Hose Melted!!

elliejose · Post by **elliejose** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:11 pm

On three separate nights my Aussie hose (which I dearly loved) would not heat. So I left it off for a few nights. Then one night I plugged it in to warm before going to bed and when I started machine I noticed that the air was hot - not warm. Then suddenly the air stopped and the noise changed. I reached behind me for my hose and it was just like it melted in my hands - in two places. I am so upset. Has anyone else had this or a similar problem? I have had a terrible cold and bad allergies and been out of town -- so I had used it a total of 12 days when this happened. I really miss it and am very unhappy about it.

SleepySandy · Post by **SleepySandy** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:14 pm

I'm sorry for the loss of your hose

Did you contact the Aussie hose people?

Sleepy Dog Lover · Post by **Sleepy Dog Lover** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:20 pm

Sounds like a defective hose. I agree, contact the Aussie people.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:37 pm

wonder if it was a bad power supply that sent too much current to the hose, I would contact Don Fischer at sales@Sleepzone.com.au, I'm sure he will take care of you.

Should be a serial number on the tag sewn into the seam of the cover, just give him the serial number and tell him what happened.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:50 pm

Probably a failed power supply or incorrect voltage powersupply. The hose is basically a resistor, a certain voltage will heat up the wire a certain amount. If the voltage is too high the wire and hose will overheat, possiably catch fire, in the least the fumes would kill. You got lucky, in the least. Jim

A product like that should have overvoltage and over amperage protection on it. A cheaper "Radioshack" would have little protection. I don't know if they are certified UL, and if UL would monitor that.

elliejose · Post by **elliejose** » Wed May 02, 2007 4:58 am

I use the power supply that came with the hose. Haven't got another one. But there had to have been a short, aye?

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Wed May 02, 2007 5:02 am

I tried to tell Don that his power supply failed (possibly during an electrical storm ) and the wire heater which is built on the outside of the hose is now on the inside of the hose in a lot of places and he wouldn't believe me. I couldn't figure out how to light a good picture. The wire is insulated by a varnish coating and looking down the inside of the hose looks like a golden tunnel. It still runs on a R.S. power supply and doesn't leak so I still use it. I know that someday the areas where the wire moves from inside to outside are going to start failing and leaking and then it will be time for another.

TerryB

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Wed May 02, 2007 6:14 am

[quote="elliejose"]On three separate nights my Aussie hose (which I dearly loved) would not heat. So I left it off for a few nights. Then one night I plugged it in to warm before going to bed and when I started machine I noticed that the air was hot - not warm. Then suddenly the air stopped and the noise changed. I reached behind me for my hose and it was just like it melted in my hands - in two places. I am so upset. Has anyone else had this or a similar problem? I have had a terrible cold and bad allergies and been out of town -- so I had used it a total of 12 days when this happened. I really miss it and am very unhappy about it.

Malibu · Post by **Malibu** » Wed May 02, 2007 8:38 am

I tried to tell Don that his power supply failed (possibly during an electrical storm ) and the wire heater which is built on the outside of the hose is now on the inside of the hose in a lot of places and he wouldn't believe me. I couldn't figure out how to light a good picture. The wire is insulated by a varnish coating and looking down the inside of the hose looks like a golden tunnel. It still runs on a R.S. power supply and doesn't leak so I still use it. I know that someday the areas where the wire moves from inside to outside are going to start failing and leaking and then it will be time for another.

TerryB

Just out of curiosity do you see the wires "hanging" on the inside? I looked down the tube and it does look golden in color and I see the wires running in a spiral around the tube. I guess the only way to really tell how the wires are run is to disassemble the cloth covering but that would be a a job to get things back to where they were originally.

I believe the hose has been inspected by the Australian version of UL we have here in the US however they said to gain UL approval would require big dollars and allot of time.

I would assume if things went south with the wires and hose that you would get up wondering what that smell was...hopefully

The power supply is only rated at 1 amp... 12 volts and 12 ohms of resistance from the wire end up being 12 watts of heat. Not much but enough to raise the temperature a few degrees. Short the wire out to close to the power supply would put a heavy load on it hopefully burning out the fuse or resistor that protects the power supply...assuming there is one in there and once again, we would have to disassemble it to see what is inside.

Later,

Marc

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Wed May 02, 2007 1:50 pm

Malibu,
I can see the wires within the tube in some quarters and I can see the tube wall intact in other areas. As I said, I suspect a catastrophic failure of the power supply, perhaps a short of the winding which jacked up the voltage just long enough to cause the wire to melt through the hose before the power supply failed completely. I was at work at the time. I had only had the hose less than two weeks. I still mostly leave it plugged in. I do have a surge protector on it now though.

If you see the wire in some places and not others, you may have the same problem. I don't see how or why they would build the hose with the heater wire wound on the inside of a 6 ft hose. Think of all the extra surfaces to get "grungy".

TerryB

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:25 am

"BUMP", How did this problem get resolved? Did you find out the cause for sure? Jim

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Sat May 05, 2007 10:36 am

Goofproof wrote:"BUMP", How did this problem get resolved? Did you find out the cause for sure? Jim

Although I don't have one of these heated hoses, I too wonder what happended.

Also, at the risk of initiating another flame war (pun intended), I find it interesting that there is no one around to call the FDA regarding this CPAP accessory ... I would think that inhaling flames through one of these hoses would be more concerning than puffing on essential oils

WHAT-HAPPENED-TO-PUR-SLEEP

I'm sure I will regret this post but oh well

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Sat May 05, 2007 10:52 am

It wouldn't be too hard to make the power supply safe, I thought you had to provide your own to use with the product, I wasn't aware that one came with it.

All that would need to be added would be a fuse and a crowbar circuit to sense overvoltage and blow the fuse. less than $5 at best. Fumes from hot plastic, and we say Lung Cancer. Jim

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Sat May 05, 2007 11:12 am

Since I have one of these, I, too, have been wanting to know how it turned out. Don't know much about electrical stuff, so have 2 questions:

1. Is the big square heavy plug thing supposed to get hot when in use?
2. Is it okay to plug this big thing into a power strip or should it plug directly into the wall. (The lamp, cpap, and hose are currently plugged into the power strip. Mistake?)

I checked and the big heavy power supply thing has a "UL" approval on it, but there's nothing like that on the actual heated hose.

Thanks!

Pam

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:22 pm

Jim, when I purchased my first heated hose, it didn't come with a power adaptor. The hose came with info on purchasing a power adaptor and what adaptor plug (I think it was an M) to get.

The second heated hose I bought, it came with the proper power adaptor. I assume that's the reason for the jump in price.

Weary One, my power adaptor (both of them) gets warm when plugged in. I have mine plugged into a power strip. But I sometime plug it in the the wall socket (when traveling).

Hose Melted!!

Hose Melted!!

Re: Hose Melted!!