[CPAP] Burning Smell

[cjhaile]

I have read many forums about people getting a burning smell from their CPAP. Well, it is happening to me except I don't smell it, my husband does. He has been complaining for a couple of months now that he wakes up in the middle of the night with difficulty of breathing due to the fumes in the air. He says it smells just like carbine. He has to leave the bedroom to get fresh air. I took my machine to the DME last Friday and they let me borrow a refurbished one to try. I tried it Friday nite and Sat nite, same exact thing happened. Husband wakes up to burning smell. Nothing in our house is on fire for those of you wondering. This only happens at night and it is only coming from my side of the bed and stops when I turn the machine off. Anyway, last night I took my old (and I mean old) CPAP machine out of the closet and gave it a try. Guess what....no smell...we both slept soundly. Has anyone else experienced this "smell" and found what it is? I would like to use the newer CPAP due to the size for travel purposes. Please help! **ADD....Also forgot that I took the humidifier off of the machine just in case it was that making the smell....it wasn't.

[justMongo]

That's an odd problem indeed. The slight compression of air may give it an unusual smell.
Sounds more like hot electronic components such as the circuit board.
The newer, smaller machines are more compact; and getting rid of heat is more difficult as sizes are scaled down.
The humidifier is essentially a water heater. The heating surface on my ResMed machine sits very close to the wood surface of my nightstand.
Sorry I only have speculation from an engineering standpoint.

[trish6hundred]

Hi cjhaile,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
What brand is your mew machine?
Hopefully, you can get this straightened out.
Hang in there for suggestions and best of luck to you.

[cjhaile]

That's an odd problem indeed. The slight compression of air may give it an unusual smell.
Sounds more like hot electronic components such as the circuit board.
The newer, smaller machines are more compact; and getting rid of heat is more difficult as sizes are scaled down.
The humidifier is essentially a water heater. The heating surface on my ResMed machine sits very close to the wood surface of my nightstand.
Sorry I only have speculation from an engineering standpoint.

Thanks...I did think about it being the humidifier/heater so I removed it totally and hooked the hose directly to the unit...still had the smell. My husband compares the smell to burnt wiring or carbine, he says it takes his breath away . I am doing my own experiments to try to solve this!

---

Hi cjhaile,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
What brand is your mew machine?
Hopefully, you can get this straightened out.
Hang in there for suggestions and best of luck to you.

Thanks, I joined this forum in hopes that someone had the same problem. I am going to my DME this morning and since my CPAP is still under warranty, they are giving me a new machine. I am hoping that the new machine will not have this problem. If it does, I don't really know what else to do .

[PaulaO2]

What machine do you have?

The only time I get the hot smell is when the humidifier is out of water. But you said you eliminated that.

It could be the cord itself vs the machine. Especially if it is waking up your husband before you. It can't be the outlet if the older machine didn't make the smell.

[KarenK]

Funny, I woke to an odd smell this morning. Not burning, just odd. I took the pillows out of my nostrils to check, and the smell was gone. Later I discovered that the water in my reservoir was gone.

BUT, it makes me wonder, if there was a fire, would I smell it with my nostrils closed up?????????????

[justMongo]

Funny, I woke to an odd smell this morning. Not burning, just odd. I took the pillows out of my nostrils to check, and the smell was gone. Later I discovered that the water in my reservoir was gone.

BUT, it makes me wonder, if there was a fire, would I smell it with my nostrils closed up?????????????

Likely not. Ergo, smoke detectors are essential. Carbon Monoxide also good (and required by code in some jurisdictions.)

[PaulaO2]

Yes, you would smell it in time. The air flow isn't blocked from the entire world, more that it is filtered. Heavy smoke in the air and it will get through. If the smell is in the room, it will reach you. It may take it slightly longer to get to you, but it would. If my dog (a Rottweiler) farted on the other side of the room, I was saved from it. But if she were on the bed or on my side, I was doomed (Rotties are notorious gas emitters).

But the real thing here is: get a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector. Whether you have a CPAP or not or believe you won't or will smell it, it's pert near stupid to have both, especially if you have any kind of open flame in your house. Gas, propane, kerosene, wood = fire and CO risks.

[cjhaile]

So far, so good....
I went to my DME yesterday and since my machine was still under warranty, they gave me a new machine. I was hesitant to take it because it was the same machine that I had tried but newer. The DME assured me that it was a different year model. I took it home and slept using it last night. This morning I asked my husband if he smelled anything during the night and he said, "No, and it was very quiet, I slept soundly all night". YAY!!! Hopefully this will be the trend for this new machine.

[Sevensox]

There are electronic components in these machines and different components are manufactured by different companies. These components sometimes fail and at different rates. It is possible for a component to fail in the same machine but not in another.
Glad to hear you got it fixed.
Lee