How important is it to have machine lower than head with a heated hose? Airsense 11

[BatmanMatt]

I want to put my machine on night stand about 5 in above my head. I have heated hose and auto climate control. Will this cause any rain out or issues?

[Pugsy]

Position of the machine isn't the cause of condensation in the mask or hose....the cause is the ambient room temps along with humidity settings.

The "lower than the bed" think is advised for 2 main reasons..

1...lessen the chance of your pulling the machine off from up high and hitting your noggin and causing a head injury.

2...with the machine lower there is a better chance that any condensation that does form (remember it's physics...bedroom temps and moisture in the hose) will make use of gravity and travel down the hose to the machine and not be so annoying.
It used to work great for some of the older model machines but to be honest it doesn't seem to work so great with today's machines and especially if someone uses a hose management system where the hose travels upwards ....remember water can't run uphill.
From my own personal experience with the AirSense models...doesn't work at all due to the way the hose attaches to the back of the machine. I have had rain out really bad in the hose and get up and hold the hose totally vertical and it still won't drain back into the machine to get rid of the noise or water enough. I have to unhook the hose from the machine and just drain it the old fashioned way.

As long as you aren't experiencing condensation...don't worry about the machine being higher than your head unless it is in a position to hurt your head...and if you do experience condensation there are better and more effective ways to deal with it than relying on gravity.

[BatmanMatt]

Position of the machine isn't the cause of condensation in the mask or hose....the cause is the ambient room temps along with humidity settings.

The "lower than the bed" think is advised for 2 main reasons..

1...lessen the chance of your pulling the machine off from up high and hitting your noggin and causing a head injury.

2...with the machine lower there is a better chance that any condensation that does form (remember it's physics...bedroom temps and moisture in the hose) will make use of gravity and travel down the hose to the machine and not be so annoying.
It used to work great for some of the older model machines but to be honest it doesn't seem to work so great with today's machines and especially if someone uses a hose management system where the hose travels upwards ....remember water can't run uphill.
From my own personal experience with the AirSense models...doesn't work at all due to the way the hose attaches to the back of the machine. I have had rain out really bad in the hose and get up and hold the hose totally vertical and it still won't drain back into the machine to get rid of the noise or water enough. I have to unhook the hose from the machine and just drain it the old fashioned way.

As long as you aren't experiencing condensation...don't worry about the machine being higher than your head unless it is in a position to hurt your head...and if you do experience condensation there are better and more effective ways to deal with it than relying on gravity.

Pugsy you’re the CPAP superhero none of us knew we would need.

[Dog Slobber]

The benefits of having one's CPAP lower than one's head is *way* overstated.

CPAP hoses do not lay at a steep, continuous angle from mask to machine to create a slope conducive to running back into the machine. There are a lot of flat spots and up and down slopes.

Forums are full of people who have read such advice, and then pass it on because it seems intuitive. That is until one starts thinking about it critically.

[BatmanMatt]

The benefits of having one's CPAP lower than one's head is *way* overstated.

CPAP hoses do not lay at a steep, continuous angle from mask to machine to create a slope conducive to running back into the machine. There are a lot of flat spots and up and down slopes.

Forums are full of people who have read such advice, and then pass it on because it seems intuitive. That is until one starts thinking about it critically.

To be fair it’s in the airsense manual.

[Dog Slobber]

The benefits of having one's CPAP lower than one's head is *way* overstated.

CPAP hoses do not lay at a steep, continuous angle from mask to machine to create a slope conducive to running back into the machine. There are a lot of flat spots and up and down slopes.

Forums are full of people who have read such advice, and then pass it on because it seems intuitive. That is until one starts thinking about it critically.

To be fair it’s in the airsense manual.

It's in the AirSense 11 manual, it's not in earlier manuals. ResMed has been making CPAPs since the mid-1980, and they're just getting around to publishing this essential little tidbit now.

ResMed, Respironics, F&P, are not immune from publishing intuitive sounding nonsense. Manuals are more about liability than information.

[chunkyfrog]

I have had my cpap about the same height above the bed in an RV.
Luckily, the shelf had a molding around the edge, making the top surface like a tray.
Also the shelf was deep enough I could put the machine towards the rear.
Hanging the hose from the drapes redirected any pull up and back.
Yes, hose management works--and it can be used anywhere.

[Conrad]

In my home set-up my machine is at about the same level as my head, since my nightstand is at about the same level as my mattress. But I do have a hose management system that puts the apex of the hose about two feet above my head. No issues with rainout as long as my heated hose works (I had a defective heated hose and had a big rainout issue).

In my RV the machine and hose are well above my head. Again, I've not had any issues, but I am using a heated hose.

[Pugsy]

I can't help but wonder if the newly added wording to the manual about machine level placement is more of a CYA thing for head injury prevention of those lawsuits than worry about condensation.
After all ResMed has the heated hose for condensation prevention and it works quite well in most situations now unless either the hose has failed or someone (like me) tends to use the heated hose outside normal paramaters...like a really cold bedroom.