Quieting the exhalation port on my Activa - a great mod

mtsarpilot · Post by **mtsarpilot** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:19 pm

The F&P HC405 mask I had on loan from the DME was surprisingly quiet. It was not the most comfortable or best fit for me, so they got me an Activa at my request. I love the Activa's fit, but it's a good bit louder, and the exhaust airflow through the 4 small holes is so strong it occasionally wakes my wife up when it hits her.

I went looking for a solution for this. The F&P HC405 has a nice exhalation defuser that works really well. So I looked for ways to adapt it to the Activa. Found a simple and effective solution.

The F&P HC405 diffuser is a small cottony like synthetic material that is football shaped and about 1 inch long by 3/8" wide. I held it over the holes and it did a great job killing the noise and the airflow force with out noticeably affecting the exhalation. To give it even less chance to affect the exhalation dynamics, I have sliced it down to be half as thick as it starts out, then simply taped it over the exhaust holes of the Activa being careful to not get tape over the actual hole locations.

It works fantastic. The mask is now as quiet as the 405, and best yet is no forced air blowing on you. I am using the semi-clear medical tape that seems to hold real well. I have even removed it a couple of times for cleaning then put it back on with the same tape.

I'd post a picture of the solution, but can't seem to find a good way to do it. If anyone can suggest a place I can put the picture so I can reference it in a post, I'll gladly upload it.

I don't know where we can get more of the F&P HC405 diffuser filters online. I have been unable to find that (although it is a periodic replacement part, it has to be available somewhere). I told my DME what I had done and she handed me a half dozen of them for future use.

Hope this is helpful for others.

BTW, I tried putting a small amount of the filter material inside the exhalation port, but that does not work. The air still has to get out the holes under pressure before the airflow can be broken up.

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:28 pm

For the picture......... http://photobucket.com/

mtsarpilot · Post by **mtsarpilot** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:53 pm

Good idea. Here is a test to see if I can link to an image in my Snapfish account:

OK, that does not look like it worked (I'm editing the post after looking at it). Anyone got any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong?

mousetater · Post by **mousetater** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:15 am

Try using the URL coding instead of Img coding. Although you want to show an image, you are sending us to a URL to see the image.

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/Albu ... _=23522228

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:06 pm

There you go