How Much Water Should a Humdifier Use?

[caty]

I brought up the problem with the dme the first week I received my machine. I went to their office and we tested several units. None of them got warm at 3. The element got warm at the 4 setting. DME said she guessed that is how they worked. I went home with my original unit. I use very little water each night. In fact, I fill to the maximum mark on Sunday and the water lasts all week! I have it set on 3. I don't feel dry. I had condensation when I used the Swift. But none with the Breeze, though I do notice some condensation in area where the exhaust port is. I am assuming that at the lower settings - 1 to 3 - this humidifier is working basically as a passover humidifier. At one point, I turned it off. I could tell the difference the next day. At 3 it seems to be doing its job, so I haven't been concerned. BTW - I live in the Chicago area - so we have humidity during the summer. I've only been on since June, so I'll have to wait and see if anything changes once the heat goes back on.

[cybergt]

[quote="Bob..."]

I do have the H3i selected on my machine. When I took it to my DME, she said that thats how it works. It doesn't make sence to me. If levels 1-3 is the same as having the unit off, whats the point?

I guess I have to use the unit at setting 4 and up to see a significant difference in humidification.

[roster]

My humidifier chamber holds 400 ml (about 14 ounces). At a setting of 1.0, I use about 1 ounce per night. As the setting is cranked up, the water usage increases. At a setting of 3.5 (4.0 is highest setting) the water usage is about 12 ounces per night.

In my case, ambient humidity, mouth breathing, or mask leaks seem to have no effect on the amount of water consumed. Consumption is strictly based on the humidifier setting.

[inacpapfog]

roztom,
My water usage seems to be the same as yours.
On a setting of 3 - 3.5, I use about 75% of the water in my chamber.
And I also use a heated hose.

[DreamStalker]

In my case, ambient humidity, mouth breathing, or mask leaks seem to have no effect on the amount of water consumed. Consumption is strictly based on the humidifier setting.

Sorry to disagree but ambient humidity and temperature both have a lot to do with how much water will be used. The relative humidity of the air that passes thru the machine; its temperature; its velocity as it passes thru your reservoir; and the tempuratrue of the water in the reservoir all will determine how much water is used each night. Mask leaks and mouth breathing however probably do not have a very significant effect though.

dreams ... its what the body needs ...

- roberto

[Bob...]

Mask leaks and mouth breathing however probably do not have a very significant effect though.

...and leaks especially mouth leaks will not affect the velocity or the amount of air passing through the humidifier?

Bob

[DreamStalker]

Mask leaks and mouth breathing however probably do not have a very significant effect though.

...and leaks especially mouth leaks will not affect the velocity or the amount of air passing through the humidifier?

Bob

Point taken ... but if that is the case, you have bigger problems to deal with than the amount of water use.

breathing while sleeping is essential to dreaming ...

- roberto

[roster]

In my case, ambient humidity, mouth breathing, or mask leaks seem to have no effect on the amount of water consumed. Consumption is strictly based on the humidifier setting.

Sorry to disagree but ambient humidity and temperature both have a lot to do with how much water will be used. The relative humidity of the air that passes thru the machine; its temperature; its velocity as it passes thru your reservoir; and the tempuratrue of the water in the reservoir all will determine how much water is used each night. Mask leaks and mouth breathing however probably do not have a very significant effect though.

dreams ... its what the body needs ...

- roberto

[OSAGuy]

I use a Remstar Auto with heated humidifier. I live in a very dry climate so keep the seeting at 4 (settings ragne from 1 to 5). I use nearly a full reservoir every night, and I really don't think it is due to leaks, as I have been using the machine for almost three years now and most mornings fel great when I wake up. If I have it set at 3 or less it uses very little water, but I also wake up with a very dry throat and don't feel as good when I wake up in the morning.

[DreamStalker]

Dreamstalker, You can disagree if you want to, but I have observed my situation every morning and the only significant variable to water usage is the humidifier setting. Addressing your three hypothetical points, in my case, I rarely have air leaks and my machine is a straight cpap, so the velocity of the air entering the humidifier chamber is consistent night to night. Regarding relative humidity of ambient air, my machine has Fisher & Paykel Tracking auto-adjusting humidification technology to eliminate ambient air conditions as a variable. Finally, the temperature of the water in the reservoir is determined by the humidifier setting.

rooster , I’m very glad that we can remain friends even when we disagree. Wouldn’t it be great if the rest of the world could do that too? A few other factors that influence evaporation rates (ie. amount of water used per CPAP session) are atmospheric pressure, water chemistry, and surface area of the reservoir. Those factors are fairly constant unless of course you live near the coast and then take your CPAP setup up to the Rocky Mountains when pressure will have a significant change or change the chemistry of the water by not using distilled water.

Basically, temperature is the primary factor affecting an evaporation rate which you have already observed while adjusting the setting between 1.0 and 3.5 (temperature of hot plate). The auto-adjusting humidification technology is simply tracking the variables of your room’s ambient temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure and then compensates for changes in those variables by adjusting the temperature of the hot plate in order to give a constant humidity to your upper respiratory system relative to the setting you use (that way you get the same comfort level every time for say --- a setting of 2.0 on your machine) and you don’t have go through the trial-and-error process every time those variables change to find your comfort level.

Whoa … I think that is what you said in the first place. I guess we are actually in agreement then. I, in error just focused on the part of your comment that stated, “ambient humidity has no effect on amount of water used” which by itself is incorrect.

In a dream world, it's possible for everyone to get along ...

- roberto

[whatrdreamsmadeof]

Hello, newbie here. i also have the resmed h3 and the water chamber harldy shows any water use at all with a setting of 3. but in the last 4 months i've not slept more than 4 hours a night. so i'm ready to chuch the whole deal!

[DreamStalker]

Yikes!

Try starting a brand new thread with the word help in it and provide some of your background and more details as to why you are only getting 4 hours of sleep. There are a lot of great folks here with lots of experience who can help you.

... good luck and try and hang in there too ...

- roberto

[cybergt]

I increased my humidifier setting from 3 to 4. What a big difference it makes. Now I can see that it is using up 1/2" of water everynight. I guess the settings 1-3 does not have much of an effect on H3i.

[droyal]

Dreamstalker is right. Water use is just a scientific matter and is a function of the variables Dreamstalker and others mentioned.

A primary and controlling variable, at least in usual circumstances, is the relative humidity of the air passing through the humidifier.

If it is already very humid, there is not going to be too much evaporation of the water in the tank, into the air that is passing through. But, there is little if any need for humidification, in the first place, in those circumstances.

When I lived in Florida, if I hung a pair of swim trunks in the shower, they would still be damp the next day. Yesterday, in LA, I went swimming, hung the trunks up for two hours and they were dry.

My wife's Auto BiPaP, set at 3 (out of a setting range of 1-3), shows heat at the "heating plate" and the water chamber is luke warm. It seems odd that no heat would be noticed at 3, as earlier posters reported.

Set at 3, in LA, with low atmospheric humidity, she will run through a full tank of water in about 10-12 hours (a couple days ago, about a week into using the machine, she slept for 12.5 hrs. Talk about catching up! Her "secret" is, if anything, 1. a recognition of the vital importance of getting treatment and 2. a recognization that most things require "working through" and that acceptance of discomfort while "working through" is part of process)
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[Nitro Dan]

I have a Remstar and use at least 95% of the water, been doing that for years....