Advice needed: tiny leak in F40 elbow tube

[SAS1973]

Well ... nearly two months in and my luck ran out.  My 16 month old orange tabby Gracie, who is precious and sweet but also stubborn and ornery, managed to find a sweet spot and poke her teeny tooth through 1-2 spots on my Airfit F40 elbow tube.   She's been doing SO well - curious but leaving it alone for the most part - MUCH of that thanks to the fact that I did buy covers for both the long tube and this one.  

But Monday night, I went to bed early because I was extra tired - and I guess Gracie did not approve. I awoke to her on my chest messing with the tube - and the shorter cover had slipped down enough for her to make contact.  BOO. I could hear the small hiss of air escaping so even though I couldn't see a hole, I know it's there.  

I ended up putting electrical tape around the place where I thought the hole was that night and it seems to have remedied it. My leak rate was a little higher last night than normal but that could have been my mask as sometimes I feel like I don't get the nose cushion in *just* the right spot.  

My questions: 
1. Is it okay to use electrical tape for that, or is there something better that you would recommend?
2. Is there ANYWHERE to get just this hose without spending a fortune? The only couple of places I've found are $100+ for the elbow tube plus little connector dealie, and that's 2/3 of the way to a new mask, just about.  

Thanks for any advice!!  (Also off to find a hose cover that will cover the entire length in one piece and not two...)

[Big Guy]

Electrical tape should be just fine. As long as it's not leaking, problem solved!

A hose cover is money well spent.

[sauerkraut]

SAS1973;
I haven't used an F-40 mask ..  Looking at pictures of one the F-40 elbows looks like it has the same attachment clips
as the elbow on the F-20 I use ..  The F-20 elbow connects directly to the climate line eliminating the short hose ..
I looked around on the internet, aftermarket F-20 elbows are priced as low as $15.00 ..  If You know someone that uses a F-20
they might let You try one of their elbows to see if it is a correct fit ..  It wouldn't surprise Me that it is ..  The cost of injection
molding dies/tooling is a major cost of manufacturing ..  It makes sense to use interchangable parts on different products ..
Especially with small changes like adding a short hose so the parts look different and have a different part number ..
I hope this helps I think it is worth looking into ..
Best of Luck !!

[SAS1973]

Electrical tape should be just fine. As long as it's not leaking, problem solved!

A hose cover is money well spent.

Thank you so much!!! 

And yes, I agree - she believes in exploring everything with her mouth so without the two separate covers I would have had holes long ago!! I ordered a full length one today so looking forward to a much better protected hose moving forward!

---

SAS1973;
I haven't used an F-40 mask ..  Looking at pictures of one the F-40 elbows looks like it has the same attachment clips
as the elbow on the F-20 I use ..  The F-20 elbow connects directly to the climate line eliminating the short hose ..
I looked around on the internet, aftermarket F-20 elbows are priced as low as $15.00 ..  If You know someone that uses a F-20
they might let You try one of their elbows to see if it is a correct fit ..  It wouldn't surprise Me that it is ..  The cost of injection
molding dies/tooling is a major cost of manufacturing ..  It makes sense to use interchangable parts on different products ..
Especially with small changes like adding a short hose so the parts look different and have a different part number ..
I hope this helps I think it is worth looking into ..
Best of Luck !!

Thank you so much for this!  From what I googled last night it doesn't sound like the two pieces are interchangeable ... BUT for $15 aftermarket I'd be willing to find and buy one for myself to test that theory! You are correct that it definitely makes sense from a production standpoint to do that! I appreciate the idea to prompt me to circle back and give it a shot!

[Big Guy]

Thank you so much!!! 

And yes, I agree - she believes in exploring everything with her mouth so without the two separate covers I would have had holes long ago!! I ordered a full length one today so looking forward to a much better protected hose moving forward!

---

Thank you so much for this!  From what I googled last night it doesn't sound like the two pieces are interchangeable ... BUT for $15 aftermarket I'd be willing to find and buy one for myself to test that theory! You are correct that it definitely makes sense from a production standpoint to do that! I appreciate the idea to prompt me to circle back and give it a shot!

We have a total of three cats. Two live upstairs and one downstairs. The two upstairs never bother my CPAP equipment at all. Not even curious about it. 

I have an AirFit F-20, F-30, and an F-40. Of the three, I still prefer the F-30.

[sauerkraut]

BigGuy;

Would You be so kind as to try the F-20 elbow on the F-40 mask ??
Please read My other post on this thread for the reason ..
Thanks ..

[Big Guy]

BigGuy;

Would You be so kind as to try the F-20 elbow on the F-40 mask ??
Please read My other post on this thread for the reason ..
Thanks ..

I checked, and the elbows are NOT inner-changeable. The F-40 elbow is much smaller in diameter.

[sauerkraut]

Big Guy;
Thanks ..

[SAS1973]

We have a total of three cats. Two live upstairs and one downstairs. The two upstairs never bother my CPAP equipment at all. Not even curious about it. 

I have an AirFit F-20, F-30, and an F-40. Of the three, I still prefer the F-30.

So interesting!  I just looked up the F-30 and I remember seeing that one. I was concerned that I'd be bothered by the air going from my head down by my ears to the mask.  

I have only tried the F40 and I do really like it - I have a tube pole I got on Amazon that keeps the tube above my head so it moves with me, which is nice. I do notice my nose tends to itch and I'll mess with it at night more than I'd like (could be the mask, could be cat fur tickling me, or could be both!).  I am tempted to try the F-20 out.

[Big Guy]

So interesting!  I just looked up the F-30 and I remember seeing that one. I was concerned that I'd be bothered by the air going from my head down by my ears to the mask.  

I have only tried the F40 and I do really like it - I have a tube pole I got on Amazon that keeps the tube above my head so it moves with me, which is nice. I do notice my nose tends to itch and I'll mess with it at night more than I'd like (could be the mask, could be cat fur tickling me, or could be both!).  I am tempted to try the F-20 out.

I started CPAP Therapy with the AirFit F-20 and I did okay with it. When the F-30 came out, it looked to be less claustrophobic to me. It also seemed to be more comfortable as well. 

The F-40 did fine as well, but I didn't need the extra bit of hose that came with it. I have a hose holder and it was fabricated by me to fit the F-30 mask. The extra bit of hose on the F-40 just made things more complicated.