Manometer

[Stevoreno_55]

Do any of you CPAP users own a manometer? I spoke to CPAP.com yesterday about one and they recommended this one which sells for $78.00:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/guage- ... ssure.html

I was considering shipping my 6 year old machine to a company in Tennessee to have it checked out; have my heated humidifier checked out and second check my machine's pressure out because the RT who came out to my house last week to check the pressure on my machine got a reading on her manometer of 13.5cm when it should be 18cm. The company in Tennessee told me they'd check my machine out for $90.00 but if my machine's blower was going bad and my heated humidifier needed to be replaced it would cost me around $300.00 if I wanted them to repair my machine. I'm not going to spend $300.00 on a 6 year old machine; I'd be better off investing $300.00 in a new machine. Do any of you own a manometer to check your machine's pressure from time to time?



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

[LSAT]

Any DME can check your machine's pressure in less than 5 minutes.......FREE. OR you can make your own manometer. The instructions are available here if you search. (or google homemade manometer)

[Jay Aitchsee]

This sounds pretty easy : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=95316&p=883884&hili ... er#p883884

If you want to test it, you could rig up a simple home made water manometer. Just tape or rubber band the end of your hose to a centimeter scaled ruler, making sure the end of the hose exactly lines up with zero.

Fill a large glass or pitcher with water. Lower the ruler/hose contraption into the water, making sure to lower it deep enough that the ruler measurement breaking the surface of the water is well larger than your CPAP prescription setting. For example, if your prescription is 10cm, you want to make sure that the 10cm mark (and then some) is submerged.

Now, turn on your CPAP, and SLOWLY start raising the ruler out of the water. The ruler reading at the surface of the water, just when bubbles start to emerge from the hose, is the setting your machine is calibrated to.

I should warn you that the difference between "bubbles start to appear" and "water splashing everywhere" is pretty small, so raise the device out of the water SLOWLY and stop as soon as you see bubbles.

This trick was originally posted by another cpaptalk member, I can't take credit for it, but it's pretty brilliant.

The reason I suggest doing this is because I had a similar problem when I first got my Transcend - I felt like it was blowing me up like a balloon! I was sure that they must have set it wrong. Only they didn't, both the Transcend and my REMstar were reading exactly 10cm. I think these travel machines are just a little funky, maybe it has something to do with the size and type of motor they have to use on such a small device?

At least this way you'll know whether the machine has been set properly.

[JDS74]

Do you have symptoms that make you suspect the humidifier is not working properly?
Check the temperature in the morning to see if it hot or not.
The price quoted is likely to be the price of the humidifier unit. If yours has failed in some way, you could replace it for about $150 with and external unit from F&P for about $150 or so ( the HC150 external humidifier ) which will then work with any blower unit in the future.

With the reported difference in air pressure, it would make sense to build your own manometer and check it over several days to make sure that the reported value is correct. If it is, then for a while you might try dialing up the pressure until your manometer reads the correct value according to your scrip.

Separately, you might want to check to see that there are not obstructions in the blower unit that are preventing adequate air flow into the machine. I have seen posts about a third filter inside the machine that does restrict the air flow and that may be the source of the problem. I recall that fixing it involved opening the case and if that is worrisome to you, then it probably is worth the money to have the machine checked out and have the company replace / clean that filter.

[Bama Rambler]

Some aquarium tubing, a board, a few wire ties and a metric ruler is all you need to make your own.

[Wulfman...]

Do any of you CPAP users own a manometer? I spoke to CPAP-dot-com yesterday about one and they recommended this one which sells for $78.00:

http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html

I was considering shipping my 6 year old machine to a company in Tennessee to have it checked out; have my heated humidifier checked out and second check my machine's pressure out because the RT who came out to my house last week to check the pressure on my machine got a reading on her manometer of 13.5cm when it should be 18cm. The company in Tennessee told me they'd check my machine out for $90.00 but if my machine's blower was going bad and my heated humidifier needed to be replaced it would cost me around $300.00 if I wanted them to repair my machine. I'm not going to spend $300.00 on a 6 year old machine; I'd be better off investing $300.00 in a new machine. Do any of you own a manometer to check your machine's pressure from time to time?



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

I bought one of those gauge manometers back in 2011 and use it periodically. Works good.
Before that, I used the "home-made" method......a bucket of water and marked my pressure on the hose with marking pen and a ruler in centimeters. You put the hose into the bucket of water, turn on the machine and then check for bubbles with the hose inserted to the marked line. That method works, but with 10 machines, I wanted something a little more precise and handier to use, so I got the one from CPAP-dot-COM.


Den

.

[Stevoreno_55]

Any DME can check your machine's pressure in less than 5 minutes.......FREE. OR you can make your own manometer. The instructions are available here if you search. (or google homemade manometer)

My RT came out to the house last week with her manometer which after she checked my machine she thought her device was defective. She got a reading of 13.5cm on my machine which is set to 18cm. She didn't charge me anything to check the pressure on my machine but she couldn't be certain that my machine was putting out a pressure of 13.5cm when it should be 18cm. She had only one manometer to use to check my machine out with. I saw my PCP this morning; I asked him to write me a Rx for a new CPAP machine; he asked me when my last sleep study was; I told him I underwent a 2 night study in October 2007; his response was no to a new machine; it's time for a new 2 night study.

I spoke to 3 labs in my area today; all 3 told me they did 2 night studies; I would be tested on the first night without a machine; unlike my October 2007 test where I came back the next night to be tested with a machine; all 3 labs told me today the 2nd night of the study would take place 7 to 10 days later; sooner if the lab got my test results back quicker from the 1st night of the study; later if my test results from night #1 came back later. Nobody does back to back 2 night studies anymore? I might have to wait 7 to 10 days before I can return to a lab to undergo the 2nd night of the 2 night study?



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

[Stevoreno_55]

Do you have symptoms that make you suspect the humidifier is not working properly?
Check the temperature in the morning to see if it hot or not.
The price quoted is likely to be the price of the humidifier unit. If yours has failed in some way, you could replace it for about $150 with and external unit from F&P for about $150 or so ( the HC150 external humidifier ) which will then work with any blower unit in the future.

With the reported difference in air pressure, it would make sense to build your own manometer and check it over several days to make sure that the reported value is correct. If it is, then for a while you might try dialing up the pressure until your manometer reads the correct value according to your scrip.

Separately, you might want to check to see that there are not obstructions in the blower unit that are preventing adequate air flow into the machine. I have seen posts about a third filter inside the machine that does restrict the air flow and that may be the source of the problem. I recall that fixing it involved opening the case and if that is worrisome to you, then it probably is worth the money to have the machine checked out and have the company replace / clean that filter.

It doesn't seem to heat the water up as good as it did when it was new but I saw my PCP this morning; rather than write me a script for a new CPAP machine he told me it was time for me to have another 2 night sleep study since it's been almost 7 years since my last 2 night study.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

[Stevoreno_55]

Do any of you CPAP users own a manometer? I spoke to CPAP-dot-com yesterday about one and they recommended this one which sells for $78.00:

http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html

I was considering shipping my 6 year old machine to a company in Tennessee to have it checked out; have my heated humidifier checked out and second check my machine's pressure out because the RT who came out to my house last week to check the pressure on my machine got a reading on her manometer of 13.5cm when it should be 18cm. The company in Tennessee told me they'd check my machine out for $90.00 but if my machine's blower was going bad and my heated humidifier needed to be replaced it would cost me around $300.00 if I wanted them to repair my machine. I'm not going to spend $300.00 on a 6 year old machine; I'd be better off investing $300.00 in a new machine. Do any of you own a manometer to check your machine's pressure from time to time?



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

I bought one of those gauge manometers back in 2011 and use it periodically. Works good.
Before that, I used the "home-made" method......a bucket of water and marked my pressure on the hose with marking pen and a ruler in centimeters. You put the hose into the bucket of water, turn on the machine and then check for bubbles with the hose inserted to the marked line. That method works, but with 10 machines, I wanted something a little more precise and handier to use, so I got the one from CPAP-dot-COM.


Den

.

Did you buy this one or one like it? http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

[Wulfman...]

Did you buy this one or one like it? http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

There is only one. That's it......the one made by Tiara.


Den

.

[Guest]

stev for what you need i would use the bucket o water method
tonite

[Stevoreno_55]

Did you buy this one or one like it? http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

There is only one. That's it......the one made by Tiara.


Den

.

There were actually 2 on the website last night; the one made by Tiara which sells for $78.00 which was recommended to me by CPAP.com and another one made by Fisher and Paykel which sells for $49.00.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/fisher ... amber.html



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

[Stevoreno_55]

stev for what you need i would use the bucket o water method
tonite

The bucket of water method? Explain.


Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

[Wulfman...]

Did you buy this one or one like it? http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

There is only one. That's it......the one made by Tiara.


Den

.

There were actually 2 on the website last night; the one made by Tiara which sells for $78.00 which was recommended to me by CPAP-dot-com and another one made by Fisher and Paykel which sells for $49.00.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

But your specific link and question in the first post was to and about the Tiara gauge manometer. And that was how I tried to answer your question. CPAP-dot-COM only offers one gauge manometer.


Den

.

[Stevoreno_55]

Did you buy this one or one like it? http : // www . cpap . com/productpage/guage-manometer-pressure . html



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

There is only one. That's it......the one made by Tiara.


Den

.

There were actually 2 on the website last night; the one made by Tiara which sells for $78.00 which was recommended to me by CPAP-dot-com and another one made by Fisher and Paykel which sells for $49.00.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/09/14

But your specific link and question in the first post was to and about the Tiara gauge manometer. And that was how I tried to answer your question. CPAP-dot-COM only offers one gauge manometer.


Den

.

Roger that.