Catching up - and... help! :)

Old timer checkin in.... my "tank" Remstar auto with c-flex started whining this morning. That whine like a fan bearing is going.... kinda high pitched and screechy. I just went up there and gave it a whack and tested it and it seems quiet for now. Might be afraid... might just be laughin at me.

Anyways it's 4 years old and about 8000 hours so I started looking at new machines... just in case... Now I have questions. I looked for this one but the answers confused me.... looking at the M-Series ... a-flex and c-flex.... huh? My tank does EPR while on auto. Someone told me that to get EPR on auto I now need to get a-flex in the M-Series. Zat so?

I am also somewhat..... no.... I am VERY intrigued by this Intellipap auto. I realize it doesn't have EPR, but to be honest I've turned my c-flex off and not really noticed. My pressure is only like... 8. I can buy this thing with heated humidifier and the Smartlink module and software, for LESS than what the M-Series will cost me just for the machine with humidifier (I already have the reader and software for Encore.)

Still looks like Encore is the one to beat as far as detailed reports. But I don't look at them in detail any more. In fact I go months without looking at them at all. I'm kinda settled in... this is working... I really don't read my charts any more.

So is this Intellipap decent? It looks decent. Reviews seem good. Just wondering if anyone can shoot me some "oh if you can shut c-flex off then you probably won't miss it" advice... or "OH MY G A W D ! ! ! ! ! Don't get rid of C-Flex or you'll D I E !!!!!" ....


or something.

just looking for some input

thanks

I own the M Series Auto, as my primary machine. It is advertised as "Aflex" but it can do both Aflex or Cflex. If you're used to Cflex (the EPR your current machine provides), you might not like Aflex. Experiment with both.

I now have an old Remstar "tank" Plus machine as my "weekend" machine. It's MUCH QUIETER than the M Series. If you go that route, be prepared. I've heard alot of old timers bitch and moan about the new M Series noise. I had the M Series first, and am used to it, so it doesn't bother me.

If you can locate a Tank, you might want to buy a Tank (your same model) instead.

BTW, after about a year of therapy, I turned off all Flex, and don't need it now. Have you tried that? Or do you have to have it? Some folks do. My weekend machine doesn't have flex, and I'm just peachy keen without it. I turned it off on my daily machine months ago, and just started the new "weekend" machine thing two weeks ago. I spend weekends at another house, and got tired of dragging my machine with me every weekend.

Good luck!!!!!
Barbara

Replacing the tank is ridiculously expensive. They're around $850. I have no desire to spend that much again.

Sorry. I got mine used for $25.

Well, actually, a buddy of mine found it at a Goodwill and gave it to me. I actually got it for free.

I think the Intellipap is getting high marks. Any chance you can 'test drive' an M Series before making the decision? I swapped machines with a friend of mine here locally for a week.

Best of luck!
B.

Decision made.

First I have to say I get SOOoooo much better service and support from CPAP.com than I EVER got from a local DME.

On the lowest end of an estimate for what it would cost me to get a loaner, send my machine in, get it repaired and get it back.... we're talking about 2/3 the price of a new Intellipap Auto with heated humidifier and software package. In this case it just doesn't make sense to me to repair this 4 year old machine.

My "Tank" isn't dead yet and I could keep it as a backup if necessary, but I've decided to just buy a new machine. I was reading that sticky post about the Intellipap vs M-Series and there are valid points all around. But I think I'm ready for a change from respironics. And folks seem to like the Intellipap Auto so I'm going to make the jump. Maybe I can write up a little report of my experience going from the tank to the Intellipap. I'm going to lose the C-Flex, but as I've said.... I can turn it off and I don't really notice. So we'll see.