Is the mask included in the machine price?

No. It is chosen for your face and quoted with the machine, because the wrong mask is the main reason people give up on CPAP.

Can I use my old mask with a new machine?

Usually yes — mask and tube connections are standard across ResMed and most other brands. If the cushion is more than a few months old, replace that part at least.

Do I have to use distilled water?

Distilled is best. Boiled and cooled water is acceptable. Plain tap water scales the humidifier tub and shortens its life noticeably in Kerala.

What comes in the box when you buy a CPAP machine (and what doesn't)

Last updated: 2026-10-28

Quick answer

A new ResMed box holds the machine, the heated humidifier tub, a standard air tube, the power supply, an air filter, an SD card and a carry bag. The mask is not in it. Masks are quoted separately because the right one depends on your face and whether you breathe through your mouth, and it is the single part that decides whether you stick with therapy. After the first purchase, the only recurring costs are consumables: filters, a mask cushion, tubing and the humidifier tub, replaced on a schedule rather than when they break.

In the box

The flow generator itself, with the HumidAir heated humidifier tub seated in it. A 1.8 metre standard air tube. The external power supply and mains lead. One air filter, fitted. An SD card in the slot on connected models, which is how data is read when there is no network. A soft carry bag. On the AirSense 11, a USB-C power arrangement and no SD slot, because data goes over the built-in cellular link instead.

Everything in that list is covered by the 2-year warranty except the consumables, which wear by design.

Not in the box: the mask

This is the part people are surprised by, so we say it plainly on every machine page: masks are priced separately. It is not a way of making the headline price look lower. It is that a nasal pillow mask, a nasal mask and a full-face mask are three different products, and the right one depends on whether your nose blocks, whether your mouth falls open, whether you sleep on your side, and whether you wear glasses in bed reading.

Our technician brings options and fits one while you are lying down in your own bed, then quotes it with the machine. CPAP mask types explains the three families and who each suits.

What wears out, and how often

Air filter: roughly monthly, sooner in a dusty room or near a construction site. Mask cushion: every one to three months, because silicone hardens and stops sealing. Headgear: every six months or so as the elastic relaxes. Air tubing: every six to twelve months. Humidifier tub: every six to twelve months, sooner if you use tap water, which leaves mineral scale.

None of these are expensive individually, and skipping them is the most common reason a machine that worked beautifully in month one is leaking by month eight. We keep ResMed consumables and send them by courier anywhere in Kerala.

Things you need that nobody sells you

Distilled water for the humidifier, or water that has been boiled and cooled. Kerala tap water will scale the tub quickly. A stable bedside surface lower than your head so condensation runs away from the mask rather than into it. A plug point you are happy to leave occupied. Mild soap for washing the cushion daily and the tub weekly — no detergent, no hot water, no antiseptic.

If power cuts are frequent where you live, read running a CPAP through a Kerala power cut before buying an inverter for the bedroom.

The honest first-year total

Machine, from ₹26,000 for the AirStart 10 to ₹71,500 for the AirSense 11 AutoSet. Plus one mask, quoted after fitting. Plus a year of consumables, which is a modest fraction of the machine price. Delivery and setup are included, statewide.

Compare that against renting at ₹2,999 a month with the mask and all consumables included, and the crossover point is usually somewhere between the second and third year — which is the calculation we work through in CPAP rent vs buy and the price guide.

What comes in the box when you buy a CPAP machine (and what doesn't)

In the box

Not in the box: the mask

What wears out, and how often

Things you need that nobody sells you

The honest first-year total

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