Attention Bleep cpap mask users...new hose and diffuser now available

There's a new hose being offered now in the connector kits and a diffuser as well.
The hose is around 14 inches long and much more flexible than the original hose. Maybe not quite as flexible as the P10 hose but it's so close it's hard to tell the difference. Very lightweight and flexible....super nice. I have been using one for a little while now and couldn't tell anyone until they were available for sale to the public because I knew everyone would want one.

The diffuser is a bit hard to describe but it fits up against the vent holes and holds the diffusing material of your choice over the holes to diffuse the venting. I will get you some pictures in a bit.....but PR and I decided it looks like a thong so that is what we call it.
I have also been using it for a few weeks....and have had occasion to change the diffusing material since it does eventually get a bit yucky looking. Super simple to do ....just took a couple of layers of cpap filter material apart and stick on the diffuser thong and you get a fresh diffuser. It doesn't take much material. Gauze would probably also work.

https://makesleepeasy.com/collections/p ... -dreamport

If you use Amazon I believe this is where the Amazon account ships from so shortly the Amazon account should reflect the new hose and diffuser.
I am still figuring out who does what with the Amazon account.

The website link will be updated shortly to reflect the new hose as well as the diffuser availability.
Right now it shows the old hose and no diffuser mention.
They do have the new product now though...just got it yesterday.

Also in the next week or so the diffuser will be available as a separate purchase. So if you don't need or want the entire connector kit and only want the diffuser holder thong thingy....it will be available shortly.
It's a tiny bit of flexible plastic that has little bumps on it to hold the filter material. It is washable easily...the edges are very thin so be very careful when wrapping it around those vent holes. I accidentally tore mine at the then edge getting it over the hose hole attachment place. Didn't affect performance though...it holds just fine and I can't easily see where I tore it.
So you can wash the filter material and the plastic material but eventually you will want to change the filter material and that's when you have to be careful taking the diffuser off and putting it back on. That was when I tore it. Oooops. I wasn't careful enough.

I don't need a full filter layer of material either to get the diffusing I want. I actually deconstructed a ResMed cpap filter to get just a layer of material and stuck it on the thong....a layer or two of gauze would probably work as well.

Stay tuned for pics and more info as I get it.

That's excellent news! I may have to give the bleep another try.

Do you know whether they did any testing to determine the effects on CO2 release of adding diffusion material to the vent? I realize you and lots of other people have been jury-rigging diffusers with no harm done, but I'm curious about testing nonetheless.

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:54 am

That's excellent news! I may have to give the bleep another try.

Do you know whether they did any testing to determine the effects on CO2 release of adding diffusion material to the vent? I realize you and lots of other people have been jury-rigging diffusers with no harm done, but I'm curious about testing nonetheless.

I am not a party to any of that behind the scenes testing but I will ask.

I will share this with you about CO2 retention and venting issues that I learned quite a while back.
In terms of the amount of venting needed to adequately expel CO2...you don't need the all those vent holes. That was tested extensively with the initial design. When Stuart tried using the original design with limited vent holes (enough to do the job) he immediately said no way would people be happy with it...just too difficult and restrictive so despite being technically adequate with a lot less holes...he opted for a lot more holes just from the comfort aspect of things. So we have available a lot more holes for venting than we technically need.

Obviously sticking a filter up by the vent holes isn't the same as totally covering the vent holes with something but I have been using this diffuser since March I think it was...without any apparent problems at all.
The diffuser holder thing doesn't block the holes itself. The little bumps to hold the diffuser material are off to the side. Only the diffuser material is over the vent holes.
The diffuser came to me with material already in place. It was a very, very thin layer of what appeared to be similar to what my ResMed cpap filter uses. Very porous...it diffused the venting extremely well. We don't need a lot of material to diffuse the air.
I eventually changed the material. It got yucky looking and washing didn't remove enough yuck to suit me. Maybe if I washed things more often that wouldn't happen but I am lazy.

Between knowing that I already have more than enough holes available for adequate CO2 venting...and knowing that I am adding only a thin layer of something over those vent holes....and the fact that I have been using it for several months now even with my own homemade material...without any issues. I am good with it.

I will point Stuart to this question you have though and see how we can reassure you that it is totally safe.
I know...it goes against everything we have been told "don't block the vent holes"....but we aren't blocking them...air still gets through and from an engineering stand point...it doesn't take all that much air movement to clear out that CO2. That part was the real surprise to me. I thought we needed every single one of those holes working fully but from an engineering stand point it isn't the case.
We have more vent holes more from a comfort aspect side of things.

Many thanks, Pugsy, for explaining about the abundance of vent holes and for asking Stuart about this. I will stay tuned!

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:28 am

Many thanks, Pugsy, for explaining about the abundance of vent holes and for asking Stuart about this. I will stay tuned!

F&P were, as far as I know, the first manufacturer to offer an optional diffused vent on some of their masks. Their diffuser material was what looked like a regular Resmed filter (not the hypo one) and that's where I got my idea to just use a plain Resmed filter.

There were tables in the back of their manuals that showed the vent rate with and without the diffuser, and it was only about 1lpm difference, something like 19 vs 20lpm at 4cm pressure. Not worth being concerned about.

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:54 am

That's excellent news! I may have to give the bleep another try.

Do you know whether they did any testing to determine the effects on CO2 release of adding diffusion material to the vent? I realize you and lots of other people have been jury-rigging diffusers with no harm done, but I'm curious about testing nonetheless.

I asked Stuart about this ... he recently sent one of these to me. (It REALLY helps to talk to him!)

There is no impact on the CO2 level. It doesn't restrict the holes, it only causes them to flow through a loose filter media that diffuses it so it isn't noisy.

The flexible hose is nothing short of AWESOME.

palerider wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:50 am

There were tables in the back of their manuals that showed the vent rate with and without the diffuser, and it was only about 1lpm difference, something like 19 vs 20lpm at 4cm pressure. Not worth being concerned about.

That reminds me of a test I did with my System One machine where I could measure total leak which of course includes the vent rate.
I had forgotten that I did a test with and without the filter stuck on up close to diffuse the air flow on the Bleep and that 1 L/min difference was about what I saw and I was using a higher pressure. I no longer own that System One so I can't retest with the new diffuser but I have no reason to believe it would be any different. I was using a full filter crammed right up against the holes during the test I did and now with the diffuser I use even less filter material.

Thanks, all, for the data and other information!