Necessary to have a backup machine?

Wulfman... wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:01 am

Do you drive your vehicle without a spare tire?

These days, many do . . .

About a third of new cars today do not come with a spare tire. -- https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/s ... pare-tire/

jnk... wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 12:19 pm

Wulfman... wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:01 am

Do you drive your vehicle without a spare tire?

These days, many do . . .

About a third of new cars today do not come with a spare tire. -- https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/s ... pare-tire/

Well, there are trade-offs there, too.

https://www.edmunds.com/driving-tips/ru ... rimer.html

Cost: Run-flat tires are more expensive to replace. A 205/55R16 run-flat tire at a local shop in Santa Monica, California, costs $239. The standard tire equivalent costs about $174, a $65 difference per tire. Also, many run-flats cannot be repaired and often need to be replaced in pairs.

Make an Informed Purchase
Run-flat tires seem to have more downsides than upsides, but many people swear by them. Take the time to read customer reviews and know what tires come standard on a car before making your decision.

For now, I'll stick with what I'm comfortable with. For that difference, you could buy an extra tire or more.


Den

.

Wulfman... wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:53 pm

I'll stick with what I'm comfortable with.

I'm with you.

With my latest car (a hybrid), I replaced the doughnut early on with a real rim and tire.

Comfort is quality of life.

jnk... wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 12:19 pm

noise wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:01 am

Do you drive your vehicle without a spare tire?

These days, many do . . .

About a third of new cars today do not come with a spare tire. -- https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/s ... pare-tire/

So true.

I definitely want to get a backup. And have it packed in the case with all the accessories. Very handy for travel.

I'm always keeping an eye out for a deal. I can be patient because my machine is under full warranty for 2 years. I asked the dme coordinator at my doctor's office what would happen if my Airsense quit working. She said I'd have a replacement as soon as I could get to the office to pick it up. So I've got 18 months to find the right deal.

The deal here locally was too good to pass up so I snagged it up

I'll be on the lookout for a well priced ASV machine just because its ASV. I'd never need ASV functionality but it never hurts to have a more capable machine.

jnk... wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 03, 2018 7:11 am

The answer may depend on your finances, your personal definition of "necessary," the severity of your condition, and your overall way of thinking. CPAP machines are highly reliable. But for some of us, our condition is severe enough to make the principle of redundancy a necessary consideration because we consider the machine to be absolutely mission critical. The backup machine can double as a travel machine. Travel machines, in theory, may be at higher risk for damage or loss on the road. So there can be greater peace of mind during travel just knowing that a complete system is safe at home next to the bed.

I have a complete backup / travel machine. It is an S9 autoset, just like my main machine and my mom's main machine. We are both past 5 years, and getting a new machine would be a financial hassle. My mom is on medicare and would have to jump through all the hoops to get a machine. I haven't met my deductible, so I would be stuck with that and only get 85% coverage after that.

It is also very nice to return from a trip and have a machine already set up and ready to go.

I'm in the severe category and I was terrified that my CPAP would die. Then, I needed to move to an APAP (S8) and my dumb 'brick' was backup. Friend here got an S9 on sale and advised me, so I got one too (like it more than the S8). Then a sale by our host (or maybe ResMed) on the S9 for her (icky weird pink color) was too good to pass up. Now, lotta backups

I'm in the UK and we just get the one unless we pay ourselves: even clapped out old machines need to be handed back. I'm not sure what's the situation with private insurers other than I've had private health insurance for the past 30 years, almost, and getting them to pay for anything... well, getting blood out of a stone isn't really a suitable analogy as that would certainly be very much easier.

It's caused a situation as my new Airsense A10 has "issues" (I'm starting to think this is more common than not: judging by the number of complaints about various issues, it seems to just be a really terrible machine) but I had to hand back my faulty S9 to get it. Even though the S9 was the infamous "brick" at least it did its job and I wish I still had it. :/

My personal situation is that my sleep apnoea ranges from severe (70 time per hour) to not at all (zero times per night) but it seems rather unpredictable and erratic.

vometia wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 05, 2018 8:57 am

I'm in the UK and we just get the one unless we pay ourselves: even clapped out old machines need to be handed back. I'm not sure what's the situation with private insurers other than I've had private health insurance for the past 30 years, almost, and getting them to pay for anything... well, getting blood out of a stone isn't really a suitable analogy as that would certainly be very much easier.

It's caused a situation as my new Airsense A10 has "issues" (I'm starting to think this is more common than not: judging by the number of complaints about various issues, it seems to just be a really terrible machine) but I had to hand back my faulty S9 to get it. Even though the S9 was the infamous "brick" at least it did its job and I wish I still had it. :/

My personal situation is that my sleep apnoea ranges from severe (70 time per hour) to not at all (zero times per night) but it seems rather unpredictable and erratic.

If you have a very old one in working condition, you might be able to talk them into letting you keep it, especially if your case is severe. They probably wouldn't give a very old one to a patient. In the US, replacement is typically five years. I'm not sure what the standard is in the UK, but I doubt it's much more.

BTW, my old private insurance (years before Obamacare) said the machine had to be broken beyond repair to be replaced (or that the cost of repair would exceed the cost of a new machine). I got around that by showing that the manufacturer no longer supported that machine; thus an authorized repair was not available.

D.H. wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:35 am

If you have a very old one in working condition, you might be able to talk them into letting you keep it, especially if your case is severe. They probably wouldn't give a very old one to a patient. In the US, replacement is typically five years. I'm not sure what the standard is in the UK, but I doubt it's much more.

BTW, my old private insurance (years before Obamacare) said the machine had to be broken beyond repair to be replaced (or that the cost of repair would exceed the cost of a new machine). I got around that by showing that the manufacturer no longer supported that machine; thus an authorized repair was not available.

It's a bit of a mystery what they do with them as I doubt they go to other patients unless they're very new. They would've let me keep the older Resmed machine (not sure of the model offhand, but a large grey "brick" from the mid '00s) but only after telling me it was so old that it was likely useless!

On the other hand if I'd been assertive enough and possessed the presence of mind to ask if I could keep the S9 I guess it's possible they might've just say yes, no problem, as it would mean something they don't have to dispose of themselves.

Actually not the mid 00's for the S9.
The S9 models were released first in 2010 and prior to the S9 models there were the S8 models that were blue and white.

I first started therapy in 2009 and all that ResMed offered at the time was the S8 models. It was a big deal when they changed to the S9 model line because there were so many changes made at the time.

You must happen to have a lemon with your AirSense 10 machine because usually ResMed is the preferred brand in all aspects. It's usually very well thought of and the brand with the least number of complaints.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 06, 2018 2:57 am

Actually not the mid 00's for the S9.
The S9 models were released first in 2010 and prior to the S9 models there were the S8 models that were blue and white.

I first started therapy in 2009 and all that ResMed offered at the time was the S8 models. It was a big deal when they changed to the S9 model line because there were so many changes made at the time.

Yeah, sorry, I mean the S9 replaced the ancient lump that I had, which would've been issues around 2004-ish, I think. I got the first S9 in perhaps 2014-15, unfortunately dropped it (sadly hard enough to wreck it: it was so sad turning it on to see if it could be coaxed to work and seeing it vainly try to start its motor from under its broken shell ) so got a replacement one which may or may not have developed a fault with the humidifier: nobody really seemed to know but I suspect the night-time temperatures and ambient humidity made it think it didn't need to turn it on.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 06, 2018 2:57 am

You must happen to have a lemon with your AirSense 10 machine because usually ResMed is the preferred brand in all aspects. It's usually very well thought of and the brand with the least number of complaints.

My A10 doesn't seem that great: there's definitely something up with its pressure and the smelly, leaking reservoir doesn't fill me with confidence either. Both my S9s seemed a lot better. I just assumed the A10 was a bad model as I found quite a lot of complaints about similar issues and a bunch of others too, but I guess if there's a lot of them out there then just by sheer numbers there's also going to be a fair number that are bad. It hasn't filled me with confidence in them, though.

I'm also wondering if the A10 is predominantly an APAP machine and if the CPAP-only firmware is an afterthought for those who absolutely insist on it, like e.g. the NHS, regardless of which is most suitable for patients. I mean unless there really is a huge price difference, though NHS purchasing is such that I wouldn't be at all surprised if they managed to negotiate a higher price for a specially limited model! Don't get me wrong, I'm a big supporter of the NHS but sometimes the admin side of things is less awesome.

I should really take it in to the sleep clinic for them to test, especially as it's only about four miles away, but I am very agoraphobic and the parking there is quite random i.e. often unavailable.


Edit: turns out I misremembered, my old machine wasn't a Resmed at all but a Respironics Remstar Plus.

vometia wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 06, 2018 5:06 am

I'm also wondering if the A10 is predominantly an APAP machine and if the CPAP-only firmware is an afterthought for those who absolutely insist on it...

Nope. The hardware is the hardware, in fact, if it's like the S9 series (and I'm willing to bet money that it is) the internals of *all* the machines are identical, meaning that there's nothing different, hardware wise, between the cheapest brick, and the most expensive iVAPS machine.

That's how it was with the S9 (apart from the alarm modules that snapped onto the Tx, COPD, and ST-A models.

The only difference is the firmware, (and the outer case in the Air10 model line).

Anatomy of a S9: https://imgur.com/a/S0ojG

palerider wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 06, 2018 10:25 am

Nope. The hardware is the hardware, in fact, if it's like the S9 series (and I'm willing to bet money that it is) the internals of *all* the machines are identical, meaning that there's nothing different, hardware wise, between the cheapest brick, and the most expensive iVAPS machine.

That's how it was with the S9 (apart from the alarm modules that snapped onto the Tx, COPD, and ST-A models.

The only difference is the firmware, (and the outer case in the Air10 model line).

Anatomy of a S9: https://imgur.com/a/S0ojG

Well yeah, that's what I was getting at: physically identical, but the general idea is that both the hardware itself and also the bulk of software development is on the basis that it's going to be an APAP machine: I'm not really sure if this would really be a factor with hardware but I do know what software is like if some other functionality is added almost as an afterthought: "oh, give it to the interns, doesn't really matter how well tested it is" sort of thing. Okay, more likely, "I did this quick and dirty test as a proof of concept and-" "Oh, you've just created a product we can sell! Awesome!" Yeah, btdt.

I shall have a peruse of the S9's intestines and try to not feel too sorry for my injured one in the process.