Admin Edit: Manufacturer Posing as CPAPtalkers,Locked Thread

[levman]

I just asked cpap.com about the HME because I thought I would order one, but they say they are single use, replace after each usage. Kind of hard to understand that at 5.95 a pop.

Human Design Medical (the z1 manufacturer) says single use because that's what their supplier tells them, and they haven't done any testing yet to prove otherwise. I'm willing to bet that these will have a life span similar to the HME used in the Transcend, which (according to cpap.com) "averages once a week" (YMMV).

I'm planning on trying one of these HMEs with my Transcend, since it looks like it will fit any mask. Ultimately, I'd like to replace my Transcend with the Z1.

What I wonder is whether it could be used for a day or two, stored for a week or two, then used again. The description for the Transcend HME says it starts absorbing moisture as soon as the package is opened.

[levman]

Compared to the S9, it "feels" quite a bit louder than 26 DBA ... the machine is a little "strange" from a noise perspective, there's a very distinct whine in both exhalation and inhalation ... I don't have any problems with my S9, though, from a noise point of view.

I have a similar problem with my Transcend travel CPAP and Swift FX Nasal Pillows, versus the same mask with my home machine.

I believe that the problem will vary from mask to mask. Transcend told me that their 28dB rating was tested only with specific masks, and the z1 manufacturer told me that their 26dB rating is for the machine only, not including mask.

With my Swift FX, I've noticed that the Transcend gets much quieter if I cover up the mask's exhalation port (not that I would ever sleep that way!)

I'm thinking about trying the Pillairo Q Nasal Pillows with the Transcend (and eventually, the z1), hoping that the diffuser on that mask will make the Transcend quieter (and my wife happier since I'll stop blowing cold air on her).

[sleeperawake]

The TRANSCEND's HME only works with 1-2 cpap masks which basically makes it USELESS for most of us who DON'T use or like those particular masks! That's an INCREDIBLY IGNORANT DESIGN decision on Transcend's part.

Z1's HME unit attaches to any mask BUT the inlet/outlet tube on all masks is located below the mask's VENT!! How can the moisture/humidity from your own exhalations EVER REACH the HME since your breath will first be expelled through the mask's vent?!

Both TRANSCEND and Z! should hire designers who ACTUALLY USE A CPAP MACHINE EVERY NIGHT!!
Right now it seems their designers are stuck in some dark office and none of them actually use their own or anyone else's machines.

Flawed as it is at least Transcend as an AUTO model. Z1 is still in the stone age as far as AUTO CPAP is concerned (never mind the apparent gouging of its $600 machine and $300+ for a single battery that only lasts a single night?! BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD Z1!)

[levman]

You can't have it both ways. Either you integrate the HME into a mask assembly like Transcend does, which limits the number of masks you can support; or you put it inline like Z1 does, which lets it support any mask but means it gets placed after the exhalation port. Or you come up with a real humidifier like Transcend has also done, but that defeats the purpose of a travel CPAP due to its size (not to mention, having to find distilled water at your destination when you travel - not how I want to be spending my time as a Road Warrior). Using a travel CPAP requires compromise; my Transcend lets me sleep "well enough" when I travel, but certainly not as comfortably as when I am at home with my main CPAP.

I won't pretend to be a CPAP engineer; but I find it hard to believe that 100% of your breath leaves the tubing through the exhalation port (which this study seems to confirm: http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1 ... qCFrHduGaU ), so there is likely at least some breath making it to the HME.

I'd be curious to hear from some real users how effective the Z1's inline HME is. I just ordered a couple to try out with my Transcend - any humidity would be better then the zero supplemental humidification I get now when I travel.

[lloydjason]

So my Z1 arrived two days ago. Disappointed that it doesn't work with Sleepyhead and the software for Mac won't be available for 4 weeks. Supposedly the windows version comes out next week.

[jodyl]

I normally lurk, but since there are so few posts on the Z1, I thought I would sign up and post my experiences. I bought my Z1 a few weeks ago, but slept with it for the first time last night. I've never owned a Transcend, so I can't compare the two, unfortunately.

First the good - I really like the size of the Z1 because I travel by plane 20-30 weeks a year, and go camping 4-8 weekends a year, and hated packing my old Resmed Plus around. I was worried the adapter would be a big brick the same size and weight as the CPAP, but it is only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the size and much lighter. Since I couldn't find much information about the power adapter anywhere, I'm going to include the details here: the adapter is a Power Partners model EM1036B2 15V, 2A, weighs 220 grams and has dimensions dimensions (L x W x H): 98L x 45W x 31H mm.

Unfortunately, as Timothyb pointed out this thing actually is much louder than my existing machine, at least at my pressure of 12.0 and SwiftFX mask, and not only has a distinct high pitched whine, but it varies in volume and frequency with your breathing, which gave me some real problems getting to sleep last night. Once I was asleep it was fine, but it took me about an hour to get to sleep instead of my normal 5 minutes. The z-breathe function is also a bit rough, I tried both settings, and it didn't feel anywhere near as smooth as C-Flex. I could definitely feel several times where the machine seemed out of sync with me (i.e. it thought I should be breathing in when I was exhaling or vice versa). I also feel like the tube connector is a bad design, it looks like it could break easily and is exactly the kind of part that might get lost during a camping trip when I need it the most.

Overall, I like the device, and will be taking it on my first business trip next week. I'll post with a follow-up with how that goes. I'm hoping the issues with the z-breathe I noticed will be fixed in a firmware update and that I will get used to the noise it makes. All in all I'm excited with this first version, but am already looking forward to the second generation, which hopefully will address the hardware issues of noise, the non-standard tube connector, and the odd choice of 15V for power input, making a cheap and easy cable to plug into my existing 12V battery pack impossible.

If I didn't travel so much, I would probably wait until they release some firmware upgrades to see if the z-breathe becomes smoother and Auto-PAP functionality is added before buying.

[chunkyfrog]

Since I could only afford one back-up/travel machine, I'm glad I bought my DeviIlbiss.
If I could afford a third machine, I might have gone with the new Transcend Auto.
I like an auto--more comfort for me. (YMMV)

[waudio1]

"Unfortunately, as Timothyb pointed out this thing actually is much louder than my existing machine, at least at my pressure of 12.0 and SwiftFX mask, and not only has a distinct high pitched whine, but it varies in volume and frequency with your breathing, which gave me some real problems getting to sleep last night. Once I was asleep it was fine, but it took me about an hour to get to sleep instead of my normal 5 minutes. The z-breathe function is also a bit rough, I tried both settings, and it didn't feel anywhere near as smooth as C-Flex. I could definitely feel several times where the machine seemed out of sync with me (i.e. it thought I should be breathing in when I was exhaling or vice versa)."

Good to know it isn't just me. I also purchased a Z1 machine. My pressure is 9. The Z1 is super noisy (not the machine itself but the mask on in-hale and exhale - with the Aloha and the Nuance Gel). With my home machine I never hear anything. With the Z1 it took me 2 hours to get to sleep and then woke up an hour later and couldn't get back to sleep and had to take the thing off for the rest of the night (home machine I go to sleep the second my head hits the pillow). I'm really not a complainer - I got used to my machine and mask pretty quickly last April. Cpap.com says it is because the Z1 is straight pressure - I wish I had known before I bought it that it would make this much of a difference. I know it is my own fault but I'm really sad I'm out that much money and I don't think I will use it. Even though it is super cool (so small you can fit in your purse) and the battery would be great for long plane trips. So if you don't mind a bunch of noise (or you are already used to a whole bunch of noise) then you will love it.

[mots]

Hi Guys finally another supplier for a battery power cpap The Everest was on it last legs i was getting desperate then the Z1 was advertised bought 1 immediately (Ouch)
well using it for a few days now all seems to be ok much quieter than the Everest and i like the relief that was not avaliable with the Everest smaller by far
and packs much more easily into the bike and camper at the moment im using an invert-er to charge the battery as i have not sorted a 12 volt charger for it yet.
any one know where to get the software to read the SD card ?

[Kiralynx]

Now if someone would just come up with an ASV in this size....

[Mickps]

Hi folks. Anybody using the z1 batteries? I used one for the first time two nights ago (setting on 11), and then again last night, and could only get 5.5 hours max use. Is my battery faulty, or do I need to do something to get it to run at least 8 hours?

[SamSD350]

I'm a new member and purchased the Z1 for travel (all modes - fly and drive) and camping (RV and bike). The small size of the unit is terrific compared to the Respronics I've been hauling around for two years, with and without the humidifier. As the others have commented the noise from my mask (Swift LT) is much louder, my wife noticed this immediately when I tried it for a few nights at home. While traveling by myself for work this isn't an issue. I did add a 10 minute ramp up from 7 to my operating pressure of 9, and that seems to make a difference until I nodded off, it did take longer to adjust to additional noise as others mentioned.

On my first trip with the Z1 I showed it to a coworker and CPAP user, he immediately had CPAP envy and ordered one that night for both he and his wife.

I ordered with the Battery (Power Shell) assuming I could use and charge this as I do with the external battery for the Respronics (3 nights no humidifier) via solar or while driving/riding from a 12VDC source. I was surprised to find out the output from the supplied transformer to the Z1 is 15 Volts! This means I have to use an inefficient inverter to charge the battery if I plan more than a one night trip, and can't use my the solar panels on the RV or mobile as I did before. This is a really big concern when we are off the grid camping on solar for several days.

Also, the battery took the initial charge, then I left it at home for a week using the machine on AC power, as luck would have it the battery now will not charge and HDM says I have to deal with the dealer I purchased it from. They want the entire machine back.

For travel the machine is awesome, I will miss it until I get this battery issue resolved. I did consider just returning the unit concerned about the support - lack of "take care of the customer first" attitude for a new machine, and the need to use an inverter to charge off 12VDC. The travel advantages are too great (I was doing to say large) to give up on it. I also hope that come up with some update to take care of the pressure only operation.

[jodyl]

Just an update... I've traveled with my Z1 three weeks so far, and really love the size as I can slip it in my laptop bag, and only open one bag going through TSA.

I've never used the ramp feature on my main machine, but I found setting my Z1 to ramp from 4cm to 12cm over 30 minutes resolved the issues I was having falling asleep due to the mask noise.

[jodyl]

For those of you who have used the Z1 and aren't experiencing mask noise, what mask and pressure are you using?

[LarryS]

I would like to adjust the pressure on my Z1 without having to send it back. I can do it on my other machines. Anyone know the button push that gets this into setup mode for pressure?