Problems with Respironics repair dept./ventilation team??

Has anyone on this list besides me had problems with Respironics repair department? I have a BiPAP Auto SV machine, much more expensive and more complicated than plain old cpap or bipap, for complex sleep apneas - central sleep apnea (neurological) and obstructive sleep apnea, both. My machine has gone in for repairs over and over and Respironics always claims it is somehow my fault. Many of the repairs are the same repairs over and over, which makes me wonder about the quality or durability of parts. The machine was repaired and kept at Respironic 9 or more weeks last fall while I used a loaner from my equipment supplier, getting my machine back after 10 weeks from the time it left here, early in November. It ran OK, when it came back, for 7 weeks and then started beeping again (one beep, which would happen again one to several more times during the night, but each time it only beeped once or occasionally two quick beeps), which has been the problem before that led to past repairs, and making strange noises (a high-pitched whine at times, etc.). I put up with it a couple of more months before I complained again to my equipment provider and got it sent in again.

Respironics again replaced many of the same parts - PCA board, blower, etc., this time returning it to my provider in just a couple of weeks, and it got back to me 2.5 weeks from the time I sent it to my equipment provider this time. This just came back a week ago. Respironics this time claimed it was contaminated inside with "talc." There is no talc in this house. There is no body powder or foot powder. And it is a quad-level house, so it isn't picking up anything from the kitchen downstairs, and we only bake from scratch down there a few times a year if at all anyway. My equipment provider doesn't seem to believe me. We haven't bought body or foot powder or "talc" since the machine went in for repairs a few years ago, when Respironics claimed they found "talc." I eliminated powder from the household back then. One time they claimed "water ingress" for the cause of needed repairs, when no water has ever gotten into the machine.

Anyone else run into issues with Respironics ventilation team/repair department? If so, what?

Going back to your original problems, there's too much CPAPtalk data on these beeps for me to list here. Try the searches listed below using Google in your browser (not in CPAPtalk's search engine cuz it's poor quality):

site:CPAPtalk.com PR beeps
site:CPAPtalk.com Phillips beeps
site:CPAPtalk.com Respironics beeps

and so on and so forth. You'll find tons of threads.

justushw wrote:Has anyone on this list besides me had problems with Respironics repair department? I have a BiPAP Auto SV machine, much more expensive and more complicated than plain old cpap or bipap, for complex sleep apneas - central sleep apnea (neurological) and obstructive sleep apnea, both. My machine has gone in for repairs over and over and Respironics always claims it is somehow my fault. Many of the repairs are the same repairs over and over, which makes me wonder about the quality or durability of parts. The machine was repaired and kept at Respironic 9 or more weeks last fall while I used a loaner from my equipment supplier, getting my machine back after 10 weeks from the time it left here, early in November. It ran OK, when it came back, for 7 weeks and then started beeping again (one beep, which would happen again one to several more times during the night, but each time it only beeped once or occasionally two quick beeps), which has been the problem before that led to past repairs, and making strange noises (a high-pitched whine at times, etc.). I put up with it a couple of more months before I complained again to my equipment provider and got it sent in again.

Respironics again replaced many of the same parts - PCA board, blower, etc., this time returning it to my provider in just a couple of weeks, and it got back to me 2.5 weeks from the time I sent it to my equipment provider this time. This just came back a week ago. Respironics this time claimed it was contaminated inside with "talc." There is no talc in this house. There is no body powder or foot powder. And it is a quad-level house, so it isn't picking up anything from the kitchen downstairs, and we only bake from scratch down there a few times a year if at all anyway. My equipment provider doesn't seem to believe me. We haven't bought body or foot powder or "talc" since the machine went in for repairs a few years ago, when Respironics claimed they found "talc." I eliminated powder from the household back then. One time they claimed "water ingress" for the cause of needed repairs, when no water has ever gotten into the machine.

Anyone else run into issues with Respironics ventilation team/repair department? If so, what?

So you were able to ship your machine back to Philips Respironics yourself to have it repaired or did your DME have to do it for you because I attempted to ship my 6 year old CPAP machine back to them in February 2014 but they told me in an email not to bother with the expense because they didn't deal directly with patients; only with DME's so my DME shipped my machine back to Philips Respironics for me last week to have them check it out.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/20/14

Could there be dust coming in from roadwork or other excavation in your area?
I would try a new filter on your hvac system, or get a standalone air cleaner.
Obviously, they are finding something that looks like talc, but it probably is dust.

How old is your house?

A question and a possible suggestion.

1) Are you using both the grey filter and the white HEPA filter on intake for your machine?
Using both should eliminate any entry of small particles into the inner working of your machine.

2) Have you considered building an enclosure for your machine that seals it into a box with a HEPA filter as the only way air can get into the machine from the room air? It would be a simple box with a hole for the hose that could be sealed around the hose and a much larger hole in which the HEPA filter would be placed. That, in conjunction with the dual filters on the machine would protect the machine from any airborne particulate matter. if you think that you would like to try this, I would do some research on sources for larger HEPA filters for the box.

If you also had the electronics boards replaced, then I suspect you may need a power conditioner for your unit. It sounds as if you have lousy power headed into your unit. Do you have light bulbs burn out frequently? Duo you have other appliances that don't lay long? Does your home have outlets with the third, ground pin?

I've had very good experiences with the same unit you have. Shoo have many other users on this forum. It's much more likely that you have an environmental issue (dust and/or power).

JohnB has made excellent suggestions. I purchased a low power backup power supply used for computers and have my machine connected to it. That eliminates power glitches from the power company.