AirSense11 temperature regulation

[Lostsleep]

I have been lurking here for awhile, kind of hesitant to post. So, here goes.
I am about a month into my CPAP life. I think that my situation is improving but I do have a problem. Most of the time, my machine delivers relatively cool air to me. I would think it is close to room temperature, which is about 74°F. However, some time the supply air temperature is too warm for me. I have measured the temperature to be between 82°F and 84°F. This is way too warm. I cannot use the unit with this warm of air. Maybe it would be acceptable in January, but not in June.
I have read in the AirSense11 Clinical Guide, that with use of heated tubing (ClimateLineAir 11) that I can access the Climate Control feature. Why in the heck would I want a heated tube when I am having problems with air that is too warm? From what I understand, this tubing would allow access to the unit's Climate Control feature. In the manual mode of operation, I would be able to adjust  the tube temp to anywhere from 60 to 86°F!!! Bingo! I am sure I could "only" reduce the temp as low as room temperature but room temp would be great. Being a mechanical engineer, I understand the implications of a lower temperature, but I would rather suck down water thorough out the night that suffocate with super heated air, LOL.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Quarky68]

I have the 11 and the heated tube but when I faced a similar issue to what you are facing, I turned the temp down...too far...believe me, the unholy gurgling of water in the tube and in your mask at oh-my-god o'clock is not something I would recommend!

So the ClimateAir might work for you but it will take some tweaking a degree or so here and there as well as any humidity setting to get your comfort setting. There are also hose covers available that might further help.

Just my tuppence worth!

[Lostsleep]

Thanks for quick response.
I've already experienced the "unholy gurgling of water". Early on, I attempted to drop the temperature by placing a couple of ice cubes in the reservoir. It worked well for awhile.
That's my two cents worth.

[Dog Slobber]

Why in the heck would I want a heated tube when I am having problems with air that is too warm? From what I understand, this tubing would allow access to the unit's Climate Control feature. In the manual mode of operation, I would be able to adjust  the tube temp to anywhere from 60 to 86°F!!! 

You would not benefit from a heated hose at all.  As the name implies the heated hose can only add heat, it can never remove heat. Your non-heated hose is not introducing any heat into the system, access to the hone climate controls won't benefit you as the hose can't lower the temperature.

The primary role of CPAP's heated hose is for rain-out.

During the summer months, there is probably more ambient humidity, people typically need less CPAP provided humidity. Consider lowering the setting on your humidifier, which should lower the temperature of the water.

[Lostsleep]

I have operated the unit at every setting from OFF to 8 and the unit will still increase to an unacceptable temp. I just checked after reading your response what happens at the OFF setting. In a few minutes, the tube temperature was 84°F.
Of course I agree with your statement that a heated hose can only add heat and never remove heat. As I wrote in my original post:
>>I have read in the AirSense11 Clinical Guide, that with use of heated tubing (ClimateLineAir 11) that I can access the Climate Control feature. <<
I do NOT want the hose to remove heat, I want it so I can access the Climate Control feature.
Read Quarky68's response. He obtained a heated hose and turned the temp down too far. He could not have done so without the heated hose installed

The following is from the Clinical Guide for the unit:
Climate Control - Manual setting
Manual is designed to offer more flexibility and control over settings and offers the following:
• Temperature and humidity can be adjusted to find the most comfortable setting
• Temperature and humidity level can be set independently
• Rainout protection is not guaranteed. If rainout does occur, first try increasing the tube temperature

I am just looking for responses from folks who have done this, since it will be a balancing act setting temp AND humidity.
Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[Dog Slobber]

I have a heated hose and am well aware that putting it in place will give one access to the climate control menu feature.

Simply put, having access to the feature will not achieve what you want it to. Quarky may have lowered the temperature to 70 degrees on his settings, but I guarantee it did not lower the temperature.

Resmed's have (potentially) two heaters the heater plate under the humidifier and heating wire in a heated hose. The lowest possible temperature is to keep both off (or just the humidifier). 

Adding a heating element (the heated hose) just to get access to a thermostat, so you can keep the heating element on the heated hose turned off will not achieve what you ultimately want. To lower the temperature of the blown air from 84 degrees to room temperature.

But go ahead, buy a heated hose, plug it in, access the climate control menu so you can turn the hose off.

[ThinMountainAir]

I'm following this thread closely because a friend of mine, who's not a member, has the identical problem.  He, too, has an Airsense 11. He hasn't asked for my opinion but when and if he does, maybe I can tell him something useful. Meanwhile, I'd like ask a couple of clarifying questions.

I was prepared to start the discussion with my friend, were he to ask, with making sure we both agreed that "climate control" feature doesn't have refrigeration capabilities, in other words, there isn't a miniature AC unit in the machine and turning the temp setting to, eg, 68, isn't going to cool the machines air any more than me turning down the thermostat for my baseboard heat is going to cool down my room. But then I read this by Lostsleep, “I am sure I could "only" reduce the temp as low as room temperature but room temp would be great.”  

Are you saying that the AS11 is capable of cooling down the air that is somehow being raised about room temperature?  Or did I misunderstand?

And as to the air coming out of the machine being warming than room temperature, what could be causing that? The machine, obviously, but how? 

There’s a little hotplate under the water reservoir the purpose of which is to warm up the air for those who want warm air and to evaporate water to increase the humidity for those who find the air too dry. At least that’s my understanding, and I think also what Dogslobber was saying.

Lostsleep, you asked, rhetorically, “Why in the heck would I want a heated tube when I am having problems with air that is too warm?”, meaning, of course, that you don’t want that, at least not for the heat. And from that, I assume you’ve turned off the humidifier, which turns off the little hot plate needed to create the humidity.  

Which brings me to the big question: Where the heck is the heat coming from? You said the air coming from the machine has been as high as 84º when the room temp was  about 74º.  That’s quite a jump. I know the machine has moving parts, which generate heat, but that much? Does the machine feel warm to the touch? Could something be causing it to overheat, maybe the filter is clogged? I’m just taking stabs in the dark. 

I hope you find a solution that I can pass on to my friend. He's mildly claustrophobic from the mask, which he can tolerate, but not when the air gets hot.  He’s ready to give up on his CPAP therapy, and he needs it. 

[ThinMountainAir]

I wrote this in my response to Lostsleep:  "Are you saying that the AS11 is capable of cooling down the air that is somehow being raised about room temperature?  Or did I misunderstand?"  I just re-read your posts. Yes, I misunderstood. You want the hose not for its cooling ability, which, of course, it doesn't have, but because you need it in order to have the climate control function.  

[Lostsleep]

Thin Mountain, I can empathize with your friend. The mask itself does not bother me but when the supply air gets too warm, I also get claustrophobic from what to me is suffocatingly warm air and feel like giving up on the therapy. I ordered the heated tube and will do my best to figure something out. In the meantime...
You asked if I was saying saying that the AS11 is capable of cooling down the air that is somehow being raised about (above) room temperature. I believe, from reading the Clinical Guide for the unit, that somehow, when you access the manual Climate Control feature, one can adjust the amount of heat added the the air stream. In the "About the heated tubing" section of the guide, Resmed states the the tube temp gets set to 80°F in Auto. Then it states that:

If the air in the mask is too warm or too cold, you can
adjust the tube temperature to anywhere from 60 to 86ºF (16 to 30ºC) or turn it off completely
We all realize that there is NO refrigeration associated with this unit OR the heated hose, so I would think the 60°F would be possible only with a very cool ambient room temp. In other words, if ALL heat being added by the unit were to be removed, the lowest outlet temp would be room temp. I would be thrilled with that or even 5 or 6 degrees above room temp, but not in the mid 80s.

I took some temp readings of the humidity heat plate with an infrared thermometer and the tube outlet with a digital thermometer. Room temperature was about 72 to 73°F. With the humidifier set to "OFF", the plate was at 88°F and the tube at 83°. At a setting of "1", the plate reached 85°F and tube 84°F, at "5" plate 93°F and tube 86°F, and at the highest setting of "8" plate 97°F tube 87°. Temps were taken after 10 minutes at each humidity setting. Also, plate temps varied as much as 5 degrees depending where on the plate, the infrared measured temp. So, stated temperatures are an estimated average of the readings at a given setting. The OFF setting is troubling, I took measurements TWICE in OFF. I would expect plate and tube temps to be close to room temperature.
I would think most of the heat being added is from the humidifier. The unit itself is 115v that drives a very small blower. That would add heat but I would think it to be relatively insignificant compared to the humidifier heater. So, I am optimistic that the heated tubing (which allows access to manual climate control) will allow me to lower the plate temperature. If so, then it becomes a matter of finding an acceptable humidity setting for a given tube temperature. Then again, I could be all wrong...
One other thing, the guide states that the max heater plate temp is 154°F with max temp at the mask of 106°F - YIKES

[ThinMountainAir]

Thanks, Lostsleep. I'm getting a better picture of things. I have an Airsense 11 with a heated hose. I have several household thermometers that are accurate about  ±1º which should be good enough considering the large spread between ambient air and CPAP output air.  I'll experiment with different settings and let you know what I come up with. It seems strange that the humidifier's Off isn't Off. If that's a defect, it'd be a serious one. But then, there's the Phillips recall. Defects happen.