Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

ethereal · Post by **ethereal** » Wed Jan 02, 2019 10:19 pm

So I’ve been trialing a Dreamstation from a clinic in Australia for the good part of the last six weeks. First off I thought this machine was louder than the Resmed I trialled but I was soon able to get used to the sound and sleep soundly (pun intended) at night.

Fast forward to now, I decided to purchase my very own Dreamstation. I purchased the Dreamstation Auto brand new from a US retailer called Sistemma CPAP(https://www.sistemmacpap.com/) because here in Australia it’s over double the cost to get it locally.

I received my machine a couple days back and I have a good feeling it’s faulty but wanted to check with you guys to make sure I’m not just hearing things.

First of all the humidifier didn’t work at all for two whole nights despite the plate getting hot. But I’ll leave that to the retailer to assess.

The most annoying issue is the noise, it’s so bloody loud I couldn’t get to sleep. The machine whirls and whinges on inhale / exhale and it sounds like the motor. I’ve checked everything for air leaks etc.

It’s much louder than the trial machine I had which in comparison now seems silent. Please have a listen, I recorded a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meT9VkA ... e=youtu.be

Is this normal?

Chris8243 · Post by **Chris8243** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:52 am

I looked at your YouTube video. I do hear a whirling noise. Question: did you record in the beginning of when the machine was turned on - or after 15 minutes or so? I do "hear" my machine starting up for the first few minutes until it settles into my breathing pattern (or so it seems) and then it's basically silent.

The whirling sound I heard on your video is not heard on mine. I don't know why the humidifier isn't working, especially if the plate is getting hot? What are you settings on that?

What a pain it will be if you have to ship it back to the US, there goes the money you saved by not buying locally.

ethereal · Post by **ethereal** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:25 am

Chris8243 wrote: ↑
Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:52 am
I looked at your YouTube video. I do hear a whirling noise. Question: did you record in the beginning of when the machine was turned on - or after 15 minutes or so? I do "hear" my machine starting up for the first few minutes until it settles into my breathing pattern (or so it seems) and then it's basically silent.

The whirling sound I heard on your video is not heard on mine. I don't know why the humidifier isn't working, especially if the plate is getting hot? What are you settings on that?

What a pain it will be if you have to ship it back to the US, there goes the money you saved by not buying locally.

Cheers for taking a look Chris. Much appreciated.

Nope, that noise continues throughout the night. My trial machine actually makes the exact same noise but it is much, much quieter. This one that I’ve purchased is so loud I actually can’t get to sleep at all. I haven’t been sleeping with the machine for the past few nights now.

My settings were adaptive (heated hose I think defaults this) tube temp 2 and humidifier 4. They are my usual settings, but on this machine I was away at a holiday house I had humidifier at 5 and tube temp at 4 and my mouth was so dry and sticky.

It looks like I’ll need to send it back to the US. They say they will need to get their technician to look at, so at least I can get confirmation from you who owns the machine that doesn’t sound normal.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 2:37 pm

Take the humidifier off, and see if you're still getting the noise.. If so, maybe there's a seal misaligned, or something in the humidifier.

serabeth · Post by **serabeth** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:18 pm

ethereal wrote: ↑
Wed Jan 02, 2019 10:19 pm
So I’ve been trialing a Dreamstation from a clinic in Australia for the good part of the last six weeks. First off I thought this machine was louder than the Resmed I trialled but I was soon able to get used to the sound and sleep soundly (pun intended) at night.

Fast forward to now, I decided to purchase my very own Dreamstation. I purchased the Dreamstation Auto brand new from a US retailer called Sistemma CPAP(https://www.sistemmacpap.com/) because here in Australia it’s over double the cost to get it locally.

I received my machine a couple days back and I have a good feeling it’s faulty but wanted to check with you guys to make sure I’m not just hearing things.

First of all the humidifier didn’t work at all for two whole nights despite the plate getting hot. But I’ll leave that to the retailer to assess.

The most annoying issue is the noise, it’s so bloody loud I couldn’t get to sleep. The machine whirls and whinges on inhale / exhale and it sounds like the motor. I’ve checked everything for air leaks etc.

It’s much louder than the trial machine I had which in comparison now seems silent. Please have a listen, I recorded a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meT9VkA ... e=youtu.be

Is this normal?

I have the same machine with humidifier and I have heard that same exact noise. I fiddled with it for a while, disconnecting and reconnecting everything and making sure it was clean. That made it go away, except for the first 15-20 min where it is a little noisy and then I goes silent. Not sure if that helps you as I never identified the problem. Also my supplier said to always have the humidifier and heat set to the same number. Not sure if that’s related. I got a bit of dry mouth at 3 and 3, but 4 and 4 works well for me.

Dan_McD · Post by **Dan_McD** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:23 pm

My DreamStation is not that noisy. I don't use a heated hose, but the 5 setting is actually to warm for me. I have mine set on 3 all the time. Don't you have a '0' (zero) on your dial? I never tried it, but common sense would tell me "No heat". I would think you would still get some moisture, as said before, even if you set it on zero.

There is an o'ring seal on the back of the cpap machine that the humidifier seals against. Maybe make sure that seal is on your machine. You should be able to see the seal when you open the lid to lift the water container out. Good luck.

ethereal · Post by **ethereal** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:49 pm

I can firmly say that this thing is faulty.

Right now I have two dreamstations going in my room at the exact same settings. Both at tube temp = 5, humidity = 4 and been running for 15 minutes.

The Dreamstation I ordered is not heating up the hose whatsoever, it's cold to touch, while the trial machine from my local clinic has the whole hose quite warm.

No wonder why I wasn't receiving any humidity a few nights back, this thing is totally messed up. Humidifier, heated hose and loud whirling noises. Nice work Philips.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 8:16 pm

ethereal wrote: ↑
Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:49 pm
I can firmly say that this thing is faulty.

Right now I have two dreamstations going in my room at the exact same settings. Both at tube temp = 5, humidity = 4 and been running for 15 minutes.

The Dreamstation I ordered is not heating up the hose whatsoever, it's cold to touch, while the trial machine from my local clinic has the whole hose quite warm.

No wonder why I wasn't receiving any humidity a few nights back, this thing is totally messed up. Humidifier, heated hose and loud whirling noises. Nice work Philips.

Switch the humidifiers, and see if the blower is bad, or the humidifier is bad.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 8:31 pm

Switch hoses also.

Dan_McD · Post by **Dan_McD** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:45 pm

ethereal wrote: ↑
Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:49 pm
I can firmly say that this thing is faulty.

Right now I have two dreamstations going in my room at the exact same settings. Both at tube temp = 5, humidity = 4 and been running for 15 minutes.

The Dreamstation I ordered is not heating up the hose whatsoever, it's cold to touch, while the trial machine from my local clinic has the whole hose quite warm.

No wonder why I wasn't receiving any humidity a few nights back, this thing is totally messed up. Humidifier, heated hose and loud whirling noises. Nice work Philips.

Do you know how to get into the "Comfort" settings? You can control the heat of the tube/hose in that setting. Your new machine may not be set up right?

Edit: Obviously you do.

Dan_McD · Post by **Dan_McD** » Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:52 pm

I'm just throwing stuff out here. The technical troubleshooter manual said, sometimes the heated hose won't work if it has the wrong power supply. I don't know anything about Australia electrics but you might look at both power supply DC boxes and make sure it says 80 watts on it.

The other thing is, if the little thermometer next to the hose icon on the comfort setting screen doesn't show the thermometer, it is not recognizing the heated hose. just trying to help.

ethereal · Post by **ethereal** » Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:11 am

Thanks mate. The power supply brick is still the original one, the only thing that changes is the figure 8 Australian plug that goes into the philips power brick. I’m not an electrical expert but this should be fine?

Also heated hose was recognised correctly.

Anyway, the super nice guys at Sistemma CPAP are shipping me out a brand new device, while mine is being returned so I don’t need to be without a machine too long, and they’re also going to test the one they send out. Pretty great service from them! Hope the next one is fine so I can get some good z’s.

Dan_McD · Post by **Dan_McD** » Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:20 am

Great! I hope the new machine works out for you. I really like mine. I've been on cpap for 6 weeks now and it seems I've just turned the corner. A lot of the sleepiness is gone during the day and the legs are a little stronger the last 3 days. I think a lot of it is persistence. Using the cpap as much as you can, even for naps etc. I did find that the Quattro Mirage mask worked better than the Quattro FX, once I learned how to set it up. Good luck.

MBix · Post by **MBix** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:32 am

I hate to bring up a year old thread but I wanted to check in to see how you got on @ethereal. I am having the exact same issue as you after picking up my machine after my trial ended today (switched from Auto Dreamstation to standard CPAP Dreamstation at 18cm pressure) I've posted a video below (it's a lot louder in real life) it's not so bad at the moment as I generally have a pretty loud portable aircon running as well, but without that running the sound is pretty unbearable. I've also noted when turning the machine off it sounds like the motor is taking a few more seconds to spin down - something which the trial Auto Machine didn't have.

I've pulled the humidifier open, cleaned all the seals, chamber, allowed to dry, and even tested this without the humidifier on (sound is even worse without humidifier) I cleaned, change air filters, and done basically everything I can think of on my end besides changing the hose but it's most definitely coming from within the machine. Before going back to my provider I wanted to see how you got on / anyone else with the issue.

https://youtu.be/LqtfU68WRfE

janx218 · Post by **janx218** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:25 am

MBix wrote: ↑
Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:32 am
I hate to bring up a year old thread but I wanted to check in to see how you got on @ethereal. I am having the exact same issue as you after picking up my machine after my trial ended today (switched from Auto Dreamstation to standard CPAP Dreamstation at 18cm pressure) I've posted a video below (it's a lot louder in real life) it's not so bad at the moment as I generally have a pretty loud portable aircon running as well, but without that running the sound is pretty unbearable. I've also noted when turning the machine off it sounds like the motor is taking a few more seconds to spin down - something which the trial Auto Machine didn't have.

I've pulled the humidifier open, cleaned all the seals, chamber, allowed to dry, and even tested this without the humidifier on (sound is even worse without humidifier) I cleaned, change air filters, and done basically everything I can think of on my end besides changing the hose but it's most definitely coming from within the machine. Before going back to my provider I wanted to see how you got on / anyone else with the issue.

https://youtu.be/LqtfU68WRfE

I just found this thread, too, and am wondering what the resolution was. My wife and I both just got CPAPS last week. I have the ResMed AirSense10 Autoset, which is pretty much inaudible. However, my wife's DreamStation makes this whirring sound that I can hear from my side of the bed, and it's pretty annoying.

Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Re: Loud whirling noise - is my new Dreamstation faulty?

Machine	Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: Pressure = 11-16 cmH2O