Custom Cabinet for Machine

[webguy]

I know the topic has come up occasionally about someone wanting a cabinet for their cpap machine and I thought I share mine.

Several years ago - and before I found cpaptalk.com - I built a custom cabinet for my Resmed S7. My primary desire to do so was constant nasal congestion, which I attributed to my dust mite allergy (not the real cause of too little humidification). So designed and built a cabinet that would include HEPA filtering material on the back side to allow sufficient airflow to the machine while limiting allergens.



The cabinet was from material I had in the shop and a few pieces of hardware. My goal was to make something that was nice but if it definitely wasn't "fine" furniture. The sides and lids are primarily made of a veneered particle-board that came from an old executive desk. The front door is red oak and the trim is some quarter-sawn white oak scrap I had.



It was designed to sit on a headboard table that sits behind my bed.



The door has a hole sized to take the hose quick-disconnect for easy hose removal.


As you can see, the machine fits snugly inside the cabinet. The front door open and front lid open for access and removal of the humidifying chamber.



The top lid can be opened to turn the machine on or off. I was able to just reach up and do it with out looking at it after a couple of nights.



The back was made of 2 pieces of hardboard that held the filter material - cut from a vacuum bag - in a sandwich. The plug slipped through a slit in material.



The back lid allowed for the machine power to be accessed as needed. This pic also shows the how the filter carriage slides into grooves set in each side.

The lid and the doors are held shut by small magnets set inside the lid and the edge of the door.


Door Mag


Lid Mag



Like I said, this wasn't fine furniture but I did my best to try to disguise the putty filling the holes from the wood's previous life as a desk.



You can also see the brass nails that were used to trim the piece.



The door has a small brass pull.

The only issue is that the S7 won't quite slide out the front because of the door stops. So you have to remove it from the back.




While I eventually found out I didn't need it for my dust allergies, I kept using it for aesthetics and noise reasons. With the machine closed up in the cabinet, there is virtually no sound that can be heard. This is also helped by the rubber feet on the bottom of the cabinet. The cabinet also eliminates that lovely green glow from the machine controls as well.

[Guest]

Thanks for posting those neat pictures!

[AndyCelt]

Wow, nice job! I love it.

I may have to make something similar myself. Thanks for the great idea!

[quietmorning]

Great job! I'd like my little plastic do-hicky to grow up one day into a nice wood cabinet - since it'll be around for a while.

Your cabinet looks very nice. I like filter in the back - I'm not allergic to dust mites - but allergens are a real problem here.

[lars4life]

That is a cool setup. My PR System One has two filters, one is a white fine filter, the other is a washable sponge filter.
These I thought were supposed to take care of everything?

[SleepingUgly]

Impressive!

[webguy]

Thanks for the kind words.

I also forgot to say I may be offering this up this cabinet as I now use a different machine. Should fit an S7 or S8 machine.

[avi123]

Thanks for the kind words.

I also forgot to say I may be offering this up this cabinet as I now use a different machine. Should fit an S7 or S8 machine.

Sorry to say it but particle boards are full of Formaldehyde which is toxic. Build the next one out of solid Maple or Cherry.


http://answers.google.com/answers/threa ... 99721.html

[rested gal]

Very very nice work. Great pictures showing the details.

[archangle]

Sorry to say it but particle boards are full of Formaldehyde which is toxic. Build the next one out of solid Maple or Cherry.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threa ... 99721.html

The dangers of this are probably greatly exaggerated. Also, the CPAP machine will inherently be ventilating the box out every night you use it because it blows a lot of air out the hose every night you use it.

[nobody]

I need something like that that I can bolt down to a heavier piece of furniture or built in to a heavier piece of furniture. I know it's only a matter of time before I spill the whole thing off the TV tray I have for a night stand. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet, have had a lot of close calls tho.

[nobody]

Sorry to say it but particle boards are full of Formaldehyde which is toxic. Build the next one out of solid Maple or Cherry.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threa ... 99721.html

The dangers of this are probably greatly exaggerated. Also, the CPAP machine will inherently be ventilating the box out every night you use it because it blows a lot of air out the hose every night you use it.

From what I understand it takes decades for beaver wood to gas out completely. I wouldn't want to breathe that all night so I think avi123 has a good point!

[webguy]

Well this wood is at least 30+ years old and sat in a Texas garage for years. I have a feeling that the 125+ dgr heat for years broke down most of the volatile chemicals.

[jayr1945]

I love the woodwork and design effort, especially the large filtered air intake. The CPAP machine does require unrestricted access to "air". I tried putting my original (noisey) CPAP machine in a small closet and woke up with somewhat of a suffocation feeling, I think from CO2 buildup. So, I don't do that anymore, and I make sure my covers are not covering the machine.

I've thought of mounting my old CPAP in the hallway and running a double length hose through the wall for sound relief, but the new machines are much quieter.

But I would still be interested AHI & SAO2 test result differences between the new enclosure and unrestricted access.

[archangle]

I love the woodwork and design effort, especially the large filtered air intake. The CPAP machine does require unrestricted access to "air". I tried putting my original (noisey) CPAP machine in a small closet and woke up with somewhat of a suffocation feeling, I think from CO2 buildup. So, I don't do that anymore, and I make sure my covers are not covering the machine.

I've thought of mounting my old CPAP in the hallway and running a double length hose through the wall for sound relief, but the new machines are much quieter.

But I would still be interested AHI & SAO2 test result differences between the new enclosure and unrestricted access.

Unless the enclosure is really airtight, airflow while running is not going to be much of a problem. The hose comes out of the enclosure and blows several gallons per minute of air out of the enclosure. There will be no CO2 buildup in the machine enclosure because the airflow goes the other way.

Because the hose blows air out of the enclosure, it's not like you crawled into the enclosure and shut the door yourself.

In terms of how big the holes in the enclosure need to be, look at the hose on your CPAP machine. It's a 6 foot long hose with an inner diameter of less than one inch. The machine can push the air though this opening without a significant pressure drop. If the area of air holes in the closet or enclosure you're using is bigger than one square inch, you shouldn't get a significant pressure drop, especially because your vent hole is not 6 feet long. If you make the hole the hose goes through big enough to fit the connector on the end of the hose through, you'll probably have enough air ventilation right there.

Also look at the size of the intake vent on most CPAP machines.

Even something like a cardboard box shouldn't be an airflow problem as long as you don't do something stupid like tape up the openings.

In a small enclosure, you might have a problem with the machine overheating when the machine is not blowing, especially if it has a heated humidifier that doesn't turn off. Some of the machines still use a certain amount of power when not blowing.