Giving up on my shiny new F30i Mask

[S. Manz]

Yes, Resmed came up with the F30i mainly because a lot of people can't tolerate the front tubing that directs flow straight towards the mouth.
The "Frame" type delivery ensures that the indirect flow of air into the mask is a pleasant experience, other than that the F30i and the F30 are pretty much the same design.
I personally can't stand the front-tube design with air hitting my mouth directly all night, but I know a lot of people don't mind that at all and some people even like it, not me.

[Big Guy]

I started CPAP Therapy with an AirFit F20. That worked well enough for quite a while, at least until the F30 came out. Having gotten used to the air tube in front of the F20, the F30 was a natural progression.

[S. Manz]

Yes, so if you are now used to front tube delivery and comfortable with it, the frame time maybe a bit challenging for you to get used to. Once I find what I'm most comfortable with, I will keep it and so far my DW full face seems to be the one that I keep going back to.

[offline]

Hi Plakky,

yes there was a leak  and a tiny bit more movement - however neither was an issue for me.

The mask can now shift during sleep and I still get "both barrels" whereas before one nostril was restricted. My stats (AHI) improved as I think I was better able to switch breathing - some nights I fall asleep using one or the other.

The only con was some upward leaking around the nose. I spoke to another person who did the same modification, and they have no leaks at all - so maybe this is something to try near the end of the masks life.

[edfreeman]

Personally I wonder if Resmed added the nasal devider simply to differentiate between the Dreamweaver.

When I used the F30i, the divider was why I preferred it over the Dreamwear.  The Dreamware made a sore on the bottom of my nose right at the septum, the F30i did not because that divider eliminated that "edge" the Dreamwear had there.

[cathyf]

I personally can't stand the front-tube design with air hitting my mouth directly all night, but I know a lot of people don't mind that at all and some people even like it, not me.

My problem with the front-tube design is that the weight of the 37-mile-long hose (ok, maybe that's an exaggeration) dragging the mask off my face or pulling the mask away from my face.

My problem with the top-of-head design is that the size small frame is still enormous on me. I've fixed that (on the N30i/P30i) by using a piece of foam (cut out of my enormous size-small cervical collar) and the top of a baby sock to fill in the giant gap between the top of my head and the top of the frame.

(I've been thinking I should start a thread for all the ways we've figured out to McGyver our cpap gear...)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmlc2jhlphjonv...4.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8rqq11fy4d8cwy...6.png?dl=0

[plakky]

Offline, thanks for the additional information about removing the center divider.  That's been an issue with me on some nasal masks because the cushion has to be sitting juuuuuust right all night long to match up with both nostrils or I wake up feeling like there's too little air.  Will try your tip on one of my older two-hole cushions and see how it goes!

And cathyf - that was a genius solution for your too-large frame and I think a McGyver thread would be fantastic!  I never would have thought my relatively large head would need a smaller Airfit N30i/P30i frame, but when there's a little slack, instead of tightening the straps to the point of irritating my nose, I've cut some thick soft fleecy material into long rectangles (with a hole for the hose), stacked them lengthwise onto the frame and pinned them on top.  Takes care of the looseness and as a bonus is softer and cozier than the silicone across the top of my head.

[NelsonM]

I may have just run into another F30i problem: cleaning the headgear tubes. I pulled an F30i out of dark, dry storage to find it had a distinct pinkish cast to both the cushion and the headset tubes. I have a terrible feeling this is serratia marcescens, the bacteria that's very prevalent in San Francisco. It's mostly a problem in dampness and I've been meticulous in drying things out after cleaning them. But I can't deny the pink color. It's not a particularly dangerous bacteria but I'd rather not be breathing through it, thanks.

The problem is the usual advice for cleaning serratia marcescens is lots of scrubbing. There's no way to scrub inside the headset tubes though. Thinking now of trying either vinegar or bleach, either way flushing with lots of clean water afterwards.

[Big Guy]

That's EXACTLY why I haven't checked into an F30i mask myself. I saw those tubes and wondered how in the heck would you keep them clean?

No way do I want to try to keep them clean and germ free. My F30 AirFit is a walk in the park when it comes to cleaning it.