Humidifier not using much water

[Mark Douglas]

Humidity set-point at max. of "5" whatever that means. Humidifier heater plate gets hot to touch.

pulled humidifier and checked resistance and one pair = 3.2 ohms = 45 watts at 12VDC sounds about right.

amps/DC to machine tube blocked air flowing thru mask port humidifier off = 0.4
amps/DC to machine tube blocked air flowing thru mask port humidifier "5" = 4.2 for a few seconds then drops back and becomes too unstable to measure with my Fluke 336 (as heater plate heats?)

second pair 9.96k which I would think is humidifier temp sense. correct value unknown.

house quite dry during recent cold weather - 30% rh room temp 62 F.

always use dist water no scale.

so why isn't it using much water?

[justMongo]

humidifier "5" = 4.2 for a few seconds then drops back and becomes too unstable to measure with my Fluke 336 (as heater plate heats?)

The Fluke 336 is a clamp-on Ammeter with a Hall Effect Sensor. It can measure AC and DC Amperes. (even non-sinusoidal AC)

The humidifier element is pulse modulated, switched DC. As the element heats, the pulse becomes narrower. I think your Ammeter has difficulty with fast rise time, short pulse, switched, DC.

All your measurements sound reasonable. I favor a conclusion that the humidifier is working as it should.

[Terry]

Is it actually too dry, or just not using much water?

On the other PR machines you can switch the humidifier mode from the new "smarter" mode to the old mode, which might let you get the humidity up a little more, but it also might rainout.

Not sure if your model has it or not.

[Mark Douglas]

Is it actually too dry, or just not using much water?

On the other PR machines you can switch the humidifier mode from the new "smarter" mode to the old mode, which might let you get the humidity up a little more, but it also might rainout.

Not sure if your model has it or not.

sinuses very dry. will investigate possible other modes.

[Mark Douglas]

humidifier "5" = 4.2 for a few seconds then drops back and becomes too unstable to measure with my Fluke 336 (as heater plate heats?)

The Fluke 336 is a clamp-on Ammeter with a Hall Effect Sensor. It can measure AC and DC Amperes. (even non-sinusoidal AC)

The humidifier element is pulse modulated, switched DC. As the element heats, the pulse becomes narrower. I think your Ammeter has difficulty with fast rise time, short pulse, switched, DC.

All your measurements sound reasonable. I favor a conclusion that the humidifier is working as it should.

I'm inclined to agree with your conclusion yet it has used more water in the past. Perhaps cycling the connector will prove to be helpful. In any event tomorrow will tell.
Will be digging out the Simpson 260 tomorrow. Analog still has its uses as I often tell the youngsters.

[justMongo]

Will be digging out the Simpson 260 tomorrow. Analog still has its uses as I often tell the youngsters.

I let go of my Simpson 260 about 25 years ago. Now I'm looking on eBay for a decent one.

[WakeUpTime]

I have the same PR 760 and go through an entire water chamber each night. I assume you have the heated hose of course. I also use a hose cover too. If you're plate is hot, it should be functional. It never gets really hot, but that little bit of heat seems to be enough to keep the water vapor flowing all night. We have similar pressure settings too.

There's a sensor in the heated hose, isn't there? It detects humidity levels, I think. Could yours be faulty and your machine adjusts it down or off at periods throughout the night? I'm sure I'm wrong, but it's just a thought. It's probably a setting thing.

[Mark Douglas]

Not heated hose.
Machine too smart for my own good like DW's Chevy Volt.
Ultimately ID-10-T error was resolved by initiating RTFM process.

[Ghost1958]

Get the heated hose for your machine. Worth every penny

[worn_out_in_lebanon]

I have a different machine. The humidity goes to 8.

On a 5 setting, summer season (don't remember the indoor humidity), it uses about half a tank.

Now I have it set to 7, indoor humidity is about 30% with a humidifier running non-stop, and I go nearly completely through a full tank in 8 hours. A little less if my leak rate was low.