Rainout with S9 Autoset + Climateline

[fuzzyjon]

I just bought a new S9 Autoset Elite with the H5i humidifier and ClimateLine hose. Contrary to just about everyone else's experience, I have been getting a lot of rainout in my mask.

The Autoset unit recognizes that the ClimateLine hose is attached (the humidifier icons and controls change, so it seems to be correctly attached). The humidifier is set to auto mode. I have experimented with humidifier temperature settings from 61 - 80; the lower temperatures make only a small difference. The room temperature is around 75F.

Does anyone have any advice?

One thing which seems odd is that the hose always feels cool to the touch. I have been using a Sleepzone heated hose for the last couple of years, and that always feels slightly warm (and prevents rainout). Is it possible that my ClimateLine hose is defective?

[Perrybucsdad]

John... mine feels ever so slightly warm to the tough... sometimes I can't even tell though.

Have you thought of taking it out of auto mode and working the temp and humidity independent of each other? If you go to the clinical manual (here is the LINK if you don't have it), and turn to page 17 where they discuss managing climate control, it will tell you how to take it out of auto mode. It would be nice to see if you can increase the temp and use a moderate humidity and see if you can control the rain out. I know with mine, I can have the humidity all the way up and the temp up and not get any rainout in a cold (60F) room.

If that doesn't do the trick, than maybe you do have a defective hose. Wouldn't be the first time I guess.

- John

[Sheriff Buford]

I asked about the temperature of the hose while running, a few months back and the response was that no one else can sense the heat on their Climatline hose. With that, I suspect you never really know if it is working or not. I assume that your machine and/or hose is above your head. The water can't travel uphill. My machine is on my headrest which is higher than my head, but I use the Hose Buddy (best contraption I've bought since starting this cpap journey) and the hose is way....way above the machine and my head.

If your machine and/or hose is above your head:
- try turning down the humidifier setting
- make sure the water level in the reservoir is a little lower
- ask yourself if you really need the humidifier

You may also call Resmed and ask them. Also ask them about how you know the Climateline is working if the line is not warm. Report back... I'd be interested myself.

[msradar65]

The climate line prevents rain-out in the tube, however it does not stop rainout in the mask. I would suggest a barrel cozy or cover. I was getting some rain-out in my Swift LT mask...however I added pad-a-cheek barrel cover and the problem was solved.

Keep in mind you mask is not heated....only the tube is.

[fuzzyjon]

I asked about the temperature of the hose while running, a few months back and the response was that no one else can sense the heat on their Climatline hose. With that, I suspect you never really know if it is working or not. I assume that your machine and/or hose is above your head. The water can't travel uphill. My machine is on my headrest which is higher than my head, but I use the Hose Buddy (best contraption I've bought since starting this cpap journey) and the hose is way....way above the machine and my head.

I also use a hose suspension contraption (the Hozer) - very useful indeed.

If your machine and/or hose is above your head:
- try turning down the humidifier setting
- make sure the water level in the reservoir is a little lower
- ask yourself if you really need the humidifier

I guess I don't really need the humidifier, but I do like it quite a bit. I did try turning the humidifier down all the way; I'll experiment with reducing the water level further. It was about 1/2 full last night.

You may also call Resmed and ask them. Also ask them about how you know the Climateline is working if the line is not warm. Report back... I'd be interested myself.

Good idea; I'll will call them.

[fuzzyjon]

The climate line prevents rain-out in the tube, however it does not stop rainout in the mask. I would suggest a barrel cozy or cover. I was getting some rain-out in my Swift LT mask...however I added pad-a-cheek barrel cover and the problem was solved.

I will try that. I do have a hose cover at home, but I am travelling right now, so I can't try it tonight.

Keep in mind you mask is not heated....only the tube is.

Good point. The CL2 masks have lots of surface area for heat loss too. However, I was expecting the ClimateLine to perform at least as well as my Sleepzone heated hose, hence my concern about the ClimateLine being defective.

[JeffL]

The only time I had rainout was when I over filled the tank.
I've noticed that that hose does not feel warm also, but I just assumed it was because I have the temperature set to 85 degrees, but that is still lower than normal skin temperature (which I believe is about 89 degrees), therefore it is relatively cooler than my hand.

[Perrybucsdad]

The climate line prevents rain-out in the tube, however it does not stop rainout in the mask. I would suggest a barrel cozy or cover. I was getting some rain-out in my Swift LT mask...however I added pad-a-cheek barrel cover and the problem was solved.

I will try that. I do have a hose cover at home, but I am travelling right now, so I can't try it tonight.

Keep in mind you mask is not heated....only the tube is.

Good point. The CL2 masks have lots of surface area for heat loss too. However, I was expecting the ClimateLine to perform at least as well as my Sleepzone heated hose, hence my concern about the ClimateLine being defective.

These are all valid, but even still, if the settings are correct, you shouldn't have rainout. I keep my humidity setting very high and am able to avoid rainout in a 60F room at night. Please see my post above on how to accomplish that.

John

[Uncle_Bob]

There are two modes for climateline, Auto and Manual. In both modes you can select the desired temperature for the air delivered at the end of the hose.
However in the Auto mode that temperature is not guaranteed, humidity level and rainout protection take priority.
In Manual mode air temperature and humidity can be set independently, this provides greater flexibility but without the rainout protection guaranteed in Auto mode.

Given that you are using Auto mode and experiencing frequent rainout i would probably get it checked out. I run in auto mode and have never experienced rainout and I have never noticed the hose feel warm to the touch.

[Linus]

Try rolling up the hose and cover it with a pillow as a test. This should trap heat and allow you to feel if it is working. I do this I hotels with my aussie hose to make sure that I have the power adapter connected properly.

[Bobby269]

I keep the temperature set to 82. Climate line connected . The only time I felt the hose to be very warm was last winter. It was about 65 room temperature each time.

[fuzzyjon]

Try rolling up the hose and cover it with a pillow as a test. This should trap heat and allow you to feel if it is working. I do this I hotels with my aussie hose to make sure that I have the power adapter connected properly.

Yes, this works well with my aussie hose too. I find that if you just touch two sections of the hose together you can feel them get warm.

[fuzzyjon]

I called ResMed technical support. They said that there isn't a way to tell if the host is heating properly, other than the presence of rainout. Since I am having such problems with rainout while using the ClimateLine, they said it is likely that there is a fault either with the hose or with one of the 5 sensors on the Autoset.

I then called cpap.com (from whom I bought all of this), and they will exchange the Autoset and the ClimateLine.

I was impressed with the service from both ResMed and cpap.com - prompt, friendly, and competent. Kudos!

[fuzzyjon]

One other data point: I hooked up my Aussie hose to the Autoset last night, and set the humidity level to 2. No rainout!