Rainout with Series 60 Heated Hose

[Jenny]

I love my Series 60 with heated hose, but I have a problem with rainout every single morning. There's three settings: humidifier, humidity level, and tube temperature. The clinician's manual says:

Humidifier has settings 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5

Humidity level has settings 1, 2 or 3

Tube Termperature has settings 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5

The manual does not say much more than this, so I'm left with experimenting with different numbers on all three things every night. They did not include more info in the manual because they're assuming only techs are going to use it, I guess. My bedroom temperature stays around 65, so does anyone have any idea what the numbers are supposed to be to get this wonderful heated hose to work right? I have no idea what I'm doing

[JudgeMental]

A temp of 65 is very cold to me even though I also sleep better when its cooler in the bedroom, but not that cold......Is that a constantly maintained temp; summer and winter?
My first offer of advice is to suggest that you place your machine lower then your bed (perhaps) on the floor, if you have not already done so. The condensation will run back into the water container.
If you have the machine at bed level or even slightly lower then bed level, make sure that there isn't a dip in the hose as the condensation will puddle there and produce a gurgling sound.

Since those are comfort settings it sad that there arn't better information for the patient. They certainly should not be restricted to DME usage. My next offer of advice is to start with a middle of the road setting with all three and then adjust from there.

[JumpStart]

I love my Series 60 with heated hose, but I have a problem with rainout every single morning. There's three settings: humidifier, humidity level, and tube temperature. The clinician's manual says:

Humidifier has settings 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5

Humidity level has settings 1, 2 or 3

Tube Termperature has settings 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5

The manual does not say much more than this, so I'm left with experimenting with different numbers on all three things every night. They did not include more info in the manual because they're assuming only techs are going to use it, I guess. My bedroom temperature stays around 65, so does anyone have any idea what the numbers are supposed to be to get this wonderful heated hose to work right? I have no idea what I'm doing

It seems to me that the humidifier would be designed to work in conjunction with a non-heated hose, and that its separate setting may be disregarded when using one. I don't know if the manual gives that information, but you can look for it. Otherwise, I can find no reason for different settings for both humidifier and humidity. Seems redundant.

If I am correct, the other two settings would then be used to establish the humidity level at your preferred tube temperature setting when using your heated hose. If it were me, I would set humidity to 2, as a beginning point, and the tube at 2 also, since I like a lower temperature. If that didn't resolve both comfort and rainout, I would then start by changing whichever of the two settings mentioned were most uncomfortable, and try that. I would only change one setting at a time, so you can judge which affects you most. If you liked the settings, but still got rainout, I would begin changing the temp first, to see if that was most effective. Again, if I am correct, you can set humidifier at any number, since it will not be effective with the heated hose.

Since I don't use your setup, I can't be more specific. Others who have the series 60 may provide better information. Other than as described, I would also check that the humidifier/cpap was not higher than the level of the bed. This also makes a significant difference in whether you get rainout. Good luck, and let us know how it progresses.

[greatunclebill]

here's what happens at our place. my wife and i have twin system one apap's. they both sit at the same elevation on nightstands, just below mattress level. we have the same tubing and different masks. she gets wet inside the mask. mine is bone dry. the humidity levels and water levels are the same. the difference between us is the masks and the pressure settings and her o2 which was very recently added. she tried hers with the humidity off but still with water in the chamber. still gets a wet mask. the next step is to try it without the humidifier. she doesn't think she needs it. try draining your humidifier and turning the hose and humidifier off for one night and see if it feels better.

[Jenny]

I do prefer a cooler room, anything above 67 seems too hot for me. My CPAP is about 4 or 5 inches below the mattress and I have even gone so far as to place it on the floor - no luck. I like all your recommendations. I never thought about turning the humidifier off, though, but I'm going to try that tonight. If I don't have serious "throat dryout," then maybe that's the key. Plan B will be to try the humdifier and tube set at 2 like JumpStart said and try for there. I also have the bar that sticks under the mattress that your hose can hang on, but am not sure I prefer that over just pulling the hose onto the bed. So far, every night I wake up at about 4 and the "gross" rainout leads me to exchange the nasal pillows and connector tube for a dry set--which is kind of a pain.

[Sleepster]

Tree pollen is causing post-nasal drip, and now a cough is developing. So, I cranked the humidifier up a couple notches. It's nice having my own personal supply of filtered humidified air. Problem is, there's no way to keep breathing it during the day.

[Jenny]

I disengaged the humidifier last night and my throat feels fine and best of all, no rainout. This is the key, I guess! Thanks greatunclebill, this is great

[CHanlon]

Tree pollen is causing post-nasal drip, and now a cough is developing. So, I cranked the humidifier up a couple notches. It's nice having my own personal supply of filtered humidified air. Problem is, there's no way to keep breathing it during the day.

I dunno... backpack, couple of marine deep cycle batteries...