How long should my CPAP last?

According to my Facebook "Memories", I got my Resmed S9 6 years ago. My sleep doctor is no longer in business. I review my stats every now and then to make sure nothing looks out of whack.

Do these things require regular maintenance or adjustments? How long can I reasonably expect it to last? About a year ago, I stopped using the humidifier and honestly, I haven't missed it. I use the CPAP with religious fervor. My compliance percentage is over 99%. I don't remember the last time that I cleaned the air filter although I'm going to do that right now.

TIA.

This subject has come up on here before and some of the older CPAPS seem to be workhorses. It will be interesting to see what the records are these days. Many insurances allow for replacement after 5 years or if no longer usable, so I'm guessing anything over 5 years is considered a bonus. That 5 years replacement or no longer usable is If an insurance was the purchaser of the prior machine. If not, then my position is that neither of those qualifiers should matter. If it were me, I'd want to pick up another machine and keep one as backup for when the looming inevitable happens.

I agree with Kteague - if your Resmed S9 is the only system you have and your not looking at any sort of financial hardship. IE: maybe insurance will cover it - I would be looking to get a new machine. 5+ years is plenty. Keep the S9 around as a backup system.

Cpap's don't require maintenance other then changing the filters regularly and just keeping the dust off of it. However, What I would do is if it's strait cpap you need to check it now and then to make sure if it's blowing at say "13" that it really really is blowing at 13 and not 9 or 6. That was the problem I had with my old Resperonics machine that was like 7 years old. It just kept losing pressure slowly over time and my AHI kept going up and finally it dawned on me what was going on and I retired the machine. I'd say you need to do the same thing with any PAP machine but APAP's by their nature should kick them selves up and blow harder. what to look for there would be if your tracking your data - and for no other reason you can figure your average pressures keep going up and up. I'd then want to have the machine checked for function.

If you have a new sleep doctor or your insurance situation is different there's no reason you shouldn't be able to go in and get a new one. My old machine kicked the bucket ages ago and I made due for about 6 months with an old loaner from family member. But then I fell in to a deal and was able to buy a brand new S9 from a friend of my family's who turns out owned a DME company - was getting out of CPAP supplies but staying with oxygen. He knew us and gave us a very good deal (an insane deal but I won't go into details). A year later I got a new sleep doctor and he went over my info and listened to my story and was happy to set me up with a brand new ResMed APAP unit of my choice. Since I'd purchased the s9 on my own it didn't count and he told me that APAPs were his gold standard, he had no problems with me not wanting to settle for strait CPAP.

It helps to have backups of your gear. If only for the peace of mind you get that you have something else to fall back on instead of sleeping in a chair or some other less then desirable situation.

Wish you luck.

Gryphon

I will ALWAYS go by what the insurance covers now...my M Series bipap gave out after 6 years and had to wait till the new one came in, without cpap for a few days. My insurance covers a new one every 5 years.

Barb (Seattle) wrote:I will ALWAYS go by what the insurance covers now...my M Series bipap gave out after 6 years and had to wait till the new one came in, without cpap for a few days. My insurance covers a new one every 5 years.

Exactly the reason to ALWAYS have a spare/backup cpap. Replacements can take a week or two.

My Remstar M lasted about 8 years and then died. And because I had seen my sleep
Dr. every year I was able to get my insurance to get me a new one without another
sleep test. But If I haven't had yearly visits I would have had to get up an office visit,
talk to the DR. and then get another sleep study. But as was mentioned here some of
the older cpaps just seem to keep running and running. I have an old one I was given
that still blows air with only 39,910 hrs on it . Figuring 8 hrs a day that would take
13.34 years !

My Responics cpap lasted 12 years and is still running. However it started to make some wierd noises and sounded strange. My original sleep lab went out of business so I needed to find a new on. I made an appointment and I brought in my machines and it was still putting out the correct pressure but they agreed that it sounded like it was dieing. They did a new sleep stupy and I now have a resmed 10 auto.

In the U.S. the general guideline for medicare (which is copied by most private insurance plans) is that it can be replaced every five years. However, some private insurance plans want proof that the old one is broken and can't be repaired at a price less than replacement cost. In any case, you'll probably need a prescription less than one year old.

Note that the above information is not relevant to non-U.S. users.

Some of the older ones are really workhorses, and will last much longer. The newer ones have all the latest bells and whistles, which are of varying importance depending on a lot of factors (some of which vary from one individual to the next). If you're replacing one that's still working, you should keep the old one on hand in case the new one breaks.

As with all things in this world D.O.A. to a Lifetime! Smart people pepare for things that are necessary to fail, Don't let him trip you up, have a spare ready. I have 12 years and 16,000 hours on my first "TANK", however many here don't have tanks, they have the best new models, HA! Ha! Jim

As mentioned, cpaps are designed to last at least 15,000 hours (about 5 years). Many last to 20,000 hours. I talked to a service guy who said Resmed and Phillips have a very low failure rate before 5 years. At 7 years, there is a BIG rise in failure rates.

I would work at getting a replacement now and then putting your S9 in the closet as a backup. You can decide how many supplies you want to keep (only the heated tubing and humidifier bins aren't interchangeable between S9 and Airsense lines). I do recommend running the old one once in a while mostly to avoid that 'old' smell that you can get (not all machines get that). Lots of people never have a backup and you may be lucky to never have a machine that fails or forget it at your sister's house 300 miles away. Chances are, luck doesn't hold forever and you will be happy to have that backup machine.

D.H. wrote:In the U.S. the general guideline for medicare (which is copied by most private insurance plans) is that it can be replaced every five years. However, some private insurance plans want proof that the old one is broken and can't be repaired at a price less than replacement cost. In any case, you'll probably need a prescription less than one year old.

Note that the above information is not relevant to non-U.S. users.

Some of the older ones are really workhorses, and will last much longer. The newer ones have all the latest bells and whistles, which are of varying importance depending on a lot of factors (some of which vary from one individual to the next). If you're replacing one that's still working, you should keep the old one on hand in case the new one breaks.

You are not exactly right...Medicare will only replace after 5 years under certain conditions...
http://www.resmed.com/us/dam/documents/ ... achine.pdf

Guest wrote:

Barb (Seattle) wrote:I will ALWAYS go by what the insurance covers now...my M Series bipap gave out after 6 years and had to wait till the new one came in, without cpap for a few days. My insurance covers a new one every 5 years.

Exactly the reason to ALWAYS have a spare/backup cpap. Replacements can take a week or two.

wish I could afford to get a backup

Goofproof wrote:As with all things in this world D.O.A. to a Lifetime! Smart people pepare for things that are necessary to fail, Don't let him trip you up, have a spare ready. I have 12 years and 16,000 hours on my first "TANK", however many here don't have tanks, they have the best new models, HA! Ha! Jim

how do you afford this? they are $500 at the cheapest....?

I really think (since mine failed at 6 years) they should replace them at 5. I don't WANT to sleep one night without my CPAP....and I really CAN'T sleep without it....

$$$$ that's all insurance companies think about

Barb (Seattle) wrote:wish I could afford to get a backup

Check your local Craig's list. You can often find machines at a very reasonable price. Also, send a PM greyghost4. Several people here have purchased machines from him.