't know if it helps or not.

Counting the pins left to right as you look down the tube's connection end ...

Pin 1 to Pin 2 = 0 resistance
Pin 2 to Pin 3 = high resistance 10 K ohms
Pin 1 to Pin 3 = high resistance 10 K ohms

I'm puzzled why pin 1 to pin 2 shows 0 or a short, but measured every other way it shows good resistance.

Ha, it's been so long since I used that meter I forgot how to zero it

I've just edited this post because I had talked about how the meter wouldn't zero.

It will ... just a dumb operator.

Pin 3 seems to be the temperature sensor. Many such sensors have a resistance around 10 K ohms, for example remote sensors for HVAC equipment are in this range (I just installed one that ranges from 6k-30k ohms based on heat).

there is about 10 ohms of resistance between pins 1 and 2 (maybe your meter isn't accurate?). I don't know what sort of voltage the climate line uses but assuming it uses 12v DC (like the S9 power supply provides). So then we have the tubing drawing 1.2 amps for a total of 14.4 watts of heat. That numbers seems believable to me (the S9 power supply is rated at a total of 90w).

So either pin 1 or 2 is the heat and the other is the common (for both the temperature sensor and the heat).