Humidifier not using water

[Sclark08]

Ever since I have had my resmed S9 auto machine the humidifier never uses hardly any water. I usually dump every day but I left it for 3 days and the water level never changed
Think I need a trip to DME. I have the option to set my own or use auto with temp adjust and still same result!

[Julie]

If you live in a relatively humid area (doesn't need to 'feel' humid, just be near water) then the machine won't use a lot of water.

[SleepPlease]

I've noticed this somewhat too and wondered. I live in a Utah desert, so definitely no humidity in our air, yet my Philips Respironics BiPAP AutoSV Advanced System hardly uses any water. I fill it about every 4 days. Brand new machine and my heat is set to 4. What gives?

[ChicagoGranny]

Ever since I have had my resmed S9 auto machine the humidifier never uses hardly any water. I usually dump every day but I left it for 3 days and the water level never changed
Think I need a trip to DME. I have the option to set my own or use auto with temp adjust and still same result!

I've noticed this somewhat too and wondered. I live in a Utah desert, so definitely no humidity in our air, yet my Philips Respironics BiPAP AutoSV Advanced System hardly uses any water. I fill it about every 4 days. Brand new machine and my heat is set to 4. What gives?

Unless you wake up with dry nasal passages, why do you care?

[Sharrykb]

Unless you wake up with dry nasal passages, why do you care?[/quote]


Having asked a similar question when I started CPAP in April, let me explain why I asked the question and likely why other new CPAP users ask this question. Being new to CPAP we don't know exactly what to expect. When the humidifier water level doesn't drop the way the water level of a regular humidifier drops we wonder "is my machine working right? It's brand new, why isn't it using water like a regular humidifier does? Did they give me a defective machine?" So we come here for advice and are very thankful for the explanation and reassurance that our machine isn't broken and is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

[SleepPlease]

Unless you wake up with dry nasal passages, why do you care?

What Sharrykb said. I was told by the tech that set me up that, with our specific climate, I will probably deplete the reservoir nearly every night. Also, during my 3-night titration test from hell, the humidifier actually ran out of water mid-night, each night. So not seeing that water level drop makes me curious.

[dadbar1]

Make sure the heater is really working. I bet it's not connected or defective.

[OhHelpMe]

I've noticed this somewhat too and wondered. I live in a Utah desert, so definitely no humidity in our air, yet my Philips Respironics BiPAP AutoSV Advanced System hardly uses any water. I fill it about every 4 days. Brand new machine and my heat is set to 4. What gives?

Something is wrong. At a setting of 4, the air coming into your mask should be warmer than your room air. The parts of the Utah desert I have been in, you could evaporate a tank of water in four days just sitting on a shelf and not hooked into the CPAP loop.

I wish you would answer the previous question about whether your nasal passages are dry.

I don't use the humidifier in my humid home, but when I travel to, say, Phoenix or Santa Fe, I need it.

[zoocrewphoto]

Ever since I have had my resmed S9 auto machine the humidifier never uses hardly any water. I usually dump every day but I left it for 3 days and the water level never changed
Think I need a trip to DME. I have the option to set my own or use auto with temp adjust and still same result!

What settings have you tried?

I use the S9 autoset with my temp set low at 68, but my humidity set to 5. I can use a full tank of water in about 10 hours, so most nights of 6-8 hours, i use over a half a tank easily. I live in Seattle with moist climate, so I had to set it manually to get the humidity I want. Have you tried manually setting it? If not, I would try that. Otherwise, I would be contacting the DME.

[Sclark08]

I reset my temp to 62 and my humidity to 4. hopefully that will help. I called my DME and she said the check is let it warm up take the reservoir out and see if it at lease feels warm. I don't want warm I want COOL!

[zoocrewphoto]

I reset my temp to 62 and my humidity to 4. hopefully that will help. I called my DME and she said the check is let it warm up take the reservoir out and see if it at lease feels warm. I don't want warm I want COOL!

I prefer cool too. I only raise the temp when I stay with my sister as she keeps the room temp down, and I will gurgling in the hose. Since I am a mouth breather all night, I need the humidity as high as I can get it without making my face sweaty.

As an experiment, you might try raising the humidity to 5 just to see if the water goes down noticeably. That should at least show whether it is working properly or not.

[Sclark08]

I did that and got wet face

[chunkyfrog]

I use a cheap dial hygrometer to roughly predict my water use,
as the environment fluctuates wildly here. I only fill as needed.

[tortoisegirl]

With humidity at 6 and temperature at 82, I was surprised I've averaged half a tank a night, but getting a huge variance (emptied it one night and barely noticeable depletion another night). I had expected to have issues with it running dry on a regular basis, as there have been reports of that. So I agree it must depend a lot on room humidity and temperature, which changes a lot for me (such as a/c vs. windows open). Plus my sleep time is longer on the weekends, so I use more then.

However my plate definitely gets warm (but not hot), and rather quickly, and I can notice the difference between settings. So if the plate warms up and the air output responds to changes in humidity and temperature (you can do some awake testing to low, mid, and high settings to verify that it changes), and you can find a comfortable setting, I'd also think its working correctly. I'd assume a DME would run similar tests before swapping it out as defective. Best wishes.

[OhHelpMe]

getting a huge variance (emptied it one night and barely noticeable depletion another night).

Yes, ambient temperature and humidity level in the bedroom is a factor.

But the variance you mention sounds like something else. I suspect large mask leak on the nights the chamber was entirely consumed.

Your profile says you are using CPAP at pressure 4.8. It's hard at that pressure to consume a tank of water in one night unless you live in a desert or there is something wrong with your CPAP process.

Are you indeed using a FFM as your equipment profile says?