Respironics Remstar Auto (AKA "The Tank")

I'm going on 9 years with mine (27,871 hours thus far). How many years (and/or hours) have you gotten out of yours before it gave up the ghost (or if you prefer, breathed its last breath). Thank you for your response!

dewey.bertolini wrote:I'm going on 9 years with mine. How many years have you gotten out of yours before it gave up the ghost (or if you prefer, breathed its last breath). Thank you for your response!

Hi Dewey,

All of mine (10 in all) are still trucking along.......working just fine. Prior to 2010, I had a total of 4 Autos and my original Pro 2, but between 2010 and 2012, I managed to acquire about 5 more of the Pro 2 models pretty cheaply (they're identical to the Autos except for the internal programming). The most hours I have on any one of them is a little over 10,000 hours.......and from there on down to a few hundred hours on some of the others. They all still work just fine and I've always used the Encore Pro and MyEncore software.......and plan to stick with all of that till they "plant" me.

Is yours still working and how many hours do you have on it? And, do you have any backup machines?


Den

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Hey Den. Thanks for answering. 27,871 total hours, and yes I have a backup.

Got my first "TANK", (A PRO 2) in 2005, still using it 16,000 hours on it. Since then I purchased a used low hour PRO 2, and a new APAP TANK from our benefactor CPAP dot COM, just to keep Murphy happy! I have use them some just to make sure they all work, they do of course. I'm due for a new machine or two, but I don't want to trade down. At this rate I am good to go until 2045, I'll not be needing one by then...... if I am I'll try to borrow one from Den! Jim

I posted a similar thread to this one last year when I was using my Remstar Auto M-Series with 20K hours. I don't know why I was so proud of my old machine, but it never did have a problem. I occasionally looked at my therapy data in Encore, and had good results. Let's face it, the Smartcard days are over and your CPAP is functional, but obsolete...like mine was.

Shortly after I posted that, I bought a low-hours PRS1 Auto (560) off the forum. It was noticeably smoother and quieter, and combined with the ability to use Sleepyhead software, I experienced a quantitative improvement in results. I updated my Resmed Swift FX mask to the Airfit P1 and enjoyed even better results. Then I bought a low-hour BiPAP (760) locally off Craigslist. It was so comfortable that eventually the 560 auto just sat in the closet with the M-Series.

So I have the old machine, and it never did get to the hours you have accomplished with your "tank". Why not give yourself a break and upgrade. Using old and obsolete equipment has diminishing returns, bragging rights aside. Congrats on many years of service. Now feel free to retire your old friend.

Sleeprider wrote:I posted a similar thread to this one last year when I was using my Remstar Auto M-Series with 20K hours. I don't know why I was so proud of my old machine, but it never did have a problem. I occasionally looked at my therapy data in Encore, and had good results. Let's face it, the Smartcard days are over and your CPAP is functional, but obsolete...like mine was.

Shortly after I posted that, I bought a low-hours PRS1 Auto (560) off the forum. It was noticeably smoother and quieter, and combined with the ability to use Sleepyhead software, I experienced a quantitative improvement in results. I updated my Resmed Swift FX mask to the Airfit P1 and enjoyed even better results. Then I bought a low-hour BiPAP (760) locally off Craigslist. It was so comfortable that eventually the 560 auto just sat in the closet with the M-Series.

So I have the old machine, and it never did get to the hours you have accomplished with your "tank". Why not give yourself a break and upgrade. Using old and obsolete equipment has diminishing returns, bragging rights aside. Congrats on many years of service. Now feel free to retire your old friend.

You can still buy the smart cards and readers. Various versions of Encore are still available that work with them. Their capacity may not be what the SD cards are, but I think with any of them, the "detailed data" is only available for about a week anyway.
After witnessing all the problems people have had with their SD cards, their machines and the software, I'm happy to stick with what I've been using for 10 1/2 years. They were the "cutting edge" of therapy back then and still serve their purposes.
I've toyed with the idea of buying one or two newer ones, but like Jim, "I don't want to trade down" either.
As long as mine are still functioning like they have all these years, they're not obsolete.......to me.

And, in Dewey's case, he did say he has a backup machine.


Den

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Well, this thread gives me hope that, between my main and backup S1s, it'll be a looooong time before I have to buy a new machine. *finds wood to knock on*

While the newer machines MAY be quieter I doubt they will be serviceable nearly as long, having your machines made out of the U.S.A., isn't a plus in my book.

True my Tanks, don't measure near as many useless parameters as a new ones CA's ect. So I have no CA's to obsess over. My orgional Smart cards all work, I have two readers of course, my computers run Windows 7, because the versions after it are poorer, and I run VM Ware so I can run anything I want. Maybe in 2045, when I no longer need my TANKs, my heirs can sell them here to replace your new machines. I'll be 100 by then. Jim