Using the PR S1 Humidifier in "Classic Mode"

[Janknitz]

Our heater was on the fritz and it's been really cold here this week (20-30 degrees and yes, I realize we Californians are wimps!) so I just could not stand the arctic blast from my outflow vent one more minute when the house was cold to begin with.

I decided to try running my humidifier in classic mode and it does make a difference. It's not exactly warm air from the outflow vent, but it's not freezing either. It is more comfortable on these cold nights. I've been running it at my usual setting of 2 and find I'm slightly more congested. I might try turning it down a notch tonight.

I wasn't even sure the heating plate on my humidifier worked, so that's interesting.

[Hawthorne]

Thanks, janknitz.

I am not in sunny Cailfornia but rather in Ontario Canada. We have not had any snow here yet (some of the rest of Canada is not so lucky!) but the nights are cold, sometimes below 32 F and promising to get a lot colder.

I am thinking about the classic mode, since this will be the first winter for the System One. I have used humidity on my previous 2 machines. They would be in the classic mode so I will see how it goes here. I'll maybe try it for a few nights.

[rosacer]

Could you please tell me what is the classic mode? I noticed my System One is sending air not as cool as it was with the S8 and yes I like cool air I better like cool air I'm in Montreal and the best is yet to come

I notice the water in the tank is disappearing very fast and the bottom of the tank is warm when I take it out to refill it. I needed to boost the the humidity until 4 because I was waking up choking with a very dry air ways.

How do you change the humidifier setting other than the numbers?

Thanks very much

Rosie

[diboja]

Could you please tell me what is the classic mode? Rosie

I have never heard of that either....settings are 0 to 5!

[Hawthorne]

I haven't tried it yet but the instructions on how to set the humidfier in classic mode are outlined in the "Provider Guide". On page 3 down at the bottom of that page see ""SYSTEM ONE humidification" and "Humidifier". It appears you just go into the "Setup menu" and select "off" for "SYSTEM ONE Humidification". There doesn't seem to be anything about this in the "humidifier Users Guide.

janknitz can tell us if this is correct.

[Janknitz]

Here are the directions and a discussion:

viewtopic/t57682/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51 ... ic#p472275

The switch to classic mode didn't work exactly as described, I had to fiddle a bit, and I'm not sure how I got the settings, but eventually I did it. When you see the "C" before humidifier numbers you've got it.

[rosacer]

Thank you VERY MUCH Janknitz for the link. I will try that.

I didn't remember anything about the humidifier setting, you can't imagine how surprised I was to see that ME! I commented right after Kevincoop explains how the humidifier works. I really don't know what to do to improve my memory it's terrible And needles to say that I have no idea where could I have put the information I say I was going to keep aside

Hawthorne, I didn't remember I have a providers guide somewhere, what a shame I think that now I have an idea where it could be.

Something for the memory? other than Omega-3, I have been on XPAP for almost a year, so the problem is not a low SPO2 is it the right name? the oxygen % I mean.

[Hawthorne]

rosacer - If you need a Providers' Guide, Pm me your email address and I can send you one as an email attachment.

[jonquiljo]

Well, I think I live in the same approximate area as Janknitz - and therefore have the same climate (except my heat isn't broken - luckily!). In my micro-climate of SF, it can get pretty dry around here - and the PR System One is totally baffling. I finally notched mine up to 3 last night as I've been waking up with dried out sinuses. The problem is that I used a heated hose and woke up in the middle of the night to what felt like breathing hot air. Of coures I shut off the humidity and heated hose and went back to bed, but now feel drier than ever.

Yes, in California we are wimps about our environment. Janknitz - I don't know how you do it - if my heat were not working, I'd be out of here in a minute!

Is a heated (Aussie) hose overkill on a System one if you are using native mode (or whatever it's called) vs. Classic mode? I went through a lot of water last night but none of it seems to have produced moist air.

Should I just go back to a regular hose and see if "3" in regular mode will be enough? This humidification thing is new for me - especially with 2 modes of humidification. I guess what I am asking is what is about normal this time of year - even though my house is heated to about 69 deg?

[sleepyb]

I found that the humidifier almost doesn't work at all when the house gets down in the 40's and for about a week I didn't use any water at all. Then someone mentioned the classic mode. I was able to turn the humidifier down to 2 from 5 and actually started using water again. I don't think I would use a heated hose at 68 degrees. That would be too warm.

[jonquiljo]

I don't think I would use a heated hose at 68 degrees. That would be too warm.

Oh, the lowest I let it ever get to is 68 - preferably around 71 where I sleep. I wear a sweatshirt around the house when it is 68 or 69! I thought a heated hose kept it from getting too wet inside. It's dry here and my hands are dry and cracking. I can only imagine what all that dry air does to my nose and sinuses.

What do you do in my situation - crank it up to 4 or 5 and hope that the moisture in the tube doesn't become a problem? But even with the humidifier set at 2 (and 70 deg in the room) I get what seems to be dry air!

[Janknitz]

We had SOME heat--my poor husband had to go coax the furnace to light every time because the valve was not working, but if he didn't manually do it we got cold air instead. I always wanted AC, just not in the winter It's fixed now, and that was one of the top things I was thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner last night! (Cost a bundle! ).

We turn our heat down at night--it only comes on if the inside temperature falls below 50 degrees. That would be considered sauna-like in Siberia, but not here. During the day we only turn it to 63 or so. We wear sweaters and bundle up in blankets to watch t.v. As a consequence, it doesn't get too dry in our house (it used to when we had the heat higher), plus we have plenty of rain, fog, and ocean-borne humidity even though we're about 20 miles inland.

I don't know about using the Aussie hose and the classic mode together. I think you'll have to see how it goes. I meant to refill my tank last night but forgot and it ran dry. Doesn't seem to have any ill effects except that I was more congested and had that nasal snore this morning. I would think with the Aussie hose you wouldn't need the classic mode, and with classic mode you wouldn't need the Aussie hose unless you wanted truly warm air (I'm not sure I would like warm air blowing in my face, I kind of like it cool).

[sleepyb]

Isn't Marin fairly humid? I think that until it gets cold in the house a hose cover like they sell at pad-a-cheek would work without adding heat. The problem I found is that when it gets really cold the humidifier shuts off for the most part since the machine does not know that I have a heated hose so no humidity unless you force it with the classic setting, and when you do that, if the hose isn't covered or heated you get rainout.
Janknitz, that's great that you got the furnace working again. I can relate. We are rebuilding our house and don't yet have a furnace but my wife was thankful that I finally installed the celing in the house Wednesday night. She started complaining for some reason when it got down to the 20's in the house this week.

[jonquiljo]

Isn't Marin fairly humid?

Not to me. I grew up in the northeast - but have been here almost 30 years, so I have evolved into a wimp. I can't stand even 60 degree weather anymore. But I love it in the 90's.

I think it's all perspective - and I am just going to keep ramping up the PR One humidity. If I get to 5 and it isn't enough, then I will put it in classic mode. It's going to possibly rain tonight and it should get warmer and more humid. I'll put the heated hose away until I go somewhere really cold. I'm still getting used to the CPAP (three months now) and am at the stage where I wake up and suddenly tear the mask off my face for no real reason. I must be dreaming of monsters smothering me or something like that.

I just wake up with the mask all unhitched and its really hard in a sleepy haze to figure out how to put it back together and go back to sleep. The dry air must aggravate that response.

[sleepyb]

I did the opposite. Lived in the bay area for 30 years before going up north. If you do change to the classic settings use a covered hose not heated, but covered. That should keep the rainout down. Good luck.