dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

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Dave0
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dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by Dave0 » Fri Sep 30, 2022 5:50 am

Hi all, new poster here -

cpap machine: phillips dream station 2

this was shipped to me to replace my dream station 1 from its recall (several months ago)
for the most part the machine has worked well, although I don't particularly like the design of the machine
(water tank fill procedure on the Dream Station 1 is better for me)

I cant find a thread similar to my problem, so i figured I would try a new post.

I have noticed that my water tank level (dream station 2) is not decreasing over the last few weeks, but I am NOT able to correlate what change I may have done to introduce this problem. Perhaps a replacement hose or mask, or maybe in the middle of the night i have touched the top panel and have changed something ?

I have adjusted the heater/humidity temperature setting several times now - the setting is NOT changing from where I left it last (setting at 1 or 2).
I notice that if I change it in the middle of the night from 1 to 2, or 2 to 3 the heater will power on temporarily, and I when I wake up - I find a cold (and nearly full) water tank in the morning...

I *really* need that humidity / heater plate working (generally a setting of 1 or 2 is fine for me) ... and
I don't know what I need to do to correct this.

any advice greatly appreciated.

thx dave

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chunkyfrog
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by chunkyfrog » Fri Sep 30, 2022 8:29 am

Tank heaters are controlled by a thermostat, and will cycle on and off.
If the air is dry, the heater will run more often than when the air is humid.
Then again, your machine could be defective.
After all, it is not brand new, is it?

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palerider
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by palerider » Fri Sep 30, 2022 8:39 am

Dave0 wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 5:50 am
I am NOT able to correlate what change I may have done to introduce this problem.
higher ambient humidity in your room reduces water usage, especially when
Dave0 wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 5:50 am
(generally a setting of 1 or 2 is fine for me)

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Janknitz
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by Janknitz » Fri Sep 30, 2022 1:11 pm

The Philips Respironics System Ones had a KNOWN manufacturer's defect that caused the humidifier to stop working. It was in the main unit, not the humidifier add on. I wouldn't be surprised if that defect has carried over to newer machines.
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Grumpy48
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by Grumpy48 » Fri Sep 30, 2022 3:44 pm

DS2 user here. My humidity setting is currently set at 4. Lately not much water gets used through the night and I'm only adding to top it off about every 2 to 3 days. The ambient air humidity has been around 68-70% inside and out. When the air contains less ambient moisture, say 45-50%, my DS2 will go through close to a full tank in one night. I do know the heater is working, as occasionally I forget to add water and the dry heated tank gives off an odor I would best describe as hot plastic. If you "really" need the humidity, try 5 as a setting and see if that evaporates more water and gives you the moisture you want.

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Dave0
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by Dave0 » Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:42 am

CHUNKYFROG:
Then again, your machine could be defective.
After all, it is not brand new, is it?
The Dream Station 2 is new (delivered in July) - it came directly from Phillips in the recall process of my Dream Station 1.
I called my supplier of CPAP parts (masks, filters, etc.) to discuss another matter, and brought up the DS2 situation with the sales rep.
I told him my sinuses are so dry after waking up - Ive got serious nose bleeds throughout the day (i saw this with the DS1 also)

His response was something to the effect, I'm only a sales rep - but Ive been in the business for over 10 years now.
IF this behavior is surfacing recently, you may be looking at a defective unit.
He opened a trouble ticket for me, and told me the support team will get back to me in 1 or 2 days.
BUT if they cant resolve it over the phone, its likely Ill be getting a replacement unit.

As a supplier of these units - we don't see a lot of the DS units coming our way over the last year, (like we did before the recall).
Saying either the chip shortages and/or heavy recall activities have left DreamStations in short supply.
He also mentioned - to complicate things further Phillips had some sort of satellite issue and their call home reporting functionality was (is?) broken.

and finally he said - if we do replace it (the DS2) , you will have to wait a long LONG time for another DS2 replacement.
*OR* you could get a ResMed AirSence 11 in a rather short period of time (no big shortage on these apparently)

PALERIDER:
higher ambient humidity in your room reduces water usage, especially when ...
Understood, however...
Before I started seeing this behavior, I had taken a week long trip to Baton Rouge Louisiana (in August).
For anyone NOT familiar with Louisiana, it is both HOT and HUMID (and to make it worse - we saw heavy rain showers every day).
It is as humid as humid gets !!! and my DS2 was still using water (had to top it off every day)...

JANKNITZ:
The Philips Respironics System Ones had a KNOWN manufacturer's defect that caused the humidifier to stop working
I also have a DS1 where the humidity issue had surfaced.
This caused me to research my problem with the DS1, and that's when I discovered the recall effort going on.
And eventually after 6~8 months I received the DS2.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:
I tested 6 different hoses (5 heated and 1 non-heated) with no success.
Put each hose/test on a 30 minute timer and the tank was cold each time the test period was over.
coincidentally - we were experiencing rather cold and dry weather yesterday.
I happen to have a hygrometer :) (instrument used in meteorological science to measure the humidity).

I put the DS2 on the shelf and pulled out my trusty old RemStar M-Series... ahhh sweet humidity I can breath again !
Im feeling so much better this morning...
Oh RemStar M-Series... why did I ever leave you ?!?

NOTES:
I liked the water filling procedure on the DS1 (flip open, fill and close - very nice)
I dislike the water tank filling process on the DS2 - clearly the design staff are not users of CPAP equipment.

I'll wait for the tech support call and go through the typical tech support motions (is your CPAP plugged in? :) )
I will not miss the DS2 - if I'm lucky the DS2 one will get replaced with an AirSense 11

I hope i didn't start a DreamStation vs AirSense holy war just now :)

thanks for listening, any further ideas are very welcome.
Ill keep you posted with the results.

- Dave

rachieb
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by rachieb » Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:54 am

I also received a DS2 in September. It uses almost an entire tank of water a night set on 3. Then it stopped using water about 2 weeks ago. I even tried on level 5. Today I felt the element when I got up and it was cold. I think the element isn't working. I did replace the bottom part of the chamber when they sent me a new one.

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palerider
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by palerider » Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:58 pm

Well, as mentioned, Respironics, and then Philips Resperonics, has long had problems with the wiring in their heater circuits, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they haven't cheaped out on the DS2 just like previous models.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Nov 15, 2022 8:38 pm

If Phillips-Respironics has indeed cheaped out AGAIN, you need to push them
to replace their defective crap-as many times as necessary.
This is yet another reason so many of us stick with Resmed.
Sorry about getting stung by those stinkers . . .

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Bill D.
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by Bill D. » Sat Apr 22, 2023 5:20 pm

Has anyone had experience in replacing the heater element on the Philips Dreamstation 2?

Grumpy48
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Re: dream station 2 water tank heater stops working

Post by Grumpy48 » Sat Apr 22, 2023 6:59 pm

Bill D. wrote:
Sat Apr 22, 2023 5:20 pm
Has anyone had experience in replacing the heater element on the Philips Dreamstation 2?
The DS2 hasn't been out that long, so I suspect warranty replacement or repair would be the best option. Warranty is stated in the users manual to be 2 years.

Finding the heater element part likely would be a challenge.

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Additional Comments: Resmed AirSense 10 Auto with Humidifier