bought a Resmed Ultra mask on ebay, one part cracked

johnfm · Post by **johnfm** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:01 pm

I ws so happy to get a slightly used bargain Resmed Ultrea full face mask on ebay. It arrived and everything looked great. I tested it this afternoon and found it was leaking badly. I found that that one of the two plastic tabs of the valve elbow is cracked, thus it isn't holding the valve membrane snug against the valve frame.

I do think I should write the seller, but I am a little angry right now, if you can imagine. I know it is "buyer beware" but I never thought I had to ask "does it actually work without leaking?". *sigh*

I thought I would come here first and see if anyone had any ideas on a homemade fix, maybe something involving a bit of duct tape?

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:12 pm

DUCT TAPE!

Haven't a clue, but I do commiserate with you. To flip it - maybe the seller was too dumb to know that the reason the mask leaked and didn't work for him was the crack?

Wish you all the luck!!! I hate bad deals...
Barbara

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:25 pm

What about a spot of Crazy Glue or something like it?

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:26 pm

Oh hey... A buddy of mine was touting the benefits of Gorilla Glue yesterday. He said it swells up, like foam insulation. I bet that would be good. Except the concept of breathing the vapors from it.... I dunno!!!
B.

johnfm · Post by **johnfm** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:44 pm

Babette wrote:DUCT TAPE!

Haven't a clue, but I do commiserate with you. To flip it - maybe the seller was too dumb to know that the reason the mask leaked and didn't work for him was the crack?

Wish you all the luck!!! I hate bad deals...
Barbara

I mean to ask him, before stating that anything is wrong, if the reason he sold it was because it leaked too much for him. Part of me thought "perhaps this guy bought it, it didn't work and he had no idea, and could not return it", which was counter what the other (dominant) part of me thought - that I had just been ripped off and played a fool.

In the course of using some duct tape, the tab went from cracked to now completely broke off. It is such thin plastic there, where the tab joins to the circular pice of the elbow valve, that it probaly would have come off sooner than later anyways. I still might try super-glue.

However, I needed this as a replacement for my older Ultramirage. I actually just needed a cushion, but since those are sky-high to buy on their own, I figured a slightly used one would provide me the parts I needed; a new headstrap is also nice, with very "sticky" velcro. It just would have been nice to have known of the crack ahead of time. I am tempted to put the other spare parts on ebay, to defray my costs a bit. However, with my bad luck, it might be best to keep all spare parts handy

I still think I should say something to the seller, but something in a non-angered tone. As you pointed out, he may habve thought the Ultramirage was just bad, he may have had no idea a part was broken, or maybe it broke on his first week using it.

*grrr*
thans for all the responses, I needed to vent to people who could sympathize

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:50 pm

Anytime John! You can always count on tea and sympathy here! And the occasional cookie...

Cheers,
B.

blowfish · Post by **blowfish** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:24 pm

Janine · Post by **Janine** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:37 pm

That sucks! I wouldn't mess with glue either. Even tape. That stuff outgasses for ages and you don't want it in you system...

Definitely write the seller. It might be buyer beware, but implicit in the listing is the idea that the product is not broken or unusable. It might be an honest mistake too.

johnfm · Post by **johnfm** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:54 pm

mth712 wrote:Wow - I hope it wasn't the one I sold on Ebay. It was practically new so I doubt it... I think you are talking about the anti-asphyxiation valve-don't play around with that replace it.

I wouldn't want to smell glue all night myself.

Just to set your mind at ease - it wasn't you, I double-checked

johnfm · Post by **johnfm** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:12 pm

I did contact the seller, and he said he will send me a $25 refund, which is what I figured a replacement elbow part would cost, after doing a quick search. Most of the time it looks that you have to buy the entire elbow unit, for $40 or more. I might not be able to find just the one part I need, it seems that those parts have been officially discontinued. I thought maybe someone might have a favorite place that doesn't charge an arm and a leg.

I now believe the person had no idea it was faulty. For all I know, it wasn't his, maybe he sold it for a friend or a relative. I am just happy to get some money back.

johnfm · Post by **johnfm** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:21 pm

Janine wrote:That sucks! I wouldn't mess with glue either. Even tape. That stuff outgasses for ages and you don't want it in you system...

Definitely write the seller. It might be buyer beware, but implicit in the listing is the idea that the product is not broken or unusable. It might be an honest mistake too.

Thanks for the advice about glue and tape, I had not thought of the problem with gasses. If I tried to glue it, it would probably end up a mess!

I did need to use some duct tape on the cushion for the past 10 days or so. At first I couldn't figure out how a small hole and tear got there. I do belive it was the doing of a certain furry feline who probably gave it a chomp. The tear kept getting wider, until it was as if I took as scissors to it. I had to cretae a sort of duct tape flap. It wsn't comfortable against my nose, but I managed to keep the leaking ot a minimum.

I had hope that the brand new cushion and brand new headgear (with good velcro, my old headgear was getting pretty bad) would give me phenomenal rsults, but I still wake up 2 or 3 times before morning, though it is a vast improvement over what used to happen before I got CPAP. I used to do a lot of sleep walking - and sleep falling, no-one mentions that part of it!

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