ResMed H4i Water Tank changes?

[lusoman]

I just got around to looking at the H4i water tank that I am giving away, and it is different than I have seen before, and appears to be lower quality that the others I have seen (from cpap.com, and from Apria). Major differences are:

1. It is smaller (and almost certainly holds less water).
2. The plastic is frosted, not clear, and appears to be thinner and less robust.
3. The metal plate is a different shape.
4. The water line is molded into the plastic, not printed on to the tank.

I have sent an email to cpap.com, who supplied this, to ask if ResMed have changed the tanks that come with the H4i. I also plan on calling ResMed, since the picture on the manual clearly shows the "old-style" tank, and there is no indication that they reserve the right to make modifications.

I was wondering if anyone else had received a frosted tank like I describe, instead of the clear one.

[falvesjr]

Yes, the S8 VPAP Auto 25 with H4i that I bought about a month ago came with the frosted tank. Despite it not opening for cleaning, I think that the tank is of good quality. It doesn't seem to me that the plastic is overly thin or flimsy. The metal plate is oval, and seems to match the shape of the heater plate on the H4i. And yes, the fill line is molded into the tank, not printed, but that's not an issue for me as after the first few fillings, I got the hang of where the line is and don't really look at it that carefully anymore. I can't comment on size as I've never seen another tank, but it fits perfectly well in the humidifier and I don't see how a bigger tank would fit in the same volume.

If you want to explore this further, maybe some pictures of the two tanks, side by side, would help...

[lusoman]

If you want to explore this further, maybe some pictures of the two tanks, side by side, would help...

Well, I don't have my camera handy since I left it at the office party on Friday, but is did some measuring, and I'm actually very surprised: the new tank holds just a little bit more water! Around 16oz, as opposed to just over 15oz for the old one.

I weighed them as well, and the new one weighs quite a bit less: 190g, as opposed to 240g, which makes me think that the plastic is thinner. This might have given me the impression of lesser quality, and might also be responsible for the larger volume.

[falvesjr]

A 50g difference in weight may be more than just thinner plastic, the metal plate may be thinner too. But hey, I can't complain about it holding more water!

[RedBackFur]

You can get the clear, openable water tank as an OPTIONAL tank for the 4Hi. And as far as it being hard to see the water line, I solved that problem with 5 seconds and a Sharpie® pen

[lusoman]

You can get the clear, openable water tank as an OPTIONAL tank for the 4Hi. And as far as it being hard to see the water line, I solved that problem with 5 seconds and a Sharpie® pen

ResMed used to ship clear, non-openable water tanks as standard.

[RedBackFur]

You can get the clear, openable water tank as an OPTIONAL tank for the 4Hi. And as far as it being hard to see the water line, I solved that problem with 5 seconds and a Sharpie® pen

ResMed used to ship clear, non-openable water tanks as standard.

As one can see, not every new and improved is actually improved!

[sthnreb]

I see all of you use the Resmed S8 Auto Bipap. Have you used the Respironic and if so, how do you compare the two? Just wondering because I just got the M series Bipap and considered the Resmed.

[falvesjr]

I used a Repironics M Series BiPAP Auto for three weeks when I first started and didn't like it nearly as much as my S8 VPAP Auto 25. The S8 gives me much more control over the breathing pattern timing and it works *much* better for me. The M Series would often force me to take a breath, off-sync with my breathing, but the S8 never does that (unless there's an event, of course!). I love my S8 and would never go back to an M... If you still can, you should try an S8 and see if you like it better too.

[sthnreb]

I've had it a couple of weeks now, don't know if they would swap it or not. Plus if they did and I didn't like it better they may not want to swap back. Probably should have asked around first. I've been using a Bipap Auto Pro for about 5 years with no problem. (Respironics) I gave up originally on the Resmed when they went up on their pricing before anyone else. I may go for the Resmed in 5 years when they replace it, if I'm still around. I guess that's a +1 for Resmed since you prefer it.

[falvesjr]

If you like your machine, that's all that matters! I have nothing against Respironics, I think it was a well built machine, it just didn't work well for *me*. One last thing I'll mention in favor of the S8 is that it is *much* quieter than the M Series...

[lusoman]

If you like your machine, that's all that matters! I have nothing against Respironics, I think it was a well built machine, it just didn't work well for *me*. One last thing I'll mention in favor of the S8 is that it is *much* quieter than the M Series...

I agree completely with this. I never used the M-Series Bilevel, bit I did swap from the M-Series Auto to an S8 Autoset II, then moved to the S8 VPAP Auto 25.

For me the difference between the ResMed and the Respironics was night and day. The ResMed is quieter, the feel of EPR was much more comfortable for me than A-Flex (I turned it off and used C-Flex), and there are NO DAMN' BLUE LIGHTS. Seriously, who ever put those lights on a device intended to aid sleep is an A-grade moron! It speaks of marketing winning out over enginerring, and makes me worry what other compromises there might have been.

The VPAP Auto 25 is nicely tweakable, and I am just getting happy with my trigger, pressure support and other settings. AHI #s are down from an average of 3.6 on the AutoSet to about 0.6 on the 25. It's a really nice machine for me, and I wouldn't go back to the Respironics unless there really was no choice. I'd go for a straight CPAP from another manufacturer rather than go back to the M-Series Auto.

[lktnky]

LOVE my VPAP Auto 25 and have for the past year. Went through 3 Auto BiPAPs before going to Resmed and have never regretted the switch. It breathes with me, not for me. It's quiet and easy to take apart. I like being able to see my nightly results in the screen in the morning and the mask fit feature has been a big help.
The only thing I'm not wild about is the reservoir that you can't take apart. It is hard to clean.