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+--- Thread: Humidifier not working? (/Thread-Humidifier-not-working)
Humidifier not working? - rhomanji - 01-07-2016
I'm waking up with dry mouth & sometimes bloody nose the past few days.
I've turned up the humidifier (was on autoset) and it is now far past where previously all water would have been used up & I'd be rained out. However, barely any water is getting used. What is going on? Any ideas? I've been using it for 6 months and never had any issues like this before.
TIA!
RE: Humidifier not working? - justMongo - 01-07-2016
Keep in mind that the amount of water used depends upon room temperature and the relative humidity of the room air.
With that in mind, it is possible that the unit is defective. Did you obtain it from a local dispenser of Durable Medical Equipment?
The unit should be under warranty; and, if defective, they should replace it.
RE: Humidifier not working? - Possum - 01-07-2016
As far as I know, the humidifier in this unit is extremely simple - it literally heats up the water via the metal heating element, which increases the vapor pressure of the water, and the water vapor is swept into the flowing stream of air. Thus, it seems the only thing that could go wrong would be failure of the heating element. That said, when you turn off the machine in the morning, immediately check if there is residual heat in the metal heating elements in the machine itself and on the bottom of the chamber. It should not be hot enough to burn you, but be careful anyway. If it is cool to the touch or just barely warm, then there is something wrong with it.
RE: Humidifier not working? - PaytonA - 01-07-2016
Possum and rhomanji,
You need to go the other way around. It can easily be that no humidification is needed in the morning so the heater might be cold even though it is working fine.
After the machine has been off for at least an hour or two. Turn on the humidifier pre-heat option and let it run for 5-10 minutes. Shut down. Remove tank and carefully feel the plate. Should feel warm to hot.
Best Regards,
PaytonA
RE: Humidifier not working? - Possum - 01-07-2016
(01-07-2016, 02:36 PM)PaytonA Wrote: Possum and rhomanji,
You need to go the other way around. It can easily be that no humidification is needed in the morning so the heater might be cold even though it is working fine.
After the machine has been off for at least an hour or two. Turn on the humidifier pre-heat option and let it run for 5-10 minutes. Shut down. Remove tank and carefully feel the plate. Should feel warm to hot.
Best Regards,
PaytonA
Every morning when I wake up and immediately dump the residual water, the plate is still hot, which is why I recommended that; however, I suppose you're right that may not always be the case, thus checking after a warm-up would be the better option.
RE: Humidifier not working? - trish6hundred - 01-07-2016
Hi rhomanji,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy.
RE: Humidifier not working? - rhomanji - 01-09-2016
Thank you for your suggestions. I did get it from a local distributor after going though all of the hospital overnights and insurance and blah blah blah.
I filled up the room humidifier to see if that would help after the suggestion about relative humidity, power cycled by unplugging from the back, and dumped my water & cleaned and put in all fresh. Working better the past couple nights, but I still feel like I need more. I had it back on auto again, not wanting to get rained out if that all worked, so I may just try setting a number tonight instead of auto.
How does the heat in the tube effect the humidify? If I turn the heat up/down will it help with my morning dry mouth issues? qould messing with the temp in the tube be necessary to fix this issue as well?
RE: Humidifier not working? - Sleeprider - 01-09-2016
The tube temperature just prevents condensation between the humidifier and mask. The more humidity you run, the higher the tube temperature needs to be. Think about it. Water condenses as it cools or contacts a cooler surface. The more moisture the air is holding, the higher the "dew point".
RE: Humidifier not working? - piratefilmco - 01-09-2016
(01-07-2016, 01:09 PM)Possum Wrote: As far as I know, the humidifier in this unit is extremely simple - it literally heats up the water via the metal heating element, which increases the vapor pressure of the water, and the water vapor is swept into the flowing stream of air. Thus, it seems the only thing that could go wrong would be failure of the heating element. That said, when you turn off the machine in the morning, immediately check if there is residual heat in the metal heating elements in the machine itself and on the bottom of the chamber. It should not be hot enough to burn you, but be careful anyway. If it is cool to the touch or just barely warm, then there is something wrong with it.
I had an HC150 from a previous machine that held up well and works great but the one on my Respironics M series died and was not covered by warranty, the light worked as though it was on but the heating plate was not hot to the touch. Careful if you test that theory. The replacement for my machine humidifier was as much as a new machine so I go one and just use my old HC150, but I have found that a Honeywell whole room COLD air humidifier works 100% better. I still get the dry mouth but my sinuses are doing much better. I found with the heated air my sinuses swelled and it was harder to breath out.