ResMed H4i - how quickly do you go through a tank of water?

[McSleepy]

For years I did not use water in my tank (Respironics BiPAP Pro) - it only served as a muffler. I even thought humidification made it more difficult for me to breathe (while I was in the mid-west). I don't know what changed, but now, in the last year, I have actually started cranking up the heat (literally). The problem is, having the H4i at less than half (about 40%) on the dial makes it go empty in a night (when I do get to sleep for 8 hours). Even on the shortest regular night sleep (6 hours), more than half is gone so I have to fill it with distilled water every night. Not that I'd want to, but I wonder how it'd be on the highest settings - it'll probably last for 3 hours! My tank is clean and in good shape. I wonder if others have the same experience. I should mention that in Colorado the air is rather dry, but I do have an automatic whole-house humidification system that guarantees at least 35% relative humidity inside.
McSleepy

[Heavylids]

I fill mine to the line just below the MAX line. Filling to the MAX line causes water to be blown into the hose. I have the humidifier set on 4.5 and the tank has about 1/8 inch of water after 8 hours of use. My home is rather dry this time of year.

[aldanno]

I'm set on 3 and after 7 hours my tank is close to empty. I took my machine with me to Florida for a few nights recently, and there, it looked like a full tank would last three days?
Weird.

[Tino2You]

I have my climateline set to 79 degrees and the humidification on auto. Every night I fill the tank to the max line, every morning the water is at or below the last line.

I have found that my sinuses love the humidity. I have a deviated septum and have trouble breathing through my nose during the day. But at night with the CPAP and humidity...wow I can breathe!

-tino

[Pugsy]

The S8 machine humidifier uses heat only to adjust humidity. More heat..more humidity pushed into the air.
Pressures used will affect how much water is used...so if you are using higher pressures you can expect more water usage than someone who might be in the next room of your house using same machine at lower pressures.

There really isn't much you can do about the water usage. It is what it is. I always have to add water every day, even now with the new fancy humidity controlled S9 or PR S1. Back when I used the M series...I would use up almost all the water every night. Just part of how things worked out with the humidity in my house and pressures I used and my preferred humidity level to keep my nose happy.

Do you feel you want or need more humidity being delivered and can't get it due to water being used up? Or were you just making a comment about having to fill the tank each night?
F & P makes a stand alone humidifier that will deliver more humidity and I think has a larger tank. More adjustability with it also.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

on the S9 vpap S using slimline tubing - not heated - i get 2-3 days between refills - i have the humidity set at 3 out of 5

[LSAT]

on the S9 vpap S using slimline tubing - not heated - i get 2-3 days between refills - i have the humidity set at 3 out of 5

Your profile says you are using the PR System One

[johnthomasmacdonald]

"Your profile says you are using the PR System One " - i have both and i started out with the system one but now i just use it as a paperweight - I got the vpap off craigslist about a month ago, but i guess the change is permanent and i need to change my profile

[BlackSpinner]

It also depends on the ambient humidity. In the summer when I was in Montreal I used very little water because it is very humid, in Edmonton in the winter where in house humidity rivals the Gobi desert, I use a full tank.

[big_dave]

My H4i uses about 3/4 of a tank in 6-7 hours at a pressure range of 11-16. Despite Eugene's reputation for being cold and damp, indoor air and summer air are actually dry. The humidity dropped to as low as 15% on the hottest days last summer. On wet days the temperature is generally below 60 degrees F.

[chunkyfrog]

I have a cheap humidity gauge next to my machine.
If it gets below 20%, I know to expect to wake up smelling my tank getting very low.
As much as a quarter inch from empty smells "different".
The lower it gets, the more it smells oddly.

[McSleepy]

Do you feel you want or need more humidity being delivered and can't get it due to water being used up? Or were you just making a comment about having to fill the tank each night?

I don't really feel a need for more humidity, although, I used to feel no need of humidity, at all, before, and now I feel it is much better with it. You just never know. But, yes, I am concerned with the consumption of distilled water, which is a problem while traveling (as someone else here noted in another thread). And, yes, I do use high pressures, and my lungs have higher than average volume (over 10 L/min median minute volume, with maximums over 20 L/min), so I tend to go through a lot of air, and, hence, water.I wanted to make sure it is not just me (like a malfunction in the humidifier).
Thanks for all the feedback.
McSleepy

[Pugsy]

I wanted to make sure it is not just me (like a malfunction in the humidifier).

It is very unlikely that it is a malfunction with the humidifier. Usually when they malfunction they simply stop heating and no water is used.
I had a similar situation when I used the M Series machine..heat only humidifier like the S8 and with my pressures and my humidity preference and if I slept longer than 8 hours...I would wake up to a dry tank and if I went longer than 8 hours sometimes it was rather stinky from being dry and warm too long.

Should you ever come to a point where the tank is actually going dry each night despite filling to the max level and it becomes a concern then you either will have to lower the setting just a little...add more moisture to the room air with a humidifier or perhaps consider a stand alone humidifier. F& P makes a great one.

Also you might consider that if and/or when you get a chance to get a new cpap machine then you can get one of the new models that have a more effective utilization of the humidifier. The new PR S1 and S9 machines' way of adding moisture maintains a more stable humidity with more comfort and with less water being used.