Feels like a lot of hot air

sarkel · Post by **sarkel** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:50 pm

I am one week into using my REmstarCpap plus cFlex. I am having some trouble adjusting, but I am finding the heated air to be particularly
bothersome. I have the humidifer set on 2, but it just feels awful, not even moist. Should the water all be gone in the morning on this setting??
I am finding that it only goes down a little. Can you use the humidifier with out any heat????

Any advise you can give would be appreciated.

felineperson3 · Post by **felineperson3** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:08 pm

Sarkel,
I don't have the same machine that you do since I use the RemStar Auto but I do have the heated humidifier with mine and I'm sure the operation is probably very similar. I have my humidifier set on 2 also and the amount used through the night seems to vary according to the pressures my machine has to maintain through the night to keep my apnea controlled. My humidifier has never emptied in one night--usually on the setting of 2 it uses anywhere from 6-8 ounces. Before I purchased the heated humidifier I had the passover type which just delivers cool, moist air. The heated humidifier I have now automatically heats when I turn it on. I don't know if this helped answer your question or not, but hopefully someone with more knowlege can be of help to you. You will find this is a fantastic forum with very helpful, caring individuals.

ahujudybear · Post by **ahujudybear** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:26 pm

Welcome to the forum, FP!!!

Well, the warmer the water is, the more moisture you should be getting.

Are you sure it is connected properly? You should be getting the air directly from the humidifier.

Are you putting enough water into the chamber? The closer the water is to the maximum fill line, the more moisture is delivered.

When you have the mask on and the machine running, can you see turbulence in the water?

The humidifier can be used at any of the temperature settings on the machine - all the way to 0 (Off). With the heater off it is said to be in the passive operation mode. This is a nice one to use when the room air is too warm and you need some way to cool off.

My humidifier is turned down to 1½ to prevent moisture from getting into the exhaust vent holes in my mask. But even at a setting of 2½, I was only using about 1 cup of water for two naps and overnight.

That's about all I can think of. Maybe others have more suggestions?
- JB

IWannaSleep · Post by **IWannaSleep** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:06 pm

I use a REMstar auto, and I cannot relate at all to the effect you and others have reported of the air coming into your mask being uncomfortably warm. At any setting I've ever used on my humidifier I have never been able to sense a difference in the air temperature at the mask.

At higher humidifier temp settings I have noticed higher water usage. Remember you never want your tank to run dry while you're using it. Hopefully it's designed to hold enough water so you can sleep a full night with the temp set on high and not run dry.

Ron

momexp5 · Post by **momexp5** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 4:23 pm

I have the same issue - so I'm "*bump*"ing this thread - I've also got a REMStar Plus CFlex with hh - I wish when I woke up that the air I was getting felt cooler and moister - which way do I set the numbers, to a lower number or a higher number? ::still confused::

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:15 pm

You can't have cool moist air with a heated humidifier.

Maybe this will help answer your queation about humidity.

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guide ... lp/rh.rxml

Might try cutting 2 holes in a cooler and passing the hose thru. Fill the cooler with ice. You'll get cool air but it wont be moist. At least till the hose fills from rainout.

:twis ted:

snowdog · Post by **snowdog** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:16 pm

I'm using the same machine with the heated humidifier set to 3. I'm not feeling the "heated" part but the air is moist. In an average night I'll use about 2/3 of the water in the humidifier. Keep in mind that I'm a mouth breather so I probably suck up more water during the night than the average nose breather.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:25 pm

I wish when I woke up that the air I was getting felt cooler and moister

The warmer the water, the more moisture the air can pick up passing over it. Plus, the air itself will get warmed as it goes through the heated humidifier. Gotta have warm air to carry much moisture.

I don't think we can have it both ways at once - "cooler AND moister". Well, on second thought, there's always a chance for a cooling spray of rainout....be careful what you wish for!

TurboSleeper · Post by **TurboSleeper** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:06 pm

Hi I got this effect when I used my Activa but have not noticed it with the Swift even with a setting of 4 on the Remaster. I could only use a setting of 2 with the Activa as it felt warm above that. With the Swift the air goes directly into the nose so I do not feel the heat. I really love my Swift.

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 3:25 pm

Just remember . Its all relative. Thats why they call it relative humidity. Cool outdoor air at 80% humidity may only be 30% in your heated house. This Dry air will remove more water from your humidifier than moist air such as in an unairconditioned home in humid country. Therefore the # you set it at has no meaning as far as output is concerned. Its just there for reference. A landmark. Thats why some folks last longer than others.

:twis ted:

sarkel · Post by **sarkel** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:01 pm

Maybe I'm just too new at this since its only been one week. But I have a new machine w/humidifier. i set it on 2 and in the morning, it looks like the water level has only gone down maybe 1/8 of an inch??????

Also I might all, at this point in this exhausting saga, i am probably only wearing the mask for 4 hours a night. (Most of it awake I might add)

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:10 pm

Set at 2. Turn it up a few . Can't hurt anything. Errr shouldn't hurt. Not like its going to explode. I hope not anyway. You could always call an expert I suppose. Just remember, As the weather changes so should the setting.

:twis ted:

Newsgrouper · Post by **Newsgrouper** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:22 pm

I have a Remstar Auto with heated humidifier but I use the humidifier as a passive one. I don't like the warm air provided by the heated unit. I like the air to be cool. I have no problem with lack the lack of humidity through my masks. No problem with "dryness" and I live in the Mojave Desert.

IWannaSleep · Post by **IWannaSleep** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 12:36 am

sarkel wrote:Maybe I'm just too new at this since its only been one week. But I have a new machine w/humidifier. i set it on 2 and in the morning, it looks like the water level has only gone down maybe 1/8 of an inch??????

Also I might all, at this point in this exhausting saga, i am probably only wearing the mask for 4 hours a night. (Most of it awake I might add)

The less you wear your mask the less water you are going to use. Also only increase the heater setting if you need more humidity. If you are comfortable after a full nights use, then leave it alone. On the other hand, if you wake up sneezing, congested, dry throat, etc then you may need to turn up the humidifier heat to add more moisture to the air.

A lot of factors will affect how much water you use. You need to be aware of this and make adjustments as the weather and other factors where you live changes.

Finally it can take a long time to adjust to where you can sleep a full night with all this scuba gear on. Even after 2 trial weeks, it probably was at least another 10 days before I started getting comfortable and able to sleep once I got my equipment. It then took a week or more to tweak mask, change to a different mask and get that settled to where I settled in on the Swift as my primary mask. And then even more time to anlyze data using Encore/MyEncore and come to conclusions and tweak in my pressure settings. After more than 2 months I'm still tweaking and adjusting, and my results continue to improve and I sleep better as well.

Hang in there, stick with it, keep analyzing and adjusting. It's not all gonna get better over night, at least for most of us.

Ron