AirSense 10 Humidifier badly discoloured after first use

[princessbelle]

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[dave21]

Thats what is known as thermal spalling. It's a defect in the metal caused by a hotspot that formed when that part of the metal got much, much hotter than the surrounding metal. Somehow it heated unevenly and as a result it caused this thermal spalling. This is a good indication that either the heating element is faulty or it is distributing the heat very unevenly, Either way, Resmed needs to look into this further. Don't be surprised if they ask you to send it back to them and give you a free replacement. They'll probably want to dissect that one to find out what went wrong in the manufacturing process.

I agree and add that it could also be a warped metal plate or tub bottom. Either one could stop the two surfaces from making contact and cause a hot spot

I would agree if the same damage was done to the metal tub on the underside where the heater place touches the tub base, but that is completely free of any marks, it's only the inside of the tub where the marks are shown. If it were just hotspots and warped metal then surely the same marks would show on the underside of the tub?

[dave21]

I got my AirSense 10 on the 14th of November and didn't notice this mark until last night, (looked because of this post0. I have used every night and the mark is like the one in the photo posted by Tangled hose.

Sorry to hear that but it does seem to be an inherent manufacturing defect, the good news is at least you can get something done about it now rather than when it's too late.

[Guest]

... the good news is at least you can get something done about it now rather than when it's too late.

The jury is still out on whether Resmed will do anything at all about it.

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[dave21]

Does anyone have a photo of what the dishwasher safe humidifier water chamber looks like? I've looked at CPAP.com and the pictures are identical for the standard vs dishwasher safer version.

ResMed say they are replacing the water chamber (tub) but I'm wondering if it's like the S9. The S9 standard tub didn't come apart in two, but the dishwasher safe one did. The AirSense 10 one I have can come apart but its hinged and you can remove the hinge (carefully), so I'm wondering whether that's the standard or dishwasher safe tub I currently have? In the UK they did with the S9 ship the dishwasher safe tubs and not standard tubs previously with machines.

[palerider]

there are three s9 containers, .original standard (36802), replacement standard (36803) and cleanable (dishwashable) (36800)

the 802 and 800 look pretty much the same.

[damburke]

I have the same humidifier as you and this doesn't look good. You might want to call ResMed back and get another opinion about using tap water. I have never heard anything about using nothing but distilled water. You also might have a malfunction in your machine.

[princessbelle]

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[chunkyfrog]

On the Airsense 10 tank, the only visible difference is the color of the opaque plastic "grip"
on the top of the lid. I believe the better tank has a lighter color gray piece than the " regular" one.
Edit, I am now told the grip on the regular is white. Mine is gray, kind of medium.

[TangledHose]

Does anyone have a photo of what the dishwasher safe humidifier water chamber looks like? I've looked at CPAP.com and the pictures are identical for the standard vs dishwasher safer version.

ResMed say they are replacing the water chamber (tub) but I'm wondering if it's like the S9. The S9 standard tub didn't come apart in two, but the dishwasher safe one did. The AirSense 10 one I have can come apart but its hinged and you can remove the hinge (carefully), so I'm wondering whether that's the standard or dishwasher safe tub I currently have? In the UK they did with the S9 ship the dishwasher safe tubs and not standard tubs previously with machines.

dave.........they look very similar.........the most distinguishing feature is the plastic traction pad that sticks out on top is gray on the dishwasher safe, and white on the standard.

Also if you look carefully on the upper lid just above the water fill icon that's on the lower lid you'll see the word: HumidAir S......the "S" is enclosed in a little square...on the standard...and on the Dishwasher safe in the same place you'll see: HumidAir C..........the "C" is also in a square........the letters are embossed in the clear plastic on the top lid just above where the lower lid has the fill line when closed. I would assume the "S" means Standard and the "C" means cleanable or something like that

The Dishwasher safe is the lower one in this picture..........and it's just condensation inside the tub.......otherwise the plastic looks similar, but the metal does seem higher quality feel and look.

Hey one thing I noticed when I took this picture............the Standard tub had the words "Distilled Water Only" embossed on the lower left air tube, but the dishwasher safe tub does not have that corresponding notice ........it's blank.........you can see this in the picture below........what does that tell you?

[dave21]

Thanks everyone, especially TangledHose, that really has helped, that's a great description of both with photos!

Okay, now for the bad news, like I said ResMed UK ship the S9 with the dishwasher safe tub, I don't know why but I guess it's a local office/market decision to not include the standard tubs, maybe they've had complaints over the years about these and choose to go with dishwasher safe tubs.

The AirSense 10 tub I have (and came with the AirSense 10) is the Dishwasher safe tub . Just as you mention TangledHose, it has the dark grey grip on top and the wording HumidAir [C] on the clear plastic on the top lid, I also don't have the use distilled water on the tub, so it's the same as your dishwasher/cleanable tub.

So this unfortunately means the damage is happening across the board, not just in the standard water chambers but more interestingly seems to be worse in my Dishwasher safe water chamber .

ResMed have agreed to send out a replacement that I should receive today hopefully and to return this one photo above for inspection, I'll inspect the new one and take photos of it before use but suspect it will be the same dishwasher safe water chamber and then see after one night then after four nights whether I see the same damage occur.

I guess it's possible like mentioned by an early poster that it could actually be a batch of faulty heater plates on the machine causing the damage and maybe they don't do it all the time, but then if some of you have the dishwasher safe water chamber and that seems to resolve it for you, then maybe it's just the machine is heating the plate up now and then to a much higher temperature that's causing the damage and you haven't seen it yet on the dishwasher safe tubs. This is only speculation, but it looks like the dishwasher safe water chamber being safe may be debunked now, or maybe I just have one-off bad dishwasher safe tub.

Here's photos of my dishwasher safe water chamber, notice now on the first photo the extent of the damage after the 5th night of use and no marks on the underside of the tub that suggests the metal is getting heated up too much, although the damage definitely does look like a horrendous hotspot inside the tub...


The only good thing I can really say about the damage is it's a pretty looking halo with blue, yellow, green and red all showing.

[dave21]

I thought I'd compare the difference after Night 1 and Night 5 of how the tub looks, anyone experiencing trouble with their tubs may want to take regular photos and store them just in case because it will get worse once they appear to be damaged.

This is the damage caused in the AirSense 10 Humid Air [C] tub after 1 night use with regular tap water, rinsed out with regular tap water and dabbed dry with a towel


This is the damage caused in the AirSense 10 Humid Air [C] tub after 5 nights use with regular tap water, rinsed out with regular tap water and dabbed dry with a towel


Whatever damage is being done by that hot plate is definitely getting worse.

[Julie]

Why haven't you seen the DME?

[dave21]

Why haven't you seen the DME?

I'm in the UK, we don't have DME's like you do in the US & Canada. I purchased direct from ResMed.

ResMed UK say they're in discussions with ResMed Australia (head office) to discuss what is happening with the water chambers.

[TangledHose]

This is all very interesting Dave, especially since your damage occoured with the dishwasher safe tub, that surprises me - be sure and keep us updated, I am curious to see what ReaMed says about your issue.