What's the difference between a ShopVac and a CPAP?

I was visiting one of my favorite online stores, Harbor Freight Tools and see that they have ShopVacs that both vacuum and blow and work in wet and dry modes and only cost $29.99.

I had to laugh the other day when my sleep Doc said he couldn't see how those smaller light weight CPAP's could be effective. Wake up Doc, it's just a stinking vacuum blower! You can get vacuums small enough to plug into a cigarette lighter for your card dude. Man, that 8 years of school must have fried his brain!

So what's the difference Looks like about $500 - $600

Snorenomore,
Not enjoying the total ripoff of having some air pushed down his throat.

Are you serious Feel free to try a shop vac - I'll come and help pick your brains off the ceiling in the morning.

Seriously, although they are both centrifugal blowers, there is a world of difference in the technology involved. xPAP's are much lower pressure and flow. Also they have a very carefully controlled preesure/flow characteristic.

derek
Vive l'Autopap

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Although it feels like the same technology, you're really talking the difference between a finely crafted racing automobile.... and the "Huffy" dirt bike you had as a child.

They'll both get you where you want to go, but you need whole worlds of functionality and control out of the racing vehicle that you really just didn't need out of your dirt bike (whether as a child you would have WANTED it or not).

But really, you want your xPAP to be SO very tightly controlled. If you ask it for 9mm pressure, you want it to provide you with 9mm of pressure. If you have a higher pressure and need biPAP or want CFLEX or an Auto, you need all sorts of sensitive sensing equipment.

So in spite of the fact that someone wrote an essay in which he suggested that a canister vacuum cleaner would be a cheaper option, keep in mind that that was a HUMOROUS essay.

Liam, about to go get on his "Huffy" and ride to work.

This is not a very good comparrison. There are many consumer products that have as much technology as a CPAP and costs much less. A microwave, DVD Player, TV and many others.
When you put a medical device tag on it and restrict sales, the prices go up accordingly.

If it was openly marketed without these restrictions and the demand was high enough, the price would be much less.

The price of any medical device reflects much more than most consumer products and the value supposedly adds much to the sales price. Then again the price paid by providers is contracted and usually MUCH less than the list price by the DME.

Next time your PAP dies, tear it apart and see just how simple it is. The air impeller is much smaller than you may think. A PAP could be made much smaller.

This is the way it works- Sorry.
tomjax

Where a lot of cost are is the FDA acceptance. To get certified is not cheap at all... Your Govt at work for you... Course, the rest of the cost is sheer greed, but that is an entirely different matter...

I remember reading that the cpap was invented by a man named Sullivan who used a converted vacuum cleaner. I have to do some research on that when I have some down time. Interesting story!

Mikesus is correct, FDA approval and regulation cost a lot.

Yes, there are other complicated pieces of equipment, but if your CD player malfunctions, at worst you have to buy that CD again. If your microwave oven has a hissy fit, you need to cook another slice of frozen pizza.

If a medical device behaves poorly, someone could die. I suspect that's also why CPAP machines require a prescription to buy: so that they are regulated and must all pass through FDA approval before they can be sold.

And keep in mind, the market for CPAP machines is much smaller than the market for some of the other devices mentioned. So you have a combination of relatively low volume and high regulatory costs, all in the name of keeping us safe.

Now, you may disagree with the FDA, they do some stupid things sometimes, but on the whole I think we're safer with them than without them (YMMV), and I'm not concerned about a device which could cost $75 instead costing $350 because someone's been forced to prove it won't flake out and kill me.

I DO object to a retailer marking that up by 500%.

Liam, FDA approved for the treatment of boring e-mail.