Cool weather camping with CPAP Machine

[longhorn1]

Our first trips in warm weather found my CPAP use almost no different than at home. The humidifier was set at 2. However, our last 2 trips have been in cold temperatures ranging from 32 to the 40's. We didn't keep the heat on, relying on the warmth of our sleeping bags. I noticed all through the night a lot of moisture in the hoses and spraying from the relief opening. In the morning I took the hose off and held it out the door, watching a lot of moisture drip out. Do I lower the setting to 1 or increase it, or do nothing? Any advise from my fellow CPAP campers?

jd

 

[longhorn1]

I lower mine jd. Especially in the winter you have lots of moisture in the air inside the camper. I have the Phillips Resipronics system-one Bipap and usually run humidity on 2 at home and one in the camper. I never get dry headaches in winter. Machine is set at 15cmH2O and I get 3 days use before recharge w/solar in summer, 2 in winter. Use 2 optima blue tops in the Hawk.

I hope these data points help experiment and conserve volts.

Edit: moisture dropping out is the good sign your getting enough, even if it's not warm moisture like you normally get at home with 115vac.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Wander The West mobile app

Thanks. I will try lowering to 1 in two weeks.

jd

 

[takesiteasy]

It is possible part of your problem is condensation from breathing into a cold hose. I have just recently started using a cpap machine and haven't camped with it yet. I asked questions about using the machine without the humidifier while camping because the humidifier adds considerably to the energy use of the machine. My machine uses a heated hose in conjunction with the humidifier to temper the air and eliminate condensation in the hose. If I use it without the humidifier, the hose is unheated and I was told to expect condensation in cold temps. They sell a fabric cover to help insulate the hose but I have no idea if it is effective. Another work-around suggested was to put the machine lower than the bed so the moisture runs back to the humidifier. This wouldn't help if you are not using the humidifier.

 

[Doc Foster]

Do I lower the setting to 1 or increase it, or do nothing? Any advise from my fellow CPAP campers?

jd

Yes, decrease your humidifier setting. It is condensation from the colder condition. Many of the others have good ideas, especially having your humidifier/CPAP lower than your head, heated tubing and insulating tubing cover. It also helps to hand up your tubing daily. The insulated tubing cover does help quite a bit (http://www.amazon.com/CPAP-Tubing-Insulator-Phillips-Respironics/dp/B00CW1MJQS). You could also turn off the heated humidifier, and as the air moves over the water in your humidifier chamber, it will still provide some moisture. Most newer CPAP's like the Phillips Respironics System One or Resmed S9 or there newer Resmed Airsence 10 do measure and react to the ambient relative humidity, so condensation is not supposed to form in your tubing. The heated humidifier and the heated tubing do use quite a bit more electricity than the CPAP itself. I am in the Sleep Therapy business.

 

[BFH4N]

Hi CPAPers,

I used to have condensation problems in the winter when I had the humidifier in my machine turned on. But, I live in a humid climate (Virginia) and it turns out I don't need extra humidity from my CPAP, so I've turned that off. I like to sleep with a window open and, especially in the camper, it can be quite cool. So, condensation can still be something of a problem. I do two things to keep it under control: I have a fabric sheath on the hose, as mentioned above. It's made of material like a fleece blanket and is called "Snuggle Hose", or something like that. (I got it from one of those websites like cpap.com.) This won't make much difference if your CPAP isn't heating the air (and you may need to turn that off to save battery power in the camper). The other thing I do is to have all the extra hose length under the covers where it is warmed by body heat. I have found this alone to be very effective in elliminating condensation. The fabric sheath makes it comfortable to have the hose in my bed.

Sleep well...

- Bernard

 

[MountainSufi]

I don't use a humidifier. Halfway thru the night, when I have to pee, I also take a few swigs of water. It gets me thru the night.

 

[larryqp]

I have a Resmed airsense 10.

At home my humidity setting is 4, with an unheated hose.

When camping in the truck camper I set the humidity control setting to zero, unheated hose, but keep distilled water in the humidifier chamber. This is primarily to decrease the power consumption. I was told by the manufacturer that the machine would use about 13 amps in 8 hours in this setting. I use the 12 volt optional power supply. The machine sits about 1 foot below my head in the main area of the camper and I run the hose up thru a hole in the sleeping platform and then under my sleeping bag. Have not had condensation in the hose.

There is condensation on the walls of the camper, but that happens regardless of c-Pap use.

 

[Bigfoot]

I too tried the CPAP machine on a cold fall trip where night temps were below freezing. The ResMed AirSense 10 was powered by a 12V rechargeable battery through a converter. I didn’t get much condensation but was bothered by the forced cold air (full mask) and by limited battery life. Also, I prefer a silicon mask seal but switched to a foam seal because the silicon felt unpleasant when cold.

I had to turn off the comfort settings (heat and moisture) to preserve battery, so a tube cover might help with the cold air. The last couple of nights I tried plugging into the much larger camper battery which didn’t lose significant juice with comfort turned off. Next time I may try it with the CPAP heater on.

 

[Vic Harder]

Is there an option to go use 12v directly? Using a converter has some losses you might be able to avoid

 

[Bigfoot]

Is there an option to go use 12v directly? Using a converter has some losses you might be able to avoid

The ResMed AirSense 10 operates at 24V so a converter is required.