This issue is specific to ResMed AirSense S-11. Please do not reply about older AirSense models. They do not have this problem.
13 year CPAP user. I used a Resmed S-9 for 6 years, and S-10 for 7 years. Never have had any rainout of humidity / tubing issues. Just switched to an S-11 and have had nothing but problems.
I have been getting horrible rainout problems. Here are the things I have tried (multiple times)
The tubing never feels warm. With my S-9 and S-10, I could feel the tubing warm up. The water tank level does decrease (but I think the water mostly ends up in the tubing).
I saw a post on here from two years ago, but saw no solution for a S-11. Lot’s of people replied with their experience using a S-10. But I have never had problems like this with an S-10. This seems specific to the S-11. There was no solution for the S-11 on the other post. Just replies about similar issues.
I don't have the A11 model, but the humidifier looks identical to the A10. The humidifier is not really a high tech device. All it does is divert air from the CPAP over the top of the water in the reservoir, while the reservoir is being heated. Some things to check is how much water does it use. My experience with a 9 hour sleep almost all of the water is consumed. That may depend on how dry the environment is in your home. Currently we are at about 30% humidity, so that is kind of dry and will need more water. When the machine has been in operation for a while, shut it off and take the water reservoir out. Feel the stainless steel bottom of the reservoir. It should be quite warm. If you are not using a lot of water and the bottom of the reservoir is not warm to hot, there must be a problem with the heater in the machine.
Another thing to try is the warmup feature. The idea is to select it from the menu at least 15 minutes before going to bed. It should blow a small amount of air through the hose and mask and at the same time warm up the water in the reservoir. It will indicate when it is warm on the display. Again check the bottom of the reservoir to see if it is warm after 15-20 minutes. If the heater is defective there will be no warmup.
I have been suspicious of my hose too. It never feels warm. I am on my second hose because the mask end of it got discolored and soft. It would no longer hold the mask hose reliably. It almost seemed as if it was getting overheated although I never felt it even warm. The new hose restored the fit, but it has never felt warm either. When we camp in our trailer off grid I turn off the humidifier and heated hose to save power. Most of the power used by the CPAP is for the hose and humidifier. We charge the batteries during the day with solar panels and run two CPAPs at night. I still put water in the humidifier but essentially none gets used. On one occasion when it was fairly cool (we don't run our furnace when off grid) I did get some rainout even though the humidifier was turned off. The tube was exposed to the cool air and was looped down behind my pillow and collected water. Very annoying as I had to get up in the middle of the night to drain the hose. I routed the hose under the pillow instead of behind it and the rainout at least to the point of not gurgling stopped. The point is that you can get rainout even when the humidifier and hose are turned off. At home with the heated hose on and humidifier on I never get rainout.
FWIW I have my machine on Auto with humidity set at 4 which I believe it defaults to.
I don't believe there is anything special about the A11 humidifier. You may just have a defective machine. If you still have one of your old machines, perhaps get a return approval and send this one and the hose back to ResMed for repair or replacement. We had some issues with my wife's S9 machine's DC to DC power supply. It would trip out when using it in our trailer. They sent two replacements before I gave up on them. The overload design on the power supply for this machine was obviously defective. It could not handle the extra power the heated hose and humidifier took. The problem was eventually solved when she got the A10 machine. For that one I got a DC to DC power supply off Amazon that was about 1/3 the price of the ResMed one and works just fine.
Though I appreciate your willingness to write a long reply, I specifically asked people with AirSense 10 to please NOT REPLY because this is a AirSense 11 problem. I used the 10 for over seven years with no problem.
The issue with A10 people replying is that your info does not help, but it makes it very difficult for readers in the future to scroll through answers to find information that actually relates to their machine. There is a post from two years ago on this same issue and it is filled with A10 users trying to help. But there is no resolution for A11 users. That is why I posted again.
Sierra, I know you are trying to be helpful, however, I just looked back and you were the person who hijacked the post from two years ago too. Please stop doing that.
Good luck and get lost! The biggest problem is your attitude, not the A11 machine.
Just came across this post while googling, and I felt compelled to make an account just to write this reply on behalf of all future readers.
Sierra, the OP is totally right. Like he said, you derailed the other thread too, that annoyed me when I read that post a few days but I didn't even connect that you're the same person. Your long replies are filled with useless information, most of it completely obvious, and not really coming from any experience with what is an A11 problem. It's okay to butt out sometimes, yeah?
You're the jerk with the attitude problem. OP was still respectful and you reacted like a child.
Thanks. Bye.
To Island Owl, after having a ResMed 10 for 8 years, I switched to AirSense 11. Huge mistake, same problems as you, only I got VERY VERY sick with severe sinus infection, mucous buildup in throat, had to see a pulmonologist. Pressure was also too high. My solution was to go back to Airsense 10 within 90 days. Solved my problems.. CPAP company lied and said Airsense 10 no longer manufactured. They made more money on Airsense 11. There are definitely manufacturing problems with the 11. It has more of an "auto" program than older machines. I also never used the water chamber. Personally, may I suggest a totally different machine? Best of luck.
Thanks Regina. Amazingly, I think I have gotten the rainout issue under control. Some combination of the things I tried finally worked. (See below) The only reason I like the Airsense 11 is that I like the "For Her" auto setting for the pressure. The machine adjusts the pressure as needed. It starts at 4psi and can go up to 20, though my highest psi needs seem to be around 13.5psi.
My current set up is that I purchased a hose cover, keep most of the hose under the cover at night, and then I played around with the settings. For me, a humidity setting of 4 and the temp somewhere around 76 seems to work. (I am going from memory with the temp since my machine is not here.) The one very small problem is that sometimes in early morning water will drip our of the right angle hose connecter, but I can live with that!
I, too, liked the "For Her" settings on the Airsense 11. It still boggles my mind that, with so much info out there on CPAP issues, the doctors are clueless. I'm the type who researches a lot on my medical issues (I'm 69) and almost know more than my doctors, haha! Best of luck!
You and I sound a lot alike. First thing I do when I get a new CPAP is to find the manual for the clinical settings. It amazes me that doctors often prescribe the Ramp turned on, the EPR turned off, and set the PSI for a specific number or a very narrow range. All I can figure is that they don’t use CPAPs. (BTW, I am also 69. Enjoy the last year of being able to say, “I am in my 60s.”)
Why would you want to turn the ramp off? Many machines are set with the minimum pressure too low. It should not be less than 7 cm, unless there are special circumstances.
The problem with the ramp for a lot of us, especially light sleepers, is that we fall asleep with the lower pressure and then when the high pressure kicks in it wakes us up. The Autoset feature slowly increases the pressure as needed so it is not so bad. But when the Ramp is turned on for a certain amount of time it can be very jarring when the pressure suddenly increases.
When the Ramp Time is set to Auto, the pressure does not ramp up over time. It holds at the set Ramp Start Pressure. It stays there until the machine determines that you are asleep, and then it ramps up to the minimum pressure setting. If for example your minimum pressure is 9 cm, and you set the Ramp Start Pressure to 7 cm, then it will hold at a constant 7 cm until you fall asleep, and then ramp to 9 cm and turn control over to the AutoSet algorithm. And if EPR is set to Full Time at 3 cm, then you get 7 cm on inhale and 4 cm on exhale during the ramp time. Then it switches to 9 cm inhale and 6 cm exhale. The secret is to set the Ramp Start Pressure high enough. 7 cm should be the minimum and it may be better to be higher.
From Resmed Airsense S-10 Clinical Manual: "Ramp Time
Designed to make the beginning of therapy more comfortable, Ramp Time is the period during which the pressure increases from a low start pressure to the prescribed treatment pressure. You can set your Ramp Time to Off, 5 to 45 minutes or Auto. When Ramp Time is set to Auto, the device will detect when you have fallen asleep and then automatically rise to the prescribed treatment pressure."
"AutoSet mode
The treatment pressure required by the patient may vary due to changes in sleep state, body position and airway resistance. In AutoSet mode, the device provides only that amount of pressure required to maintain upper airway patency. The device analyzes the state of the patient’s upper airway on a breath-by-breath basis and delivers pressure within the allowed range according to the degree of obstruction. The AutoSet algorithm adjusts treatment pressure as a function of three parameters: inspiratory flow limitation, snore, and apnea."
The issue is for people who need high pressure. Yes you can set it for 7cm but when it "detects you have fallen asleep and then automatically rises to the prescribed treatment pressure" of say 13 or 14cm it wakes up us light sleepers. I find I do much better using the AutoSet mode. But YMMV.
