S8 air filters - "Regular" vs "Hypoallergenic"

[falvesjr]

Does anyone know what the difference is between these two? The factory filter that came with my S8 is blue on one side and white on the other, and the outside of the white side has a "paper" layer on it. It sort of looks like 3M Micropore tape... I recently bought, what I can only assume, is a "third-party" filter as a replacement, but though it looks just like the original, it lacks the "paper" layer on the white side. Two things come to mind: First, the knock-offs are just cheaply made and they skip the extra "paper" layer to save $. Second, this may be the difference between "regular" filters and "hypoallergenic" ones. Does anyone know for sure what the deal is? Where does one get "real" ResMed filters, exactly like the ones that came in the machine from the factory?

The main reason I ask is because, imagined or not, I think that the factory filter kept the machine slightly quieter. Since putting in a filter without the "paper" backing, it sounds to me like my machine is slightly louder, with a low volume, high pitched sound. Like I say, this could just be my imagination at work, but it could also be that the machine is getting more air because of the missing layer, and the sound issue really is there.

Any thoughts?

[jmelby]

Where does one get "real" ResMed filters, exactly like the ones that came in the machine from the factory?

I just got some from my DME... they come in a 2-pack and are covered by my insurance.

[KatieW]

I got mine here. They have the paper layer on them, like the one that came with with my cpap. Cheaper by the dozen.

http://www.directhomemedical.com/filter ... lters.html

[falvesjr]

Thanks Katie! It's hard to tell online since most places don't have good pictures of the filters... Have you tried any filters that don't have the paper backing?

[KatieW]

I got mine here. They have the paper layer on them, like the one that came with with my cpap. Cheaper by the dozen.

http://www.directhomemedical.com/filter ... lters.html

Here's a photo I took:

[falvesjr]

Yeah, these look more like (exactly like) the one that came in the S8.

[KatieW]

Here's a recent thread where we discussed filters:

viewtopic/t47701/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46 ... s8#p423385

[Gerryk]

I believe your machine will accept a standard filter or one that is hypo allergenic. My machine the respironics uses a standard filter and you can add a white hypo allergenic one. I do notice a big difference with the white filter in and I mean in air quality not noise.

Gerry

[ozij]

My DME instructed my to tap the filter every now and then to get out the dust -- it's dusty where I live.

http://www.resmed.com/us/documents/prod ... r-2009.pdf
page 27.

As of October 2009 it looks like 33916 is not a number recognized by Resmed.

OTO, http://shop.talkaboutsleep.com/filters- ... ap-filters have the right number, but the picture looks wrong...

Anyone know more about this?

In reference to using alternative filters: I was sold hypoalergenic filters for my PB420E that were much too thick for my machine, and made it wheeze and howl. After that experience I decided to do my best to get original filters.

O.

[bearded_two]

I did a Google search for "33916 resmed" and came back with a large number of hits that indicate that 33916 is a Resmed part number for an S8 filter.

[ozij]

How many of those hits came from ResMed sites?

O.