humidaire 3i Questions

[hummer3d]

i got a new 3i , used it for the first time last nite with the elite II .Im confused about the turn off feature , why when you turn it off does it continue to blow air through the hose for about an hour? It is turned off with the left button right?

I feel it was so mutch easier to breathe last nite with it . It also felt as if the pressure was less with it than before without it. why is this?

Also is it safe to refill the distiled water every other nite with the 3i set on III ? I sleep 7-8 hours a nite. It wont burn up if it runs dry on water will it?

[mdbarthe]

My experience is that the machine will automatically run about 5 minutes or so after it is shut off, blowing air through the hose as a means to dry out any condensation that remains in the hose. I don't know about it running for an hour; that seems pretty long to me.

I use distilled water in my 3i every night and I am set at the highest level of humidity.

I'm not sure about running the tank dry. That's never happened to me and I use it on the highest setting. I ususally sleep about 6-7 hours per night.

[Slinky]

I'm not sure how long the blower runs on low to dry out any condensation but I'm pretty sure it is more than 5 minutes. That feature drove me nuts at first. I'd turn it off, leave the bedroom, come back in and see/hear it still running, would turn it off w/the button again, leave the room, come back in shortly thereafter and it would be running again, turn it off again .... it took me awhile to smarten up and read my Users Manual.

Like RG I just keep adding distilled water to the tank until I have to pack it up for travel. When I get back home I usually do fill the tank w/hot tap water and a PoliDent Denture Cleansing Tablet and let it sit awhile, then rinse it thoroughly, fill it w/distilled water and I'm good to go again.

[alnhwrd]

I have the Elite with the 3i, and I top it off every night. Unless I had a really short night I use enough water to warrant it. I've never run mine dry, but it has gotten low enough that it started to smell a little funny, kind of a hot smell, so I top it off each night now. It's a part of my nightly routine now so Its not really a bother. Good luck!

[kopoloff]

I use tap water, empty the residue every morning and flush it out and leave to dry.

I turn the temperature down to 0 every morning when I turn off the machine, however there's no risk of damage if the tank runs dry - the heater plate is temperature controlled so it cannot overheat.

[hummer3d]

well im still unsure of if its really turned off or not in the mornings with it still blowing. What should the elite ii display say when its off verses on?

[Paul56]

well im still unsure of if its really turned off or not in the mornings with it still blowing. What should the elite ii display say when its off verses on?

Basically as long as the machine is plugged in... it is ON but just not blowing at therapy/ramp/settling levels until you hit the START button.

[dsm]

When I use my VPap Adapt SV it blows quite a strong airflow through the hose all the time 24/7, when switched on for therapy the airflow is of course stonger & in line with the settings but when it is in standby (but machine still powered on) it blows a fairly strong pressure (my guess is 2-3 CMs).

One aspect of the machine that is annoying is if I pick up the mask & in anyway slow that flow, it immediately activates & goes to therapy pressure. I have set the auto activate to off but it doesn't stop doing it. It will fire up by the simple act of unplugging & plugging the air hose (depending of how I do it).

The main reason this feature was added was to save the bearings in the blowers as water getting in there is destructive & can result in the machines becoming noisy either by the bearings starting to rust or the blower blades getting damp & accumulating dust on them (in time that causes a whine from the blades & trying to clean them is near impossible short of pumping through special solvents).

DSM

[JimW]

For my Auto, the run time of the lower blower setting is exactly one hour after the machine is turned off. You will know that it's turned off in that it will no longer be blowing at your set pressure. For the Autoset, the display reads "Settling: off" (the same as when the machine is completely off, with no blower action.) I'll assume that your machine will also display whatever is displayed before you turn it on or turn on the humidifier preheat at night.

I've been filling the tank every other night for a while; if you use less than half a tank per night, that should be all right for you, as well. My humidifier is probably not the same as yours, though; yours is likely the 'improved' version, and is able to supply more humidity.

[SaltLakeJan]

Hi there, I have awakened a few times and the air from the CPAP feels like it is straight from the North Pole. After enduring it once until morning, I checked the humidifier in the a.m. and it was dry. I keep a jug of distilled in the bedroom to fill the humidifier, the next time it happened, I added more water, the sole plate was quite warm to touch. I thought it might have a burned smell, or hiss. Neither happened, in a few seconds the air was a comfortable temperature. It might not be a good practice to do that routinely, but when I cleaned it in the morning, I felt the bottom of the humidifier. Couldn't detect a coating or anything that felt rough. Apparently, one time adding water, didn't hurt it. Good Luck, Jan