ResMed AirSense 10 Burn Smell

[Hydrangea]

I just woke up once again to the very nasty burnt smell on my Resmed Air Sence 10 Autoset. I have done this numerous times because I forgot to fill my humidifier. I am not at this time using a heated hose. The smell is coming from within the humidifier when it runs out of water. Running dry is the only time that I get that nasty stink. After refilling the reservoir the smell will go away after about 15 minutes to half an hour.

I experience this with both my ResMed and my DreamStation. The key is to not run out of water.

You can raise the humidity in the room by using a humidifier. 

And/or you can adjust the heat & humidity settings on your CPAP so they 1) still keep you comfortable, but 2) don't run you out of water before it's time to wake up.

P.S. I think the burnt smell is the minerals that were left behind from the evaporated water, being burned onto the bottom of the humidifier reservoir.

[wlr1974]

I use Seventh Generation brand natural dish soap from Walmart to clean my mask religiously every morning. It is oderless and colorless .It is then run through the So Clean 2 in the afternoon.

The first two weeks that I had my setup I washed everything every day and talk about a pain in the...

I ordered the sole clean two and talk about make my life easier. I washed the mask every morning not to sterilize it but to wash the body oils out of it. Everything else is cleaned by the sole clean along with the mask in the afternoon.

I have never had a problem with my setup in the last three and a half years other than the air pump going out of the sole clean about 2 weeks after the warranty ran out. Instead of paying $270 for a new so clean I just ordered a $10 pump off of eBay and replace the pump.

[wlr1974]

What setting do you have your humidifier set at. I run mine at 6. if I run it at 7 it is guaranteed to run out of water over 8 hours. Also I should mention that I run oxygen supplement in my machine at night. If I need extra humidification because of the oxygen I will run a bubbler on the oxygen line rather than turning up the humidity on the resmed air sense 10 auto set. If you run it out of water it WILL STINK! I have never used anything other than distilled water in my humidifier.
If you keep getting the burnt smell you might try turning off your humidifier, buy a small fish tank air pump and run a bubbler to your Resmed and see if you still get the burnt smells.

[bsullivan]

I do not use the water tank, and I have the heating unit completely turned off. There is no heat detectable on the heating unit or in the water tank. It is something else.

[Canuck 2]

I just woke up once again to the very nasty burnt smell on my Resmed Air Sence 10 Autoset. I have done this numerous times because I forgot to fill my humidifier. I am not at this time using a heated hose. The smell is coming from within the humidifier when it runs out of water. Running dry is the only time that I get that nasty stink. After refilling the reservoir the smell will go away after about 15 minutes to half an hour.

I experience this with both my ResMed and my DreamStation. The key is to not run out of water.

You can raise the humidity in the room by using a humidifier. 

And/or you can adjust the heat & humidity settings on your CPAP so they 1) still keep you comfortable, but 2) don't run you out of water before it's time to wake up.

P.S. I think the burnt smell is the minerals that were left behind from the evaporated water, being burned onto the bottom of the humidifier reservoir.

I agree with your experience & advice, similar to what happened to myself years ago.

[Dekkerfan]

This burnt smell happened last night, after 1.5 hrs. of sleep. Wife woke up first, then she woke me up. It was terrible. My cpap is over 3 years old, and I have had the smell when it ran out of water, and not had the smell when it ran out of water. Pulled water tray out, could hardly hold onto it. Filled it with room temp water, turned it back on. After 20 or 25 minutes, the smell was back. Turned it off, slept without it the rest of the night - but not very well. Woke up a lot. Supplier for my sleep doctor clinic said Medicare won't cover it until it is over 5 years old - on a machine with a 2 year warranty! They are supposed to contact me about getting it repaired, and renting another cpap while that is happening. Water tray was 3 days old, I will switch back to the previous one, which is 7 months old, and see what happens. Temp is set to 78 deg. F, humidity level is 7. Power supply is at least 2 fit away. I may change filter too. One more bit of data, washed tubing, tray and mask with dishwater soap yesterday, which we do weekly.

[Big Guy]

The reservoir in my ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset has run out of water once, and been very low a few times. 

Not once did I smell anything abnormal or did the reservoir bottom plate get hot. 

[Sleeprider]

This burnt smell happened last night, after 1.5 hrs. of sleep. Wife woke up first, then she woke me up. It was terrible. My cpap is over 3 years old, and I have had the smell when it ran out of water, and not had the smell when it ran out of water. Pulled water tray out, could hardly hold onto it. Filled it with room temp water, turned it back on. After 20 or 25 minutes, the smell was back. Turned it off, slept without it the rest of the night - but not very well. Woke up a lot. Supplier for my sleep doctor clinic said Medicare won't cover it until it is over 5 years old - on a machine with a 2 year warranty! They are supposed to contact me about getting it repaired, and renting another cpap while that is happening. Water tray was 3 days old, I will switch back to the previous one, which is 7 months old, and see what happens. Temp is set to 78 deg. F, humidity level is 7. Power supply is at least 2 fit away. I may change filter too. One more bit of data, washed tubing, tray and mask with dishwater soap yesterday, which we do weekly.

Rather than rely on your DME, tell your insurance company that  your CPAP machine has failed in a way that makes it unusable. They usually enforce and extended warranty on suppliers for up to 3-years, and won't leave you stranded.  It is the insurance company that pays for a new machine when you need it, but they require the supplier to "perform" on their contract.  They will provide a useful replacement until your machine is repaired or replaced.  I'm sure you can see why the supplier is trying to charge for a rental and only do a repair.

[Dekkerfan]

This burnt smell happened last night, after 1.5 hrs. of sleep. Wife woke up first, then she woke me up. It was terrible. My cpap is over 3 years old, and I have had the smell when it ran out of water, and not had the smell when it ran out of water. Pulled water tray out, could hardly hold onto it. Filled it with room temp water, turned it back on. After 20 or 25 minutes, the smell was back. Turned it off, slept without it the rest of the night - but not very well. Woke up a lot. Supplier for my sleep doctor clinic said Medicare won't cover it until it is over 5 years old - on a machine with a 2 year warranty! They are supposed to contact me about getting it repaired, and renting another cpap while that is happening. Water tray was 3 days old, I will switch back to the previous one, which is 7 months old, and see what happens. Temp is set to 78 deg. F, humidity level is 7. Power supply is at least 2 fit away. I may change filter too. One more bit of data, washed tubing, tray and mask with dishwater soap yesterday, which we do weekly.

Last night, no burning or other nasty smells, got good night's sleep. Made 1 change, switched from 3 day old water tray, back to 7 month old water tray. Noticed a #3 on the bottom of that tray, the tray I had the problem with the night before, has a #4 on the bottom - different plastic? Still waiting to hear from cpap supplier about repair.

[Sleepwreck]

Three ResMed CPAP machines that I have used all smell to bloody hell...enough to wake even the dead up, choking and gagging.  This is not trivial.  It is a major and repetitive problem with these machines.

Just wondering. Have you considered trying a different machine other than ResMed?