Fisher Paykel 221

[TaxiDave]

Hi all, this is my first post.

I have had a Fisher Paykel 221 CPAP machine and just lately it has been playing up!

After about half an hour the mask starts to "whistle" If I run my finger down the vent holes on the mask it stops only to start again after a few minutes it's driving me mad

The hose also has started to fill up with condensation! Does anyone know why?

Any help would be really useful

[leswaller]

Hi Taxi Dave
Welcome to the hoseheads club.
Your condensation is probably caused by the change in humidity of the climate now it is getting colder. Assuming that you havn't got a humidifier on your machine which you can turn down, then the answer is to either insulate the hose with a hosewrap which you can get on the Inthus Site or alternatively purchase a heated hose. This is what I use and it gives you nice warm air at the same time.
Regarding the whistle, there are usually two sources of a whistle, one is round the face seal on your mask and the answer to this is to make sure your face is clean, grease free and dry by washing it before you put the mask on. The other source of a whistle are the exhaust vents on the mask, this is the problem I had and I cured it by superglueing a small piece of scotchbrite over the exhaust area. You just tack it round the edges and it acts as a pressure diffuser which prevents the whistle.
Let us know how you get on

[TaxiDave]

Thanks for the reply
When I got in from work my O/H had phoned thier service dept. Apparently I had the machine on the same level as my face so last night I lowered it to the floor and I had a whistle and water free night Woke up this morning feeling great!

[Sleep2Snore]

You don't need to have it on the floor, sucks up a lot of stuff off a floor.
As long as the machine is a bit lower than the bed is it should work much the same.
There are other ways round this as well as you will see if you do some browsing around the forum.

[wytco0]

Machine lower than your body

The hospital tech I saw suggested that if possible its better to keep the CPAP lower than your body when its running as this would reduce the amount of water that gets through the hose.

This makes a lot of sense to me as any liquid water will stay lower due to gravity, water vapour will still get through.

I do agree about not putting the machine on the floor, especially if its carpeted, the filters will get blocked much quicker.