Tube Temp and Humidity Setting To Avoid Rainout

[tomkelly]

I have a ResMed AirSense 11 and have been using the auto settings, but have consistently been getting rainout every night and it’s horrible.

I keep the room around 67 degrees every night because I like to sleep in cool temperatures. I have tried lowering the tube temp and the humidity settings all the way as low as they can go without turning them off, but nothing has worked. What settings should I have for these so that I stop experiencing rainout? 

Every answer I have seen has been very vague and about it depending on personal comfort and answers similar to that. I am just looking for a straight forward answer that tells me what to put these settings at if the room temperature is 67 degrees so I don’t get rainout every night.

Thank you!

[cdplatt]

Keep the humidity settings low but INCREASE the tube temp until the rainout stops. However, on the auto setting, you should not be producing rainout.

Make sure the water chamber is not overfilled. You can try keeping the climate line under the covers so it doesn't struggle as much against the cold room air (though that may make it more difficult to manage leaks with the nasal pillow).

[tomkelly]

I fill it up to the “full” line each night, is that too much? I thought I was supposed to be doing that hahaha, but I definitely don’t use all of the water in the tank each night, maybe a little less than half. Last night I used just about half of it.

And yeah, I thought Auto everything would be great and that I wouldn’t have to worry about rainout, but my face gets soaked every night on auto.

[OpalRose]

I've found for me, that using the Manual setting better at keeping rainout at bay.  
I know you want definite answers, but it's not quite that simple.
A lot depends on the temperature of your room.  If you keep your room at 67deg,
Then you'll have to raise tube temperature and decrease humidity level.  This can be done in the Manual setting.  You'll have to experiment.  It's going to be trial and error.

Using a soft fleece hose cover is helpful.  Also, the hose should be routed up from the machine and then backdown to you.

Climate Control Auto:
Climate Control Auto is the recommended and default setting. Climate Control Auto is designed to make therapy as easy as possible, so there is no need to change the temperature or humidity settings.
Climate Control adjusts the humidifier output to maintain a constant, comfortable humidity level of 85% relative humidity while protecting against rainout (water droplets in the air tubing and mask).  Tube Temperature:  In Climate Control Auto there is no need to change any settings, but if the air in the mask is too warm or cold for the patient, the tube temperature can be adjusted. The Tube Temperature can be set to anywhere between 60–86°F (16–30°C), or turned off completely.

Climate Control Manual:
Designed to offer more flexibility and control over settings, Climate Control Manual lets the patient adjust the temperature and humidity to the setting which is most comfortable for them.  In Climate Control Manual, the Tube Temperature and the Humidity Level can be set independently, however, rainout protection is not guaranteed. If rainout does occur, first try increasing the tube temperature. If the air temperature becomes too warm and rainout continues, try decreasing the Humidity.

[UnicornRider]

Temperatures are dependent upon many different elements.

Do you use a hose cover?

Do you use a Hose Hanger?

is your CPAP located below the height of your mattress?

What is the relative humidity in the room?

[Nightynite]

You don’t want the water chamber to run dry, so fill it up every night. Sometimes people state a dry chamber produces a burnt or unpleasant smell since the the hot plate is just warming up an empty chamber.

Put it on 4 and hose on 75 and report back tomorrow.

[tomkelly]

Thank you so much for this! I actually tried tube temp 76 (couldn’t choose 75), and humidity 4 a couple nights ago and still got rainout, so I just put it back on auto because I have no idea what to do. 

Tonight I think I’m gonna crank it all the way up, I think 86 or 89 is the highest it’ll go, and leave humidity at 4, and see what that does. This whole rainout thing I’m dealing with is just the worst.

[Nightynite]

Sounds good tom, you can also turn both off, as another test and just leave water in the chamber for some Passover moisture. That’s the way I run mine on battery power with good results.

[HalfAsleep]

Make sure the humidity has to go uphill at some point between the unit and your mask. Water goes down hill. If you have the whole hose going downhill, you will have a droplet brook heading to your mask. If it goes uphill, you'll get the light mist.

You can do this by placing the unit below your head level, hanging it on one of those hook thingies, pinning it to the headboard, whatever...

[mesenteria]

Can you feel your tube warming a bit seconds after your machine starts? If it isn't noticeably warmer, even by two-four degrees, it may not be working. Could be contacts, could be the nicad wire spiraling....?

Generally, rainout means your machine IS producing more humidity than it would if there were no water in the reservoir, but it is condensing because the tube's inner surface is too cold to keep the latent water content in vapour form. You must: raise tube temperature, or cover/insulate the tube, or lower the moisture you have dialed in, or raise the room temperature. I've said 'or' to each of those, but the better approach might be to do a tad of two or all three factors.