How often do machines break/malfunction?

I am nervous for the night where the power goes out while i am sleeping and my oxygen supply goes way down(yes i know there are breathing ports on the masks but the intake isn't very good and i am apprehensive about it happening while i am unconscious).

that being said, how often do our machines break or malfunction? do they typically go a solid 5 years without having problems?

icipher wrote:I am nervous for the night where the power goes out while i am sleeping and my oxygen supply goes way down(yes i know there are breathing ports on the masks but the intake isn't very good and i am apprehensive about it happening while i am unconscious).

that being said, how often do our machines break or malfunction? do they typically go a solid 5 years without having problems?

I assume you've heard of Murphy's Laws? They also apply to CPAP equipment. That's why a large number of us have backup machines.

Many last for a very long time and some give the users problems right out of the box. It's called "the luck of the draw".


Den

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A unanswerable question! 1 hour to 10, 000 hours, I have 3 machines, one ispast the 10, 000 hour mark a still functions correctly, as do all three.

To rules apply the cheaper a machine or the more complex the model, the more likely it is to fail. Den and I use older machines that have a track record for long life....

I have power to fail at night, I woke up alive. I'm sure if it was killing users we would be hearing about it. Steps can be takes to insure the machine will run without a/c, its easier if the machine uses 12 volt d/c, but it's a extra cost and bother. Jim

I'm on my fourth machine. The first had a problem after about 6 months and was replaced under warranty. The second I purchased as a backup and used it while waiting on the first to be replaced. The third was the replacement machine. Both 2 & 3 are running fine today. I just recently switched to an ASV machine to provide a different type of therapy.

I'll keep the older BiPap machines for backup and in case a family member needs to go on therapy.

I did have one instance of loss of power. The plug fell out of the wall one night and I didn't wake up for 45 minutes to plug it back in. Masks that have anti-asphyxiation valves are perfectly safe in power loss situations. They are designed to let you get enough air to be fine.

Just thought I'd mention this... being asleep is not equal to being unconscious, and if your machine cuts out or something like it, your body will wake you up to breathe if no air is coming in - plenty of time to remove the mask.

I have an old Sullivan that has over 27,000 hours on. It still works, but thank goodness my new doctor saw fit to give me another.

Funny that you should ask. Yesterday I downloaded my data, and a couple of the days only had the events and AHI detailed data graphs. No pressure, no leaks, none of the interesting stuff. So I figured I should try rebooting the machine; i.e. power-cycle it. When I put the SD card back in the machine, it stuck on "Reading SD Card", and would not go further. So I power-cycled it anyways to see what would happen, and it just had the flashing ResMed logo, that's as far as it would get, never fully came up. Took the card out at that point, and to my relief, it almost instantly booted up to the normal LCD screen without the SD card. So went out and got a new SD card, and all's good again. Just tested that it got my new data on the new SD card last night, looks good on sleepyhead and resscan.

That was a minor malfunction, but you never know with electro-mechanical devices. Chances are it'll be good for another 100,000 miles, only has just over 1.5 years on it now. Hoping to get the full 5 years that Medicare requires before it will pay for replacement, or whatever might be happening with Medicare in 3.5 years.

My DME employee told me that when machines fail, they fail catastrophically. Meaning, a machine is likely to quit working entirely, not blow the correct pressures.

Medicare says they will replace any machine which is actually broken. Even if the reason it was broken is you clumsily dropped down some steps. However, machines are pretty durable so a drop down several concrete steps may not break it. Of course only a DME can certify a machine is not functional. According to what I have heard, The five years is no longer the standard. The standard for Medicare to replace a machine is for it to no longer work.

I am pretty sure the one thing the DME would be willing to do is sell me a new machine, so I do not worry about their being obstructionist if I needed a new machine.

I can only hope that Janknitz comes along and corrects me. She does know more than me.

Hi Icipher,
I thought I'd add a little to the discussion. I've had two machines go bad. One was bought used and had high hours when I got it. Don't recall the hours but it was a ten year old machine. So eventually something can go wrong.

The other machine was damaged in shipping. No obvious sign of abuse. The box was in perfect shape. Point being that probably the second worse thing to do is to have them bounce around in shipping or drop them. Worst thing is getting humidifier water inside the machine...that'll kill them dead.

If you're worried about electrical outages which occur in some areas quite frequently...it's fairly easy to set up a battery back-up system. Depending on machine of course. Respironics are easier since they have a 12v port already. Use search and you'll find many threads explaining how to do that.
Jamis

Sold by out benefactor CPAP.com... never tried it but looks like it will wake you up:

https://www.cpap.com/productSearch.php?query=power+out

What you do after you are awake isn't addressed by this device so check out battery packs also.

I have a Respironics Auto (Tank), just replaced it this week @ 32,000hrs. it's ten years old, but still works, i'm going to use it as my backup now.

I recommend everyone watch Craigslist or other sources for a cheap used CPAP to use as a backup. If you watch long enough, you may find just the one you want at the right price.