H3i - Am I setting it too high?

[irishpeacock]

I usually have my humidifier on 3 or 3.5 so my throat doesn't get dry and sore. I haven't been sleeping on my machine more than 3 hours at a time yet (still tweaking) so so far I've had enough water in the tank to last. Last night though I slept 3 hours, was awake 2, and slept for another 1. When I woke up the second time I found my humidifier was dried out. Before I had gone to sleep I had filled it to the max water line. Has this happened to anyone else? Surely if it goes up to 5, and youre supposed to sleep 8 hours, the tank should have enough water for that? Any ideas?

[Paul56]

Some reading on your humidifier:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/44ohlv

[Bookbear]

Irish, I suspect that bedroom temps and humidity of the environment in your home (windows open? shut? ) could be making a difference for you. Also, check your leaks. Mouth leaks will use up a lot more water in the humidifier. I have my HumidAir3 set at mid point, and I get two nights out of a filling, with some left over (not enough for a third night, though). Maybe a short nap. But yes, you should be able to sleep a full night w/o a refill on the max setting unless you are sleeping in an extremely dry environment.

[birdshell]

I have a Humidaire 3i, and I have had the same experience as Bookbear: I get two nights' worth of humidity from one filling.

Please note that the Humidaire 3i does not heat the water much, if at all, until it reaches the 4 setting (IIII). I set my humidifier at just one tick over 4 (or, IIII on the scale). Sometimes if it is very dry, or in winter, I have gone up to 5+ but I nearly always have a hose cozy on my machine hose.

I would definitely vote for mouth breathing as your problem. I hope that you find a solution, as there are many on the forum for those of us who just CANNOT keep our mouths shut...errrr, closed...uhh, lips pressed together?

Best of rest to you,

Karen
Who also talks a lot

[Bookbear]

I hope that you find a solution, as there are many on the forum for those of us who just CANNOT keep our mouths shut...errrr, closed...uhh, lips pressed together?

Heeheehee... oh, I am SO not going there!

[sepool]

I usually have my humidifier on 3 or 3.5 so my throat doesn't get dry and sore. I haven't been sleeping on my machine more than 3 hours at a time yet (still tweaking) so so far I've had enough water in the tank to last. Last night though I slept 3 hours, was awake 2, and slept for another 1. When I woke up the second time I found my humidifier was dried out. Before I had gone to sleep I had filled it to the max water line. Has this happened to anyone else? Surely if it goes up to 5, and youre supposed to sleep 8 hours, the tank should have enough water for that? Any ideas?

If you left the machine running while you were awake ( and the mask taken off ) the volume of extra air would use up the water more quickly.

[irishpeacock]

My mask wasnt taken off while I was awake - just watched some TV with it on and waited to get sleepy again - and I use a FF, so mouth leaking isn't an issue. Generally my leak rate is very very low. As for environment, I don't think there is anything out of the ordinary. We keep the flat a couple degrees above room temp, no open windows, not too hot, not too cold. And I live by the sea in scotland so it is defiantly not too dry.*shrug* mystery.

[birdshell]

I live in Michigan, which is the state in the USA that looks like a mitten. Mind you, almost no one in the UK seems to think so. (Italy looks like a boot to me, and Michigan stands out just as much to look like a mitten, IMHO.) Thus, I am going to say that I live amongst the Great Lakes quite near Detroit.

Humidity is almost always very high, and having lived in England for all of three months and visited Edinburgh for a weekend, I can say that it is probably comparable to the seaside. In fact, most of Michigan IS very humid as one is never more than 45 minutes away from a body of water. A fair part of the state's area is swamp, marsh, or just mosquito-ridden wooded wetlands.

Despite all of this, I do use my humidifier religiously and almost never do I set it below the 4 (IIII) mark on my ResMed Compact S8. I still get 2 nights out of one filling of distilled water. The ambient humidity does not seem to make a difference in that regard, and I rarely have more than a few drops of condensation in my mask, whichever I have used.

Now, let us ask you one more question: what is room temperature to you? Here, as energy has become for expensive for us, the recommended thermostat setting is 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 55 degrees at night. I KNOW this is not true for most homes in the UK. I'm guessing that you are more at something like 62-65 degrees during the day and maybe even 50-55 at night? (Ah, loved the nights and morning awakening to coffee or tea served in bed whilst still under the covers. )

So, you have a different frame of reference and this could be a part of the problem as we negotiate the problem of your humidification by machine. You *probably* have radiator heat, to boot, which in the US isn't exactly rare but forced air natural gas heat is much more common. Forced air heat drives quite a bit of humidity out of the home environment. Most of us with forced air heat have humidifiers which helps to keep the house at a comfortable "feel"--without them, we are prone to feeling cold even at the temperature of say, 72 degrees, which was a common temp for homes when I was a child. (Ahhh, the old days of cheap energy...)

At any rate, I just wanted to note that we are possibly speaking of apples and comparing them to oranges when speaking of your humidity, relative humidity, and heat.

Please keep at it. I know that it must seem frustrating, but look at all of the folks here who have made it through the trial (and tribulation!) period with our treatment. (IMHO, in general the added benefit: ONLY the most intelligent of us seem to have made it through and continue to come here to post. )

Best wishes.

Karen,
Who doesn't own any IQ testing stock

[sepool]

It is also true that a full face mask like the one being used has a lot larger intentional leak rate than any nasal mask and would use more water.

[irishpeacock]

It is also true that a full face mask like the one being used has a lot larger intentional leak rate than any nasal mask and would use more water.

What do you mean by intentional leak rate?

re: birdshell:
I think you're presuming we have a thermostat that keeps the house at a certain set temp range, like my parents have. I live in a very old run down flat with a brick of a heater that just has 3 settings - water, water + heater, off. So really i cant give you any estimate of the temp in my flat. we turn the heater on at night (when its cheaper) and turn it off it the morning. Generally we maintain a very cozy temperature.

[sepool]

The front of your mask has a vent that blows air all the time. It is there to clear the CO2 that you exhale.

The intentional leak rate is the amount of air that is vented there. It is larger for larger pressure settings, and larger for larger mask volume.

The humidifier is designed to put a certain amount of water per litre of air moved: so, a full face mask will use more water.

[birdshell]

re: birdshell:
I think you're presuming we have a thermostat that keeps the house at a certain set temp range, like my parents have. I live in a very old run down flat with a brick of a heater that just has 3 settings - water, water + heater, off. So really i cant give you any estimate of the temp in my flat. we turn the heater on at night (when its cheaper) and turn it off it the morning. Generally we maintain a very cozy temperature.

I hope I was just trying to determine the difference between perceptions of room temperature in the UK and in the USA and Canada. Not to say that it is better or worse for either country, but there is a difference in our perceptions of a comfortable room temperature.

Cozy for you is more than likely chilly-cold for us. I'm just trying to say that may affect the advice you are given about humidity.

Karen