Edited Subject: PB 420E - Initial Reaction --> COOL!

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:13 pm

I had a really tough day Wednesday at work, and came home pretty beat up. But there was my box from CPAP.com with my shiny new Pruitan Bennett 420E with heated humidifier and Silverlining software! While I was too bummed to do a happy dance, I still spent the evening methodically reading and executing the installation instructions. Some initial observations:

PRO: It's really small! WooHoo!
PRO: It's white, and IMO prettier than the black M-Series
PRO: The hose comes out the front! WooHoo!
CON: Uh Oh, what's this little hose-within-the-hose? It has to be unplugged and covered every time the humidifier is removed or the hose is rinsed out? Wah.
Edited 5/18/07: There's no electronics in the little hose, so my opinion is that they want it plugged because it won't dry out. So I'm careful not to let water enter the hose, and if a little gets in the other end, I'm guessing that's OK.
PRO: Really nice carrying case
PRO: Really small DC power converter
CON: Where's the humidifier controls? In the back? And they have to be switched on/off individually? Bummer.
PRO: There's a green light to remind you to TURN OFF THE HUMIDIFIER, IDIOT
Edited 5/17/07
NEUTRAL: Filling the humidifier initially seemed awkward. After two mornings, it seems the same as the M-Series. (I empty and refill every day.)
PRO: I installed Silverlining on my computer, and attached a 25 foot telephone line over to the 420E, and could program my machine from my computer! No glitches, no worries. Very nice.

So I sewed another fleece sleeve for my new hose-within-a-hose, and went to bed Wednesday night with high hopes. I set the machine to straight CPAP at 10cm, which is what I'm used to.

CON: What the heck? Is the machine whistling? Where's that coming from? Can I sleep anyway? Ohhhh Nooooo......
Edited 5/17/06: The forum strikes again! Carefully seated the humidifier coupling after filling the tank, and likewise with the little hose. No More Whistle!
PRO: Sooooooo Quiet. My sweetheart and I slept better than we have since PAP came into our house.

Thanks a million for your help!
Cathy

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): 420E, humidifier, hose, cpap.com, CPAP, Power

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:50 pm

[quote="tangents"]I had a really tough day yesterday at work, and came home pretty beat up. But there was my box from CPAP.com with my shiny new Pruitan Bennett 420E with heated humidifier and Silverlining software! While I was too bummed to do a happy dance, I still spent the evening methodically reading and executing the installation instructions. Some initial observations:

PRO: It's really small! WooHoo!
PRO: It's white, and IMO prettier than the black M-Series
PRO: The hose comes out the front! WooHoo!
CON: Uh Oh, what's this little hose-within-the-hose? It has to be unplugged and covered every time the humidifier is removed or the hose is rinsed out? Wah.
PRO: Really nice carrying case
PRO: Really small DC power converter
CON: Where's the humidifier controls? In the back? And they have to be switched on/off individually? Bummer.
PRO: There's a green light to remind you to TURN OFF THE HUMIDIFIER, IDIOT
PRO: I installed Silverlining on my computer, and attached a 25 foot telephone line over to the 420E, and could program my machine from my computer! No glitches, no worries. Very nice.

So I sewed another fleece sleeve for my new hose-within-a-hose, and went to bed with high hopes. I set the machine to straight CPAP at 10cm, which is what I'm used to.

CON: What the heck? Is the machine whistling? Where's that coming from? Can I sleep anyway? Ohhhh Nooooo......

So I had a fitful night, hearing that whistle everytime I went to a light sleep.

Anyone know what's up with that? I searched on previous posts, and found some from last summer mentioning a whistle problem, but didn't find the fix for it. Is it indicative of a machine problem that I need to contact CPAP.com about? Please help, I promised my husband that this forum would tell us how to get rid of that Whistle.

Thanks a million for your help!
Cathy

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:53 am

Tangents,

The only whistle my 420e makes is when the Humidifier coupling is leaking. Easiest why to confirm if it is the coupling is to use the 420 without the humidifier and see if it whistles. Also make sure you have the coupling on the right way round. Short side to the humidifier. Once I had determined that it was the Humidifier side of the coupling that was leaking I used a small zip tie on the coupling on the humidifier side to stop it from leaking. It hasn't leak in over a year now.

Peterau

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:50 am

[quote="Snoredog"]

.................

Humidifier controls: That humidifier was an after thought so they didn't integrate it with the machine's On/Off switch. ...............

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Fri May 18, 2007 6:32 am

Thanks for your suggestions, everybody! Great idea about the Respironics filter, Snoredog. I will use the spare that came with my DS100. I had read about the purpose of the little "high pressure" hose, but have two questions:
1. If I'm using the Twilight NP, which has about a 12 inch long, 1/2 inch diameter interface hose, will the pressure sensor still work as intended?
2. If a small amount of water gets in this little hose, is that OK? (I like to rinse my hose with hot water every morning, so if I fill from the CPAP side, only a small amount might be getting in the mask end of the hose.)

And thanks for the suggestion about the humidifier fitting, Peterau. GREAT NEWS!! I was really careful with the humidifier and high pressure hose fittings last night, and that sucker was QUIET!!! WOW, like really QUIET! Even my mask seemed quieter somehow.

I've been able to glance at two night's worth of data so far, and while I need to look at the manual (some of the icons aren't intuitive) to get a better understanding of the program's capabilities, it seems like my setup is working really well. Total of maybe 8 apnea events in two nights, and a good (0.3) leak rate.

I think I'm in love with this machine!

WillSucceed · Post by **WillSucceed** » Fri May 18, 2007 7:48 am

If a small amount of water gets in this little hose, is that OK? (I like to rinse my hose with hot water every morning, so if I fill from the CPAP side, only a small amount might be getting in the mask end of the hose.)

I think that water in the small sensor hose COULD be a problem; I'd encourage you to use the little plugs that came with the device. Of course, filling from the CPAP machine side is pretty clever of you.

I have a suggestion, however... I don't use my Remstar with the beloved C-FLEX since buying my PB 420E. I keep the Remstar plugged in, and hidden away in the bedside cabinet. After I wash out my PB 420E hose, I attach the MASK end of the hose to the Remstar and turn on the Remstar at a pressure of 20. This pressure dries out the PB 420E hose AND, because I attached the mask end of the hose, the air pressure also blows through the little sensor hose and pushes all the moisture out of it as well.

This, in my opinion, is a wonderful way to use my Remstar with C-FLEX; I'm sure that my PB 420E hose LOVES the wonderful C-FLEX pressure relief when it exhales!!!

Seriously, moisture/water in the small sensor hose is not a good idea; it can throw off the 420E's reading of what is going on with your night-time breathing.

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:04 am

Most excellent idea, WillSucceed! I could do that, too, with my bed set-up. Tell me, do you flush the small hose with water? Or just dry the incidental moisture in it?

Thanks!
Cathy

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:00 am

tangents wrote:1. If I'm using the Twilight NP, which has about a 12 inch long, 1/2 inch diameter interface hose, will the pressure sensor still work as intended?

Any mask, even ones with a long connector hose like the Twilight NP has, will work fine with the 420E. Puritan Bennett, the manufacturers of the 420E, are also the manufacturers of the Breeze nasal pillows interface which they intended for use with their machine. The Breeze also has a long connector hose. The pressure sensor tube does not go up through the connector hose. The sensor tube ends where the connector tube attaches to the main air hose. Works fine like that.

tangents wrote:2. If a small amount of water gets in this little hose, is that OK? (I like to rinse my hose with hot water every morning, so if I fill from the CPAP side, only a small amount might be getting in the mask end of the hose.)

I agree with WillSucceed that it is not good to leave even a small amount of water in the little sensor tube. If I were going to run water through the main air hose to clean it, I'd always plug the end of the little sensor tube. Doesn't take much of a droplet or two in a tube that small to definitely interfere with how the machine senses airflow.

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:05 am

Peterau wrote:... I used a small zip tie on the coupling on the humidifier side to stop it from leaking...

Mine was leaking too. Good machine, cheap coupling. I used a hose clamp on the humidifier end.

Adrian

Newsgrouper · Post by **Newsgrouper** » Sun May 20, 2007 7:39 am

"I'd encourage you to use the little plugs that came with the device."

My questions:
Is this the purpose of the little plugs that come with the device? Do they serve any othe purpose?

Thank you

Edited Subject: PB 420E - Initial Reaction --> COOL!

Edited Subject: PB 420E - Initial Reaction --> COOL!

Re: PB 420E - Initial Reaction, and Cry for Help!

Re: PB 420E - Initial Reaction, and Cry for Help!

WillSucceed said: