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System one reservoir capacity

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 8:43 am
by dlockesf
Hi,

Does the System One shut off automatically when the reservoir runs dry? Mine shuts off around 6am once in a while. I finally thought to check the reservoir and it was almost empty after about six hours use. There was a thin layer of water on the bottom and the heating plate was hot. I'm in a fairly dry climate (Walnut Creek, CA) near sea level. Humidity setting was 3.

The follow-up question is whether this happens to others. Either my humidifier is malfunctioning and overheating or there isn't enough reservoir capacity to get through the night under a reasonably normal set of conditions.

I'm concerned because I'm going to spend a week on the high desert next month.

Re: System one reservoir capacity

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 9:15 am
by Pugsy
No.... the machine will not turn off the heat to the humidifier if the water gets used up.
The machine has no way to know if there is water in the camber or not.
It will continue to heat and get hot at stink...been there and done that.

And yes, sometimes the water is all used up before 8 hours is up depending on setting and ambient humidity despite the chamber being filled to maximum and sometimes a little more.

Are you using the heated hose and that setting of 3 or no heated hose? The heated hose allows for a little more control of the water consumption.

Normally you should be able to get more than 8 hours though...even at maximum humidity setting and even in the desert.
I have used my Respironics machine in Las Vegas (really dry there) and I can get more than 7 or 8 hours of humidity and I use the maximum humidity setting and will have a little water left over.

Re: System one reservoir capacity

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 4:08 pm
by sc0ttt
dlockesf wrote:Hi,

Does the System One shut off automatically when the reservoir runs dry? Mine shuts off around 6am once in a while. I finally thought to check the reservoir and it was almost empty after about six hours use. There was a thin layer of water on the bottom and the heating plate was hot. I'm in a fairly dry climate (Walnut Creek, CA) near sea level. Humidity setting was 3.

The follow-up question is whether this happens to others. Either my humidifier is malfunctioning and overheating or there isn't enough reservoir capacity to get through the night under a reasonably normal set of conditions.

I'm concerned because I'm going to spend a week on the high desert next month.
NEIGHBOR!

7 hours almost always empties the tank on my System One at level 3; winter or summer. If I sleep longer than that I get an unpleasant hot plastic smell. I go through a gallon of distilled water about every 3 weeks.

Re: System one reservoir capacity

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 4:35 pm
by Janknitz
My System one was always a very frugal water user--I don't live in a dry climate, but not that humid either. Are you mouth breathing by any chance as that would use up a lot of water?

There's a KNOWN flaw and the humidifiers eventually burn out on these machines--mine gave up the ghost about 3 years in. It still worked in Passover mode.

Re: System one reservoir capacity

Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 10:12 am
by dlockesf
Thanks everyone. My takeaway is that running out of water isn't the reason that the CPAP is shutting off amd that my running ourt of water in 5-6 hours is a sign of a problem with the humidifier.