Resmed M series humidifier not working

[froggie66]

I searched the boards and do not see this subject anywhere. I have the Resmed M Series (700) auto bi-pap and my humidifier suddenly stopped working!! The unit is about 6 months old. The blue led light on the humidifier unit is flashing, which the manual says means it is not communicating with the main unit. HELP!!! I have moved and changed insurance and now I have to wait until May before the new insurance will cover any of my apnea issues. I need to be able to resolve this on my own until May (pre-existing condition preiod ends then.)

I have tried unplugging it and then plugging it in again to see if it would 'reset", but no. I have also tried separating the two units and then putting them back together to see if that would work...nope.

Anyone have a solution???? I NEED MY MACHINE!!!! I am sleeping TERRIBLY without it!!

I appreciate any advice....

Kathleen

[Hawthorne]

Actually I think you mean a "Remstar" not a "Resmed". The Remstar is the M Series.

Anyway, the humidifier should still be under warranty. You could take it back to your DME if that's where you got it. They should give you a replacement loaner and send your humidifier in to see if it is repairable. If it isn't repairable you should get a new one free of charge, with the warranty.

You can use your machine without the humidifier (take the humidfier off and attach the little adapter that should have come with your setup (check your machine and humidfier Users Guides) and you can use the machine without the humidity, but maybe you need the humidity.

[Gerryk]

You can also use the machine with the humidifier chamber in with water in it without the heater working. That is called passover mode.

[frapilu]

Hi, my M series apap's heated humidier also died after about 6 months, blue lights flashing and all. I live in Canada but had bought it via cpap.com. I tried seeing if my DME here in Ottawa could help, since I've bought many things there before, including my original cpap machine. No go. So I called cpap.com and they were great. Luckily I happened to be going to Florida for Christmas (this happened in late December) so I mailed it to them from Florida. I'm back home but my parents are in Florida until early April then they'll come back here so I arranged to have cpap.com mail the repaired/replaced heated humdifier to my parents. From what I gather, it's been replaced and I'll get it from my parents in a few weeks.

cpap.com were absolutely wonderful about it so I have no regret at having gotten the machine from them. When Claudia, the wonderful woman who answered my call at cpap.com, heard about the flashing blue lights, she said that there was nothing I could do but send it. She was super at explaining how to take it apart in order to send it and also explained how I could still use the apap with the dead humidifier turned off. By the way, given that I had been considering buying a standalone HC150 heated humidifier (https://www.cpap.com/productpage/fisher ... ifier.html), I ordered it when I called in the dead M series humidifier and have been using it since.

Good luck with yours. At 6 months, yours is still under warranty so you can get it fixed or replaced.
France

[Hawthorne]

I have also dealt with Claudia at cpap.com customer service and she is GREAT! I just wanted to add that since she helped me out, immediately, when I had a problem. My issue was related to incorrect shipping charges.

When I did my evaluation, I was sure to mention her by name!

[froggie66]

Must...have...high...humidity....!!!!!!!! Air.....in....Colorado....is...very...DRY...!!! Actually, I had it set at 4 (it goes up to 5). I am continuing to do the passover method because I have to have some kind of humidity or I will shrivel up like a raisin in the sun! Plus, and here is the weird thing, it seems that the humidity helps keep my face moist enough under the mask, that the mask doesn't leak when I have my humidity. Without the extra moisture, my face is drying out and peeling and the mask is leaking after a few hours (like the moisture helps create a seal....does that make sense??).

I will try Apria to see what they will do for me. I rented it from the local Apria in Florida, then I moved a few months ago and I am not sure if there is an Apria in Colorado, near where I live. I hope I don't have to ship it somewhere, because I take comfort in the couple of hours I can get of the very, very dry air with the machine as is.

Thanks for the tips!!

Kathleen
Ps. I have no idea why I put Resmed in there!!! You are right!!! It IS Remstar!!! I am bonking myself on the head for that goof!!

[Wulfman]

Must...have...high...humidity....!!!!!!!! Air.....in....Colorado....is...very...DRY...!!! Actually, I had it set at 4 (it goes up to 5). I am continuing to do the passover method because I have to have some kind of humidity or I will shrivel up like a raisin in the sun! Plus, and here is the weird thing, it seems that the humidity helps keep my face moist enough under the mask, that the mask doesn't leak when I have my humidity. Without the extra moisture, my face is drying out and peeling and the mask is leaking after a few hours (like the moisture helps create a seal....does that make sense??).

I will try Apria to see what they will do for me. I rented it from the local Apria in Florida, then I moved a few months ago and I am not sure if there is an Apria in Colorado, near where I live. I hope I don't have to ship it somewhere, because I take comfort in the couple of hours I can get of the very, very dry air with the machine as is.

Thanks for the tips!!

Kathleen
Ps. I have no idea why I put Resmed in there!!! You are right!!! It IS Remstar!!! I am bonking myself on the head for that goof!!

I have the same (or lower) relative humidity as you do and I've used my machines in passover mode since I started. The drier the air, the more moisture it picks up, even without heat. In fact, I even keep my distilled water in the fridge. The water level in my humidifier drops about 1/4" per night, so I know I'm getting some humidity.

Den

[froggie66]

Oooo...no....I like my humidity high. I sleep better, my skin stays better under the mask (FF mask) and my mask seals better. With just passover, I am just tolerating it and it only gets me about two hours before I am taking it off. I think I'll try going to Apria first and see if they can get me a new unit.

Thanks, Den!!

K

[frapilu]

I'm with you, Kathleen, I must have very high humidity or I'm unhappy. That's why I was considering getting the HC150 standalone because when I got my M Series apap with aflex, I was very unhappy with the small heated humidifier that kept going dry every night (there's a whole stream on this back in August or September when I first got my M series ). I had it a maximum humidity. I eventually learned to tolerate the level before the highest (I guess that's 4? I can't remember and haven't seen mine since December). The HC150 is amazing, I actually ended up with rainout and had to LOWER the humidity! In the few weeks between my M series heated humidifer dying and my receiving the HC150, I had to use it in passover mode and I was very unhappy. I'll probably keep using the HC150 when I get my M series heated humidifier back but use the M series one for travel because it's integrated and therefore smaller to carry around. That HC150 is truly a clunker for traveling!!

Good luck at finding something local.
France

[froggie66]

Thanks so much for the support, France!! It is nice to have someone understand me!!! I love sleeping with moist air, the dry air is just torture!

My humidifier does not usually dry out on me unless I get a really good long night of sleep with my mask on. I have issues with masks leaking (I have a small head and have high pressure...19). If I have left the mask on long enough for it to dry out, I consider that an EXCELLENT night of sleep on my mask!! My water level in the morning is my gauge as to how well I did.

So far, I don't need a separate humidifier. The one I have now is fine, as long as it is working!! However, I do not think 6 months is an acceptable length of time for a unit to remain fully functional. If this happens again, I am going to request a different machine. And I need auto bi-pap because of my high pressure (I can't exhale with this high pressure unless I get the bi-pap relief....believe me, I have tried everything!!).

Here's to moisture!! LOL!!

Kathleen

[frapilu]

Here's to moisture, me too

I also have a small head -- use a Quattro extra small -- although I'm an overweight woman. My pressure used to be 16 and I also had major leaking issues. I've since lost 60 lbs, my pressure has gone down to 10 ( ) and I hardly have any leaking at all (touch wood!!!). The Quattro and the Ultra Mirage, to a lesser extent, are the only two I've managed to live with.

Claudia at cpap.com told me that that Respironics gives a 1 year warranty so you should be ok.

France

[builta]

Hi,

I see that you said that you unplugged the unit and then plugged it back in to see if it would reset the unit.

I have a silly question, have you un-plugged the power brick then removed the BiPAP from the humidifier module and then reconnected the BiPAP to the humidifier and then plugged it all back in? The flashing lights on the humidifier indicate that it is not "talking to the BiPAP Auto." Disconnecting everything unplugging everything and plugging it back in might just work. You could also look for any signs of moisture in the humidifier to BiPAP connection. Any moisture or corrosion in the connection is really hard on a 12 volt system. The connector is the little four prong connector located directly under where the BiPAP Air Outlet connects to the humidifier (Lower Left side of back of unit).

[froggie66]

Those are not silly suggestions, but I did think of them, too. I put the same thought into it that I do when my cable modem goes out and needs rebooting. I unplugged EVERYTHING, disconnected all cables and wires from everything to discharge any built up static electricity that might be causing any glitches. I also checked for any moisture in the main unit or in places it really doesn't belong. I also checked the prongs and receptacles for any signs of wear or damage.

Soooo, basically...yes. I did all of the things you mentioned. I really appreciate your suggesting them, though, in case anyone else has this same problem and needs to make sure they are thorough in checking it out before returning it to the DME and maybe looking like idiots. If it weren't for that cable modem that I need to reset on occasion, I might not have thought of these things myself! Thanks!!!!

kathleen

[m1k2s3]

I had the same problem and I took it in to the local distributor and they replaced the entire unit. It should still be under warranty and if you can't get it back to place where you purchased it, I would contact the company and ask them who their local distributor is.