Heated hose for camping?

[Snorelax]

I'll be tent camping with my cpap next week in likely 45F weather. I'll have access to normal mains electric hook up.

(I used a regular hose at home with humidity at 4 in a dry and warm room. I do not experience rainout or discomfort without a heated hose. Never used a heated hose, although I've always been curious if it'll enhance my comfort anyway)

I've searched whether a heated hose helps with very cold temps and camping, but mostly get info regarding "turning off humidifier and heated hose when using a battery"...not what I'm looking for.

So, can anyone give any advice on whether a heated hose will really help warm that cold air blowing up my nose? Would a cozy cover for it help as well? Or a space heater next to the machine?

[RNeil]

The heated hose is to prevent condensation or rain out. If the ambient temperature is lower, like 45F, condensation is much more likely. So a heated hose or an insulated cover will be needed even if you don't need it at home. Another way to eliminate condensation is to not use the humidifier, but that will affect comfort.

[SarcasticDave94]

In the case of camping, it does make sense not to use heated hose for the battery usage. I'm not speaking based on experience, but the heating element is an extra power load.

I would consider getting a hose cover instead.

And unless I'm mistaken, most campers that use CPAP, also turn off humidifier to minimize that power draw. If there's no humidifier, then this too eliminates the need for a heated hose.

[Snorelax]

The heated hose is to prevent condensation or rain out. If the ambient temperature is lower, like 45F, condensation is much more likely. So a heated hose or an insulated cover will be needed even if you don't need it at home. Another way to eliminate condensation is to not use the humidifier, but that will affect comfort.

Yes, so this will be worth it to help combat the condensation issue alone. Thanks for clarifying. I should probably turn the humidity setting down a notch or two then? I will be sleeping slightly raised above the machine.

In the case of camping, it does make sense not to use heated hose for the battery usage. I'm not speaking based on experience, but the heating element is an extra power load.

I would consider getting a hose cover instead.

And unless I'm mistaken, most campers that use CPAP, also turn off humidifier to minimize that power draw. If there's no humidifier, then this too eliminates the need for a heated hose.

I'll be using mains electricity so power consumption is no issue.


Thanks to you both for your feedback.

I'm still wondering if the air intake will be warmer than the ambient temp. I was thinking of adding a space heater blowing warm air on the machine intake. This is glamping, not camping!

[SarcasticDave94]

OK copy. Then no worries on that. I had you camping on Mt. Everest or Mt. McKinley I guess.

[BoxcarPete]

Air output of the machine will be warmer than ambient, but not by a noticeable amount. The blower motor is cooled by the airflow, and most humidifiers use a heat plate to evaporate the reservoir water, but there's no way the heat makes it all the way to you without a heated hose. Even a good hose cover probably will not do the job if the ambient is in the 40s. Most of the time heated hose works well on auto setting, which tunes the humidifier to give you about 80% RH according to the heat setting. Manual will probably work fine, but it might be easier to give auto a go for the first try and see if it works well for you.

[Snorelax]

Thanks for the replies.

I picked up the heated hose today. Seems slimmer than my regular one.

I just plugged the heated hose in for 5 minutes to test and found the airflow was maybe very marginally warmer, the outside of the tube did not appear warm to the touch....is that normal?

The machine did detect that the heated tube was installed and opened up the temp options so I set it on manual on 86.

On a side note, will I need to adjust pressure settings since it is a slimmer tube or will my machine adjust automatically if needed?

[SarcasticDave94]

How it felt, the heated hose heater isn't powerful enough to be noticed in reality. I thought I noticed a difference but I'm kinda weird. Anyway, the concept is to slightly warm the interior of the hose to prevent the humidity from dropping out of the air stream enroute to the mask, and not condense on it or the mask.

86°F may be too warm for you, regardless set to need. Manual mode gives better control, my opinion.

No, the pressure settings should be fine. CPAP knows it's dealing with the heated hose. Again my opinion.

[BoxcarPete]

It's presumably insulated to save energy on the heat by adding it to the airflow only and not your room. It's also only heated up to 86°F which should not feel that warm even if it weren't insulated. Machine will do what it needs to to keep pressure at its sensor; a slimmer hose will cause a slight additional pressure drop compared to a fatter one and the flow velocity will be a bit higher which can sometimes add noise. I honestly doubt that you will notice either of those effects.