Machines Don't Last Forever

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I've been using CPAP for 25 years. I love my CPAP machines, they enable me to sleep deeply and awake well rested.

I'm on my 3rd CPAP machine. My Healthdyne died with the symptom of slowly RISING pressure until it was off the dial. My second machine, an Invacare Polaris 5000, is still in use (upstairs, by my bed) but is now slowly LOWERING pressure during sleep. I have a titration dial, which attaches to the hose, and it verifies my impression that I am down to a lower-than-prescribed pressure when I awaken. Removing the filter helps only a little. This machine is six years old.

My third machine, a two-year-old Philips Respironics REMstar Plus, is downstairs by my recliner and is working fine.

I tried at length to find a thread, in this forum, about old CPAP machines. Does anyone have advice on this subject? How long is a CPAP machine expected to last? How do you watch it for signs of degradation? Is there such a thing as expert CPAP machine service/repair? Or is the CPAP user on his own here, with little option other than to replace a machine that is suspected of being "over the hill"?

SleepyGramps wrote:How long is a CPAP machine expected to last?

The technology is continuously being improved. What not treat yourself to a new machine instead of trying to rehab an old one?

You don't necessarily have to get the latest model. The previous model is usually very good and you may find bargains. Here is one good place to shop for bargains - http://www.secondwindcpap.com/

5 years is a common interval for replacement of a CPAP machine by insurance or Medicare in the US.

My first machine, a PR System One, stopped working a few months after 5 years of use. It would still blow air, but I could no longer adjust the controls, get any display information, or turn it on or off without pulling the plug or plugging it back in. Based on Sleepyhead data, it appears that the APAP function worked once I fell asleep. However, it was taking me 4-6 hours on the machine to get to sleep at the end. It took about a month to get a new machine once I got a prescription from my doctor and submitted it to the DME.

I have since gotten a Remstar Airsense 10 machine. I hope it lasts long enough to reach the interval before Medicare will replace it.

Wow, what a great flash from the past to the present... glad you shared that perspective and history with us. I've never heard of most of your old machines! The only better thing than a CPAP success story around here is a success story that is as long running as yours

Yep, treat yourself to a new machine, you've earned it. The general consensus is that they last about five years, but that's only an average, so other folks mileage may vary.

Hi SleepyGramps, I used my Respironics Plus "Brick" from 2006-2015. Few selections: On, Off, Humidity, or Not. And sounded a lot like a vacuum cleaner. That was about it. My sis no longer needed her ResMed S9 "Brick". People on another board poopoo'ed it something terrible. But, I couldn't believe how much quieter the newer machine was. Well, push come to shove and I purchased my present fully data capable ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset w/Oxi.
Still getting things set up, but the difference tween this and my first machine is almost as great as my first night on the CPAP Brick was. I decided that I will change to the newer technology equipment at least every 5 or so years. Had to get over my habit of making things last till they wore out. Guess I'ma gittin' alittle older and don't like to change. What a crock that is. Put your old machines in the museum with all that bone pile of dead computers and really enjoy sleeping. JMHO

Luck to you whatever you decide.
Cheers,
Otrpu

Some of the older machines were built practically indestructible, lasting for years.
They really DON'T make them like they used to.
Most machines have two year warranties. (((Don't ask why.)))
Medicare covers a new one after five, but only if the old one is crapped out.
Logic says we may need to buy at least one out of pocket, just to avoid the misery of non-treatment.

Now you have gone and burst my bubble.

I thought PAP machines were supposed to last forever, and auto update to the latest technology the first of every month at noon.

Now what am I going to do with my PRS1 machine when I get old, err I mean when it gets old.

You just might enjoy a newer quieter machine with full data capabilities. Who knows you might learn to determine if you therapy is actually working.

bwexler wrote:Now you have gone and burst my bubble.

I thought PAP machines were supposed to last forever, and auto update to the latest technology the first of every month at noon.

Now what am I going to do with my PRS1 machine when I get old, err I mean when it gets old.

You just might enjoy a newer quieter machine with full data capabilities. Who knows you might learn to determine if you therapy is actually working.

They will........if you have enough of them..........


Den

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I am just curious Den, how many machines have you worn out?

Stormynights wrote:I am just curious Den, how many machines have you worn out?

None. I did send my original Pro 2 to the factory (through CPAP.COM) in 2006 under warranty as it had developed a "wheeze" in the motor as it changed speeds during the C-Flex operation, but that's it.
I've rotated my machines over the years (sometimes monthly in the early years). The most hours I have on any one machine is a little over 10,000. That was one I acquired in 2010 on the CPAPAuction site. It had never been used......actually, it was broken (broken hose nipple and dead battery) and I fixed it. Some of them have 6000 - 8000 hours, a few have a few thousand hours on them, but a few of them only have a few hundred hours on them.

For what it's worth, this year I've gone back to my first APAP (that I bought from a forum member in 2006....using in CPAP mode). It's one that has over 8000 hours on it.

But, the ones i have still have lots of useful life left in most of them. And, they're all still very quiet

I've calculated that I have at or over 30,000 therapy hours from all of my machines since I started in May of 2005.


Den

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Thanks for the replies.

Logic says we may need to buy at least one out of pocket, just to avoid the misery of non-treatment.

Apparently CPAP machines are like mattresses -- Made to last only a few years. Yep, chunkyfrog, looks like I've got to pay my own money (gasp) for a new one if I want the luxury of two at a time.