UMFF elbow broken - can it be super-glued?

This morning, I took off my UMFF and broke the elbow swivel gasket rest.
Bummer.
I looked on cpap.com for the replacement piece, but could only find the entire elbow set, including several other pieces I don't really need:

I just need this piece:

I can't spend $60 on a swivel elbow if I only need that. It just wrankles. Surely that little piece can't cost them more than 20 cents to make. Yet, if they charged me five bucks, I might consider it because that's what we've come to expect. But buying the whole darned elbow set just because I need the "radial asphyxia gasket rest" (or whatever they call it) just frosts my Scots heritage. Not only is it not frugal, it's wasteful to make people buy a complete set of parts when all you need is the one part that's obviously the one that always breaks anyway. It smacks of planned obsolescence coupled with mandated upsell. Argh.

Alternatively, I could try super-gluing the four radial struts that broke. Two are still intact. Of course last year some time, we bought super-glue for some odd thing, but when you need it, you end up having to buy a whole new tube because you put the other tube away for safe keeping in a place that's so safe, you'll never find it until you don't need it again.

Any problem with super-gluing it? Will it work, or am I just prolonging the inevitable? Any problem with volatile organic compounds and out-gassing after glue has set? I'd ask if there is a special glue I should buy, but something tells me someone is going to say, "Yeah, but it costs $60."

Or can I buy this one little piece for a more digestible price from cpap.com?

I'm glad I have a fall-back mask.

I have never tried the aroma therapies yet but others seem to think they work. Do you really want your aroma therapy to be "super glue"? I'm not sure the fumes would be good for you...don't know how long they would last or if they would be harmful. Just does't seem like a good idea to have them being forced into your lungs.

In my never ending research on all things sleep apnea, over the last few weeks, I think I actually saw a web site that sold the individual little tiny parts that the masks are comprised of...I'll see if I can find it and if I do, I will post the link here.

This may have been the website I was talking about...can't really tell if what you need is there but they seem to have some of the smaller parts of our masks.


http://www.montagemed.com/CPAP_products ... mit=submit

mar

Hi, don't know if this applies to yours or not, but I've kept it for a while just in case (for mine) - "primary problem with this mask is the plastic ears that clip the elbow at the end of the hose to the mask itself. These ears are weak and break off after about 6 months of use. My husband has tried several patches to keep them from breaking and this time he has found a solution. You need three small tie wraps. Place one loosely around the elbow itself, then run the other two through the slots where the broken plastic tabs were then under the one looped around the elbow. Gently tighten all three ties until you have a solid fit between the elbow and mask. We are into the second month with the path and it is still holding. (Note: if you need to replace the valve in the elbow, you will need to clip the ties and install some more)

Depends on what type of plastic it's made of. I'd be inclined to use Krazy Glue (green and red colored container) and then let it have enough time to fully cure and air out.

Den

Julie wrote:These ears are weak and break off after about 6 months of use. My husband has tried several patches to keep them from breaking and this time he has found a solution. You need three small tie wraps. Place one loosely around the elbow itself, then run the other two through the slots where the broken plastic tabs were then under the one looped around the elbow. Gently tighten all three ties until you have a solid fit between the elbow and mask. We are into the second month with the path and it is still holding. (Note: if you need to replace the valve in the elbow, you will need to clip the ties and install some more)

Julie, I'd love to see a photo of this. Sorry, but I'm completely lost with the verbal description.

I called cpap.com to find out if they could offer just the smaller piece, and the response was that the piece is only sold as part of the larger elbow unit. Again - argh.

Edit: I just found out here that the part is called the "valve frame". There is no part number for it, and hence, they don't sell it separately.

I'm so sorry, but what I quoted was from someone else's response to a similar problem months ago, and I have no idea now who's it was. Basically the idea was to use twist ties...

Julie wrote:I'm so sorry, but what I quoted was from someone else's response to a similar problem months ago, and I have no idea now who's it was. Basically the idea was to use twist ties...

Hi Julie,
No worries, I suspect that was for a different (probably nasal) mask, to bring the nasal prongs closer together, yes?
Thanks anyway.

Wulfman wrote:Depends on what type of plastic it's made of. I'd be inclined to use Krazy Glue (green and red colored container) and then let it have enough time to fully cure and air out.

I got the glue. I'm going to try gluing tonight. I figure if they used this stuff to patch people temporarily in vietnam, well it's got to be better than agent orange right?

Wish me luck!

No, it wasn't for nasal prongs (which I don't use in any case), but my UM FF.

Hey DD, I just happen to have an extra part like you need....sometimes it pays to be a junk collector.

PM me your information and I will gladly send it to you.

James

robertmarilyn wrote:...Do you really want your aroma therapy to be "super glue"? ...

I tried the superglue. Any place where the glue touched the piece turned matte white. The glue itself dries matte white. Also the outgassing caused a white high-friction film on parts that are closest to the glue. The surface that locks into the mask with the plastic washer has also turned somewhat white. However, since I'll wrap that part in pipe tape before I put it back in the mask, I'm not too worried about friction. Some of the glue has travelled down the radial arms and may have changed the contour of the arms so they are no longer entirely flat facing the valve membrane, so I'm not sure if the membrane would be able to shut all the way.

It really stinks like glue! I've put the part out in the sun to try and let it outgas more. If it doesn't outgas well enough for my liking, I'm probably going to ditch the experiment. Heck, it didn't cost me anything since I actually did find the glue we'd bought a year ago. It was worth a shot.

SeaPappy wrote:...PM me your information and I will gladly send it to you. ...

I've pm'ed. Thanks.

DreamDiver wrote:

robertmarilyn wrote:...Do you really want your aroma therapy to be "super glue"? ...

I tried the superglue.....It really stinks like glue! I've put the part out in the sun to try and let it outgas more. If it doesn't outgas well enough for my liking, I'm probably going to ditch the experiment. Heck, it didn't cost me anything since I actually did find the glue we'd bought a year ago. It was worth a shot.

Aw, sorry it didn't work. But at least you tried it out for the rest of us and now we know. And it was worth a shot...some of the folks here have come up with some wonderful solutions to problems that wouldn't be solved by unless we thought outside of the box.

It's on it's way.....Hope it helps.

James