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Snooze_Blues wrote:

mkirkwag wrote:How hot are your cables to the touch?

Remember (assuming you've carefully read all the detailed posts above), I'm using a rheostat (lamp dimmer) to reduce my cable's heat output by 40%, but more importantly, my actual (measured) 15 watts (varies by season) is distributed along a longer CPAP hose (10 feet) and longer Repti-Heat-Cable (15 feet), so my hose and cable will be cooler than yours. FYI, my cable is "warm to the touch" at a 15 watt output.

....]

Then I'd suggest you stop using it and buy yourself an Aussie Heated Hose that is intended for CPAP use...

IMO, some DIY solutions, perhaps this one since it involves electricity and heat, should be avoided by otherwise intelligent people from less technical backgrounds and sensibilities (aka: non-nerds)

mkirkwag wrote: Does this sound like the normal amount of heat?

I can't tell from here, but if you have any doubts, you may be better served by saving your dimes and buying an Aussie Heated Hose. While there are a couple reports that it too has had safety issues, at least it is specifically intended, designed, tested, and approved for your application (CPAP).

Yeah...I work at WaMu...I don't see the Aussie hose in my near future. Actually, I used to work as a stage electrician - I'm pretty comfortable with this stuff, though not a die-hard do-it-yourselfer. I was right to be afraid - it melted another hose. While you refer to killing the watts, it reads to me that you are bringing them *down* to 15 watts - and my cable is 15 watts to begin with, distributed along the same 15', but only an 8' hose, with the rest hanging out in the air. It didn't work at all when it wasn't coiled, probably because I sleep in a very cold room. I think this is a repetition of the problem that I've occasionally experienced with electric blankets and heating pads - some of them just get hotter as they age. That definitely seemed to be the case here. And there was certainly the possibility that it ended up under a pillow sometimes, exacerbating the effect. My advice to anyone who wants to do this is that if it seems to be getting hotter, believe that it is and get a new one - they're cheaper to replace than the hose.

Just as an aside - did you all know that DME suppliers don't want to sell you a hose without a prescription? Very frustrating. Can't get back to the doc for a few months and the Rx expired - grrrrr. I understand the machine...but the hose? Rats. I ordered one.

Help the rookie, what is rainout?

Debjax wrote:Help the rookie, what is rainout?

"Rain-out" is otherwise known as condensation in your mask and/or hose,
which during sleep, seems to inevitably find its way into your nose.

Snooze_Blues wrote:

Debjax wrote:Help the rookie, what is rainout?

"Rain-out" is otherwise known as condensation in your mask and/or hose,
which during sleep, seems to inevitably find its way into your nose.

It happens because of the differential in air temperature in the room and in the hose which is not heated. If you humidifier is turned up to a higher humidity setting and your bedroom is cool, invariably you will get rain out - in your hose and in your mask. In your hose - it causes a gurgling noise that is extremely irritating and wakes one up most of the time (it wakes me up anyway). In your mask - causes water to go in your face and nor nose depending on the mask you are using.

Well that explains it. Did not have the problem Friday - Sunday nights, but it was cold at night and the heat was on. Monday night, after talking to my tech about my itchy nose, she suggested I turn the humidifer up a notch, and halfway through the night I woke up with cold drips on my shoulder and chest.<brrrr>... Got the new small mask on Tuesday, had humidifier down to 1, and still got major condensation, thought it was the mask....however room was colder those nights since it is warmer now and heat is not on but ceiling fan was.

Boy, hubby is going to hate the room temp tonight since the ceiling fan is going to be off.

I'm experiencing more rainout now that it's colder outside, and looking for a solution.

So it's almost Christmas, and strings of lights are only a few dollars. I wonder if a string of lights would work as well as a reptile heater. A light string should fit easily inside the hose cover, the hose cover should hide the light, and the strings give off a few watts of heat. Sounds like it should work, and they can be picked up at almost any store at this time of year.



From Snooze_Blues' post, the Aussie hose draws 12 watts, so I'd be looking for a light string that consumes 12 watts or less. That shouldn't be too hard to find-- the LED strings I've seen are only 2-3 watts, so I can start at that level and work up. I'll have to pick up a string tomorrow and give it a try...

no_time_for_apnea wrote:I'm experiencing more rainout now that it's colder outside, and looking for a solution.

So it's almost Christmas, and strings of lights are only a few dollars. I wonder if a string of lights would work as well as a reptile heater.

Hmmm... We seem to have slipped the surly bonds of earth and are now dancing the skies on laughter's silver wings, while moving from a reliable product design that keeps expensive, cold blooded animals warm and happy (Repti Cable) to a product (Xmas lights) designed to provide a few short weeks of intermittent and undependable service adorning (or setting ablaze) dying, drying evergreen trees once each year, and which in my own experience are pretty much guaranteed to fail the second time they're plugged in. Yep, we've officially transcended the sanity rubicon of DIY heated hose projects.

If ever a less reliable product that creates light and heat (than Xmas lights) was available to the general public without some sort of pyrotechnic licensing required, I am not aware of it. Let me just say, "DON'T DO IT! FOR CHRISTMAS' SAKE, DON'T DO IT!" (Yes, I'm shouting, I hope you can hear me.)

If you choose to proceed, and you or any of your Impossible Mission Force are injured or killed, Snooze_Blues will disavow all knowledge of your DIY actions. This message may self destruct in 5 seconds, as will likely your Xmas light hose heater project, possibly taking your CPAP machine and several circuits of household electrical wiring with it.

Good luck, and do let us know where to send flowers and donations...

no_time_for_apnea wrote: Sounds like it should work, and they can be picked up at almost any store at this time of year.

I'll have to pick up a string tomorrow and give it a try...

You'll lite up your life.

no_time_for_apnea wrote: I'll have to pick up a string tomorrow and give it a try...

.....this goes in the...."here, hold my beer and watch this!" catagory.

Snooze_Blues wrote: Hmmm... We seem to have slipped the surly bounds of earth and are now dancing the skies on laughter's silver wings, while moving from a reliable product designed to keep expensive, cold blooded animals warm and happy (Repti Cable) to a product (Xmas lights) designed to provide a few short weeks of intermittent and undependable service adorning (or setting ablaze) dying evergreen trees once each year, and which in my own experience are pretty much guaranteed to fail the second time they are plugged in. Yep, I'd have to say we have officially transcended the sanity rubicon of DIY heated hose projects.
Good luck, and do let us know where to send flowers and donations...

Very well said!

I wonder what wonderful ingredients you are going to be breathing from
the, I'm sure, FDA and Consumer Product Safty approved, light strings.


YIKES!

After reading this thread, I ordered my Aussie Heated hose last night.
Thanks for helping me decide which way to go.

Snooze_Blues wrote: If ever a less reliable product that creates light and heat (than Xmas lights) was available to the general public without some sort of pyrotechnic licensing required, I am not aware of it. ...

Good luck, and do let us know where to send flowers and donations...

Hmm... I think you may be confusing LEDs with fireworks. I've never heard of any explosions or fires caused by an LED-- have you? I mean, this thread started out with the idea of taking a space heater that is meant to heat up an open area for pets and enclosing it inside an insulated tube... I think the LED idea just might be the safer one.

I wonder what wonderful ingredients you are going to be breathing from
the, I'm sure, FDA and Consumer Product Safty approved, light strings.

You mean the ones that have the warning label to not handle the cords and if you do to wash hand thoroughly because of the lead in the insulation on the cords?

no_time_for_apnea wrote: Hmm... I think you may be confusing LEDs with fireworks. I've never heard of any explosions or fires caused by an LED-- have you? I mean, this thread started out with the idea of taking a space heater that is meant to heat up an open area for pets and enclosing it inside an insulated tube... I think the LED idea just might be the safer one.

Hee-hee! Well, yes, that was just an attempt at humorous hyperbole.

I hate raining on people's parades, but please do check for lead in the insulation (quite common in electrical insulation BTW, at least in the past) and other possible snags. And please report back how it turns out, if you do it. Good luck.

Hoses and parts can be bought from https://www.cpap.com, without a script, a script is only needed for a XPAP. Jim

I may be mistaken, but I think the reason some brick/mortar DMEs require a prescription for just about everything, is to dot every "i" and cross every "t" in case there are insurance reimbursement issues.

Snooze_Blues wrote:
I hate raining on people's parades, but please do check for lead in the insulation (quite common in electrical insulation BTW, at least in the past) and other possible snags. And please report back how it turns out, if you do it. Good luck.

Thank you for the tip for lead warnings. I do remember buying some suspiciously cheap regular Christmas lights a few years back that did have lead warnings on them. (From what I remember, the warning said to wash your hands after handling the lights)

So anyway, it turns out using Christmas lights is a bad idea because it's too hard to thread them between the CPAP hose and the hose hugger- those little lights keep getting snagged. Guess I'll have to earn a lab rat award another way.