Resmed water chamber issues

I have a Resmed Airsense 10, almost 3 years now, with full face mask. I have had to get replacement water chambers maybe 8 times now as each one develops a leak at the seal near the bottom of the unit.

Not sure if it's relevant but I travel a lot by car and train and put the machine in its bag then the bag in my suitcase with the rest of my stuff, so I wonder if the water chamber isn't robust enough for that?

Has anyone else had similar issues with the water chamber?

And does anyone have a suggestion for a travel cpap, with humidifier that works with full face mask, that I can use instead of my current machine when I travel? Ideally that I could use with the same mask as home so it doesn't feel different.

I'm based in the UK so my machine is from the NHS but I don't mind paying for a travel one if it'll be robust.

I have same machine (Resmed 10) and had to replace water chamber once. It started leaking. I have since quit soaking it in warm soapy water and only rinse out
the container with warm water and then I dry it off with micro fiber towel. I do wash hose, connector, and mask in warm soapy water. I dry off mask with Micro Fiber Towel. I hang hose up to dry over night. I have extra hose (already dry) and extra connector that is already dry that I hook up to use and then place Mask, hose
and connector with dryed water chamber all connected and use SoClean Machine to run 10 minutes.

I think if you soak water chamber in warm soapy water it may start leaking after several weeks. This seems to work best for me.

Frequent cleaning tends to damage intentionally fragile parts,
thus is recommended by those who make and sell replacements.
See a pattern?
If you feel compelled to clean often, do so with care.
It might still cost you, but your comfort may be worth it.

My water reservoir is almost 4 years old, and my wife's is 2 years old. Neither one has ever leaked. I wash them once a month, rather they need it or not. I found a small amount of mineral deposits in them once when I bought my distilled water from a different source than I usually do. I handle them carefully when cleaning them and putting them back together.

I have a Resmed Airsense 10 and none of my water chambers have leaked. I only get replacements every 6 months because that is what my insurance will pay for. I only travel once a year by plane & I use the travel bag from Resmed that came with my equipment & I carry my CPAP equipment on the airplane with me as my carry on luggage. If you weren't issued a storage bag when you initially received your equipment and are leaving it loose & not protected, that may be the reason why. I submerge my water tank in hot soapy water once a week to clean, and still no issues with it cracking or leaking. It must be because it is not well protected while travelling.

Several years back, there was a run of bad tanks.
Perhaps the OP should request one from a fresh shipment;
as it seems that they have some of the crappy ones left in Europe.

Thank you for the replies so far. I do keep the unit & accessories in the provided padded bag when travelling. I rinse the humidifier each morning, standing it upside down (like an upside down V) to dry. I also wash it in warm soapy water approx every one to two weeks. I'm not sure if the heat setting on my machine. Seems to me the part is v fragile and a silly place to put a metal / plastic join under the water. I hope NHS UK are not paying for each replacement but rather insisting manufacturer replaces. But who knows!

I'll post separately re travel machines to get a reply to that question.

Thanks again.

When you pack the unit up for travel, do you remove the tank from the machine? Instructions say to keep them separate.

Yes I pack the water chamber separately in its little space in the bag, thanks for the suggestion.

You seem to be doing everything right, so I'm not sure what the problem is with your water tanks. Aren't all Resmed water chambers & equipment made in the same place no matter where you live in the World? Or are there different manufacturing plants globally? If Resmed has different manufacturing plants globally, that could be the issue. It could be a manufacturing flaw. However, I do know that some people living in the US complain about the same thing. I may just be one of the lucky ones that gets sent good water tanks. With that being said, I have likely jinxed myself and my next water tank will leak.

or, maybe it is the water. I know that in San Antonio, TX the water is VERY hard. I would not use plain tap water if your water is very hard. That could cause more wear & tear on your equipment. I know that we went through 2 washing machines, 3 hot water heaters, 2 dishwashers, & 2 refrigerators and too many coffee pots to count all because of hard water. I used only distilled water in my water tank then. Now, I have a water softener with filter, so I have nice soft, filtered water. Now I do use tap water & we are in the process of replacing our household appliances as we can afford to. We started with a new coffee pot since that was priority number one. Maybe it IS your water.

I have two of the water tanks that made the bottom of the heating plate wet all the time. When I open the top to refill the tank water will run out. Nor sure what is going on. I send a order now for a third tank. This was happening on both standard and dishwasher safe tanks.

Update: When I fill both cambers outside and let it sit. It will not leak. By once I put one in the machine the heater plate never seems to get warm and water vapor seems to get out and condense on the outside heat plate and make it cold and wet. I use the humidifier on manual with heater set for 3. The preheat seems to work but never stays warm and will shut off in a very low humidly room. It is a bit of a mystery and do not want mold to grow in places that it should not be.

When I wake up the next morning and check the water chamber. I noticed that heater plate on the Resmed AirSense 10 and the outside metal plate on the water chamber were sweating water and cold. It seems that water vapor was escaping creating a cooling effect that cause water to condense on the outside of both metal plates. Colorado is a very dry environment and I am surprised that it would happen. The older Resmed S9 does not have this effect. Am I the only one that noticed this?

A bit late to the party here but my (Dreamstation) water chamber cracked and had to be replaced 4 times over 7 months. I was putting some kind of herbal decongestant oil in the water (against manufacturers directions, I know.) It's been 2 years since I stopped doing that and the water chamber hasn't cracked since. Hope this helps someone.

I'm sure you're doing this anyway but I'd also only take my equipment as carry-on due to the temperature difference in the hold.

I've heard that the machine-washable version is nearly identical to the regular version of the tank, but just wondering -- have you tried the machine-washable tank?

Chris