Empty humdifier.

Kharris · Post by **Kharris** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:28 am

Friday night we had nothing to do, so I went to bed about 9pm.
My humidifer is on 3, I slept about 9 hours. When I went to empty
the tank it was already dry. Is this bad?
Usually I get about 6-6 1/2 hours, and there is always a little water left.
I turned it up to 3 after I started mouth taping, it seems like more
humidity lessened any dry throat coughing, but I may need to turn it
back down.

LavenderMist · Post by **LavenderMist** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:58 pm

I used to have the same machine and humidifier you have. The only time mine ran completely dry was when it had a slow leak from where the bottom fits onto the plastic humidifier reservoir. It had leaked onto my nightstand underneath the machine and dribbled down onto the carpet. It only did that a few times. I thought I had squeezed it together tight, but something may have happened when I slid it onto the unit. I started putting a towel underneath it just in case.

I'm sure others will have more helpful input.

Kharris · Post by **Kharris** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:05 pm

Thanks
I hate to complain, its very rare that I get a time where I can sleep that long. It may be months before it happens again. I don't think it was hot
enough to over heat anything. Even the metal plate wasn't really hot
to the touch, just pretty warm.
Of course without cpap I would never even stay in bad that long.

roncron · Post by **roncron** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:17 pm

I've also wondered whether it's harmful for the humidifier to run dry during the night. Like most of you, I always have a bit of water left in the morning (though not enough to add tasters choice and get a cup of coffee). But on those rare occasions where I get to sleep more than 7 or 8 hours, I worry a bit about this.

6PtStar · Post by **6PtStar** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:36 pm

Below is a copy of the letter I got when I asked Respronics that exact question:

"Dear patient,

The CPAPS were tested at a setting of 5(the highest) and a pressure of 20cm. They lasted 7 to 8 hours. There are some things which will affect that time. The first thing is a large mask leak will cause faster air flow which uses the water faster. The second is the temperature of the room (cool to cold),and the third is the humidity ( dry) in the room. These all will shorten the time which the water will last. If the water runs out before you wake, the heater will not burn up. It does not go above 145 degrees on the heating plate. That is not high enough to do any damage. If you should wake at some time, it is quite alright to add water if you wish.

Product support"

It will make it smell bad for a while if you leave it dry for more than a short time.

Jerry

RipVW · Post by **RipVW** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:43 pm

My F&P HH has run dry on me one night, a rare 9-hour long night. I guess we're not supposed to sleep beyond 8 hours without getting up to refill our tanks!

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:57 pm

6PtStar wrote:Below is a copy of the letter I got when I asked Respronics that exact question:
"Dear patient,
If you should wake at some time, it is quite alright to add water if you wish.

Is that like throwing another log on the fire? Not gonna happen here.

Dear Respironics, I got this here sleepin machine to sleep - not to get up and add water to it. You had one that worked fine in the cold, dry NE winters but decided that needed to change because why??

Rule #1 - If it ain't broke do NOT ficks it!!!

This M series humidifier IS Broke - this is the time of year it needs to be ficksed.

So now that you broke it - you have something to do.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, humidifier

jasper · Post by **jasper** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:59 pm

There is no way I could ever get 7-8 hours out of my machine at a setting of 5, and I'm only at 12-14 cm. Guess it's like EPA mileage: sounds great on the sticker but unless you only use your car on a dynamometer, you'll never see it.

6PtStar · Post by **6PtStar** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:04 pm

jasper, You must have had some of them qualifiers going on in your life!!

"There are some things which will affect that time. The first thing is a large mask leak will cause faster air flow which uses the water faster. The second is the temperature of the room (cool to cold),and the third is the humidity ( dry) in the room. These all will shorten the time which the water will last."

Jerry

deglorious · Post by **deglorious** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 3:57 pm

Did you start out with a full humidifier? Sometimes I forget to refill mine. Good thing I always have water left!

Deglorious

lvwildcat · Post by **lvwildcat** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:51 pm

I'm on a pressure of 15 cm. I usually only sleep about 6-6.5 hours. On the occasions that I sleep 8 hrs + my humidifier ALWAYS runs dry on my S7 Elite. I have it turned up to the max. Now my leak rate is 0.2-0.5 so its not leaks.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier

roster · Post by **roster** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:46 pm

Kharris wrote:Friday night we had nothing to do, so I went to bed about 9pm.
My humidifer is on 3, I slept about 9 hours. When I went to empty
the tank it was already dry. Is this bad?
Usually I get about 6-6 1/2 hours, and there is always a little water left.
I turned it up to 3 after I started mouth taping, it seems like more
humidity lessened any dry throat coughing, but I may need to turn it
back down.

Look at the way you exhale:

I imagine you could use up a dozen tanks of water in one night.

Treesap · Post by **Treesap** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:00 pm

My humidifier is puny. I set my humidifier at 5. The maximum setting is 6. I live in dry, dry Arizona. My tank NEVER empties even when I go to bed at 11:00 on a Friday night and don't wake up until 9:00 on Saturday morning.

RipVW · Post by **RipVW** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:05 pm

When I used my ResMed, it never used even half of the water in the tank in one night; but, I realized that it wasn't producing as much humidified air as I needed. Same for my M Series HH. So, I got the F&P stand alone HH. It REALLY heats the water, so it REALLY humidifies the air. Uses about a cup and a half of water each 8 hours when set on 3.

sthnreb · Post by **sthnreb** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:09 pm

Ideally you want to be out or about out when you wake. I normally get about 8 hours per night. I can about gauge how much mine uses. If it has a little left, simply pour it out. If it is out, just turn it off. I've never had a problem with mine. If you leave standing water in it, it will eventually turn slimy so empty whats left over and clean the tank ever so often.

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Mask

Additional Comments: Machine:Resmed S7 Elite; Oracle Mask(YES! My DREAM mask!!)

Machine

Additional Comments: Resmed AirCurve 10 VAuto BiLevel with HumidAir

Empty humdifier.

Empty humdifier.

Re: Empty humdifier.

water