ResMed S9 power off?

[LauraK]

I am new to the CPAP user world and have about three weeks in so far, with mixed results. I'm averaging about 4/.5 hours night and alternate between the full mask some times and the nose mask. I was dx'd with mild apnea but have other health issues and trying this is a good thing.

I have a ResMed s9.

My biggest question is how on earth do I turn this machine off in the morning? I don't want to unplug it every day but I know it is sucking electricity all day long. The light stays on and it is idling waiting for me to use it. I've had heat pump problems lately and very concious of the electric costs, especially since my electric bill for the past month just arrived and it was $400. Yikes!!! I've read the instruction book but can't find the answer to what should be a simple thing.

Thanks for helping me out if you can.
Laura

[sol]

It hardly uses any electricity but you could unplug it.

[idamtnboy]

It hardly uses any electricity but you could unplug it.

Hold the on/off button in for about 3 seconds. But it does drop down to a standby mode with exceeding little power draw. Actually, you really would need to unplug it from the outlet if you want it totally dead because the power brick will continue to draw ever so little power.

[LauraK]

Thanks to you both. For the life of me I was befuddled by this and kept thinking I must be missing something. I appreciate knowing that at least I could read the manual and still not have an answer.

I'll stop thinking of it ghosting power and look for other things in the house that might be causing this problem. We've had such a mild winter that I have to blame this "highest ever!" power bill on something.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer me.

[GumbyCT]

It hardly uses any electricity but you could unplug it.

Agreed. Next to nothing is used. But you can plug into a power strip then turn that off. Doing so will screw up the data tho as it is not done calculating as soon as you get up.

I don't have a Re$med but I think they leave the blower on low for a short period to dry out the hose. Is that what you are concerned about?

You can always ask your DME.

[idamtnboy]

I'll stop thinking of it ghosting power and look for other things in the house that might be causing this problem. We've had such a mild winter that I have to blame this "highest ever!" power bill on something.

I got curious so plugged mine into a Kill-A-Watt unit for a few minutes. Here's what I find.

In warm up mode - ~70 watts
Blower turned on but mask not on face - ~36 watts
In off mode with screens still lit - ~6 watts
In auto off mode after screens go dark - ~5 watts
In complete off mode (power button held down) - ~ 4 watts
S9 unplugged from power brick - ~3 watts

Sooooo, if you leave it plugged in all the time in complete off mode you'll use about 4 watts. If you sleep 8 hours that leaves 16 hrs. 16 x 4 = 64 watt hours or 0.064 kilowatt hours per day. If your power is about $0.10 per kwh it costs you about 0.64 cents per day, or about 19 cents/month to leave it plugged in! I really don't think it's the cause of your $400 power bill!

[sol]

It hardly uses any electricity but you could unplug it.

Agreed. Next to nothing is used. But you can plug into a power strip then turn that off. Do so will screw up the data tho as it is not done calculating as soon as you get up.

As far as i,m aware data get recorded breathing through the mask and stop recording the moment switching the machine off. May be i,m missing something here but can,t find any reference in the S9 manual.

[GumbyCT]

It hardly uses any electricity but you could unplug it.

Agreed. Next to nothing is used. But you can plug into a power strip then turn that off. Do so will screw up the data tho as it is not done calculating as soon as you get up.

As far as i,m aware data get recorded breathing through the mask and stop recording the moment switching the machine off. May be i,m missing something here but can,t find any reference in the S9 manual.

Try unplugging it as soon as you get up then post. In fact, instead of pushing the power button just unplug it in the morning.

[idamtnboy]

As far as i,m aware data get recorded breathing through the mask and stop recording the moment switching the machine off. May be i,m missing something here but can,t find any reference in the S9 manual.

No, it is not in the manual, but there is a delay. How much? Good question. I've haven't pursued it to get it defined exactly, but it could be up to 1 or 2 minutes after you turn the blower off before all the data is for sure written to the card. The best I can figure out data is written to the card in cycles, probably every one minute. One reason I say that is because all the data files are exactly a full minute increment long. I know there has been data generated in my S9 after the final full minute increment that was not written to the card even with normal shut down.

My first machine crapped out last summer. The last night I used it it shut down spontaneously eight times. Looking at the data the other night only four of the eight sessions had data completely written to the card.

To be on the safe side, if you plan to cut power to the S9 wait at least 2 minutes after the mask session is turned off before doing so. However, considering how little power it consumes in standby I can't see any justification for doing so. You probably lose more money warming up your car for an extra 1/2 minute in the morning!

[GumbyCT]

Try unplugging it as soon as you get up - then post. In fact, instead of pushing the power button just unplug it in the morning.

But you'd never know it unless you check your data, so it wouldn't matter.

[-tim]

I should plug this in my test gear but thats at work and I'm on holidays this week.

The power supply meets current and the next step of Aussie power supply requirements.

That means the 3 to 5 W that a "kill o watt" device is measuring are most likely wrong and its much less than that and those devices are very bad with switching power supplies at low loads. I've tested lots of them against a thousand dollar device at work that was calibrated.

The old rule is 1 W is good for about $1 per year if left on all year. With modern power rates like the ones in Australia getting to .20 / kwh that should be doubled so my 12 W CFL back porch light that is always on should cost me $24 per year.

The resmed power supply seems to be very good and highly efficient (but I reserve the right to slam it based on hooking it to my test lab and seeing real numbers)

I didn't know about the hold the power down for a few seconds shut it all the way down mode but from what I can tell, that seems to turn off the slight blow feature which helps keep the tubing dry but doesn't save enough power to justify the contamination risk in my mind. The S9 runs very slowly for a while after the water tank hits ambient temperature to vent the tube. I'm ok with the cents per year that takes compared with the risk of pneumonia from condensation in the tube. The power to run that may be cheaper than the water it takes to rinse the tube.

*** I would not use the hold the power down button feature *****

[LauraK]

Thanks, everyone, for really getting into this discussion a step further. I have no doubt I will leave the power on. I am due for a follow-up and taking the whole machine to my sleep doctor in early March, so she can check it all. I definitely want the data to continue to be there, including that I couldn't leave it on long the last two nights - that's a different topic and I'll post that question in a new conversation after I get the info on my mask to include. Thanks again to all of you for working through this with me.

We got a new roof this fall thanks to a major hail storm, and it was leaking. The roofer came in and "fixed" it, but our attic exhaust fan has run pretty much non-stop with the humidity setting at 70% -today will be a climb into the attic to turn that off and see how that effects the bill. I have no idea how much that draws.

[idamtnboy]

That means the 3 to 5 W that a "kill o watt" device is measuring are most likely wrong and its much less than that and those devices are very bad with switching power supplies at low loads. I've tested lots of them against a thousand dollar device at work that was calibrated.

Actually the kill-a-watt showed it in volt-amps. It also showed a power factor of about .55. I wouldn't be surprised at the lack of accuracy of the kill-a-watt since it's an inexpensive, ~$25 US, consumer product.

Will be interesting to see what your high class measuring equipment shows.

[GumbyCT]

I wouldn't be surprised at the lack of accuracy of the kill-a-watt since it's an inexpensive, ~$25 US, consumer product.

Will be interesting to see what your high class measuring equipment shows.

Agreed they are cheap and not calibrated but I doubt they are that far off. It will give you an idea of what is going on.

[archangle]

I believe there's a watch battery in the machine that keeps the clock running, and I don't think it's user replaceable. When it runs down, your machine will no longer know what time it is for data collection.

Unplugging the machine or shutting off the external power may make the battery run down faster.

Even without power, the battery will probably last for many years anyway.