Is the climateline hose as flimsy as the slimline hose?

[kickaha]

I've had my S9 since the middle of October 2010 and about a month ago I noticed my slimline hose distintegrating at the cuff that connects to the S9. I'm not talking about a small hole, this was a LARGE "chunk" missing where the hose goes into the cuff. I duct taped the cuff, and down the hose about two inches, and it's been working OK, but I have noticed that my S9 has not been operating quite the same in the last month as it did in the first two months.

Last night I was cleaning my mask and hose in the shower (it works, try it ) and when I filled up the hose with soapy water I discovered multiple streams of water. It was a bit of a surprise.

Now, I DO put my S9, hose & mask in the dresser every morning so the Fwoozle can't chew on and generally destroy CPAP gear, and I take care when I pick everything up, so I can say with confidence that, unless I'm break dancing in my sleep, I'm not subjecting my gear to an undo amount of abuse.

And while the holes in the hose might have been put there by the Fwoozle, the large-scale disintegration of the hose at the cuff is NOT his fault.

Based on my first hose-experience I would say the ResMed hoses are crap, with a capital K. Bonafide junk. How they can send this kind of junk with a $900 machine is beyond me. It's unbelievable.

I thought I would make a home-made hose and today I stopped by my local Ace Hardware and almost bought six feet of clear vinyl tubing but decided to wait until I could go to Home Depot. When I got home I did a little more research and found three 6' hoses on eBay for $20 and I bought them.

They don't appear to be ResMed hoses, so I'm hoping I get better results...

[kennethryan]

Hmmm, too bad I already bought a spare CL hose.

Does the hose tend to develop a tear in one end or the other? I have been wondering about the inevitable tight bend needed
to attach to the rear-facing port on the humidifier, what kind of strain that puts on the hose.

[jlk]

Both of my climateline hoses failed at the cuff on the mask end. One at two weeks and the other at two months. Not a tear, just a pinhole from flexing. I have not used the slimline, but it feels just as flexable as the climateline. I have plenty of hose with machine sitting at head level on nightstand. My hose managment is at the edge of bookcase headboard, between me and machine, so there is no tight corner or pulling on hose at machine connection. I like the smaller diameter of the hose and flexability, just wish they were a little thicker to prevent premature failure. john

[cortez356]

Why does Bill Bolton constantly defend Resmed from people who have legitimate problems? Does he work for Resmed?? There have been enough complaints regisiterd on this forum to easily determine that Resmed has a problem with hoses. To deny this displays a total lack of customer service.

Bob

[rested gal]

I don't think Bill Bolton works for ResMed.
viewtopic.php?p=546318#p546318

Bill simply said he has not had a problem with his climateline hose.

Why can you not fix this problem?

I bought my S9 in early April... my climateline is doing just fine nearly 6 months later, including going on two international trips during that time.

Its not a problem for everyone.

Cheers,

Bill

Bill's saying "It's not a problem for everyone" is not saying, "There's no problem with the climateline hoses."

Others have been relating their poor experiences with the climateline hose. He related his satisfactory personal experience with his.

Some others have written that they haven't had a problem (yet) either. There may be many others out there using climateline hoses who haven't had a problem, who don't visit a message board, or who visit here but haven't had a problem and didn't post, "no problem for me."

Me? I wouldn't buy a climateline hose if it were on sale for $1.00.
Very happy with my several years old Aussie heated hose. But that's just my personal experience.

LINKS to discussions about problems with S9 "climateline" hose
viewtopic.php?p=551739#p551739

Question for Bill Bolton: Bill, have you wrapped anything around your climateline hose to reinforce where the tube joins the cuff? Or have you been using it ever since you got it... "as is."

[Lizistired]

Does the hose tend to develop a tear in one end or the other? I have been wondering about the inevitable tight bend needed to attach to the rear-facing port on the humidifier, what kind of strain that puts on the hose.

I thought the same thing, the bend is the stress point. I turned my S9 around so the hose comes straight out the back towards my bed. I may invest in an elbow... or not.

[kempo]

OK, up date since I October. The day I received the climateline from cpap.com I wrapped both ends with F4 tape. Also bought a Hose Buddy hose management system and I have had no leaks. I am very careful hooking up and removing my Swift FX. Keeping my fingers crossed!

[-SWS]

I have not one, but two ClimateLine hoses as backups---both ClimateLine backups covered by insurance. However, I've been using my original ClimateLine, as-is, since early June with no problems. As a side note, Medicare and most matching private-insurance carriers will replace the ClimateLine every 3 months.

Medicare's HCPCS billing code for the ClimateLine's three-month replacement schedule is:
A4604- "tubing with integrated heating element for use with positive airway pressure device"

BTW, DME providers need to bill against that A4604 code rather than the usual A7037 billing code. That latter code is for a less-expensive albeit ordinary CPAP tube.

[kempo]

I have not one, but two ClimateLine hoses as backups---both ClimateLine backups covered by insurance. However, I've been using my original ClimateLine, as-is, since early June with no problems. As a side note, Medicare and most matching private-insurance carriers will replace the ClimateLine every 3 months.

Medicare's HCPCS billing code for the ClimateLine's three-month replacement schedule is:
A4604- "tubing with integrated heating element for use with positive airway pressure device"

BTW, DME providers need to reimburse using that A4604 code rather than the usual A7037 billing code for an ordinary CPAP tube.

My insurance will not even pay for a "heated" humidifier much less a climateline hose.

[Slartybartfast]

The metal resistance wire in the tube is considerably heavier than the plastic reinforcing spiral that was used in the Slimline tube. The extra weight tends to make the tubing feel flimsier.

FWIW, I think ResMed made the hose unnecessarily flexible by specifying tubing that was too thin. I haven't noticed any leaks (yet), but I expect when/if they show up that I can seal them with strips of the "cling-wrap" Saran-like stuff that is sold for wrapping sandwiches, etc. and buy myself a little time.

Like others have said, i keep my S9 turned around so that the hose isn't unduly stretched at the cuff. Dunno why the designer didn't have the hose exit the front pointing toward the sleeping position. Probably a concession of appearance over utility.

[-SWS]

My insurance will not even pay for a "heated" humidifier much less a climateline hose.

Bummer... I'd put an extra wrap of tape on the ends.

My advice to those who have Medicare-equivalent insurance, however, is to arrange a ClimateLine backup or two. My advice to Resmed is to make the ClimateLine hoses reasonably durable for the MANY patients who have no coverage. The high ClimateLine failure rate reported on the message boards suggests inadequate product quality.

[WestCoastCdnGrl]

I've had my ClimateLine hose for about 5 weeks now and haven't had any problems with it... this is saying a lot, considering I was called "butterfingers" when I was growing up.

The worst calamity that has befallen my gear so far is that I dropped my mask on the cement garage floor last night. It survived the fall with no damage.

[DreamOn]

I've been using my ClimateLine hose since early June -- 7 months now. I've had no problems so far. However, I did use silicone Rescue Tape to reinforce it at both ends before I started using it. I purchased a brand-new backup ClimateLine hose at cpapauction.com for around $25 before they could no longer sell ResMed products there. When both ClimateLine hoses eventually fail, I'll probably use the SleepZone (Aussie) heated hose, which I had purchased for use with my previous ResMed S8 machine. I do prefer the way the ClimateLine works, but the Aussie heated hose does seem more durable.

[chunkyfrog]

I've had my second climateline hose for about 3 months, and so far; so good.
I should mention that I used Vetwrap on both ends of either of my flimsy ResMed hoses.
I have to change the tape when I wash the hose, but that's O.K.

[kennethryan]

I bought a spare CL hose soon after buying my S9, back in April was it? The hose just has a flimsy feel to it. Like lizistired I keep my machine turned, not completely around but sideways so I only have a 90-degree bend.

The spare hose is still in the bag. Even after a couple family trips the original hasn't yet sprung a leak.

YMMV. I fully expect it to fail any time, but I'm ready for it.