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CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
#11
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
Heat is the enemy of most electronics and over a LONG time period heat will shorten the life of solid state devices and dry out electrolytic capacitors - some of the main components in a CPAP. But this may take 15-20 years of constant use if designed well.

The power supply transformer has so called Eddy idling currents, even when no power is pulled from it. (heat) The circuit board will always pull SOME idling current from the power supply when the unit is on. (more heat)

The debate whether to keep electronics always on or shut down during off times has gone on for many years. I remember an engineer friend of mine always told me to shut off test equipment to keep the hours off it.

But there is something to be said about keeping a piece of gear at a stable temerature. An extreme example would be a computer that is kept out in the cold and turned on and off for use. The cold contracts everything and the heat causes expansion and eventually can stress the circuit board tracks to the point of causing component intermittents.

That said, I personally believe because the useful life of a CPAP is only 5 years or so before technology makes it "obsolete" or other crap outs rear their heads, (bad blower motor) it makes no difference at all in longevity. Keeping it on all the time will possibly make it perform more stable over its short lifetime due to constant temperature and not having the "thermal shock" and component drift of warmup each time.

I say leave it on, keep it clear so air can circulate and make sure it gets warm, not hot. Always use a fused outlet strip in case something does go south inside it since you will not be watching it 24/7.

Tom

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#12
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
I unplug mine every morning. It is on a surge supressor, but a couple years ago my house was hit by lightning.
Not directly, but it traveled through a cable to my house and fried numerous electronics - even things that were on surge supressors. It went through my cable company equipment as well.
I now have the big $ surge supressors on my TVs, computer, etc. But I just have a regular one on the BiPap machine - so I'm not taking any chances - I unplug it as I get out of bed Wink
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#13
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
I dont unplug mine but may be a good idea as I would hate to do without it even one night.I do unplug my computer becouse I had to replace the power supply due to lighting.
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#14
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
(08-13-2012, 06:13 PM)johns019 Wrote: I unplug mine every morning. It is on a surge supressor, but a couple years ago my house was hit by lightning.
Not directly, but it traveled through a cable to my house and fried numerous electronics - even things that were on surge supressors. It went through my cable company equipment as well.
I now have the big $ surge supressors on my TVs, computer, etc. But I just have a regular one on the BiPap machine - so I'm not taking any chances - I unplug it as I get out of bed Wink

Yes, if any, the threat of a lightning hit is a good reason to keep the unit unplugged when not in use.

Over the years I have lost many pieces of gear due to indirect strikes. It can also cause a CPU (or CPAP logic) to lose it's mind until rebooted or reloaded.

Indirect hits generaing induced currents are one thing and may be survived. But a direct hit on a house electrical system can wreak total havoc.

T

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#15
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
Turning the power on and off daily will almost certainly shorten the lifetime more than leaving it on. For parts that get hot, thermal cycling on and off will probably do more damage than being powered on in standby mode 24/7. Power on cycles can involve inrush currents, etc.

Powering the machine off may cause the clock battery to run down faster, and the battery is not customer replaceable.

However, I don't think there will be a really big difference in reliability either way.

Unplugging or even turning off a surge strip when storms are in the area is definitely a good idea.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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#16
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
I keep mine plugged. It would add extra hours to the mileage as the machine cool down but it wont affect if powered down.
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#17
RE: CPAP unit always plugged in or turn it off?
(08-13-2012, 07:41 AM)mjbearit Wrote: I leave mine plugged in. The transformer is not going to do anything if there is no current draw.

Actually there is *some* current draw, at the very least eddy currents, etc in the transformer itself. Also depending on design your unit might be in standby waiting to be "turned on", a sure sign of this is if you have a display that you can scroll through. This doesn't bother me, I leave mine plugged in, it's one of the many "vampire" draws we have all over the house.

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