My healthdyne tranquility quest machine only lasted 7 and a bit years at a moderate pressure setting I think the company was bought out but dont know if this machine is still in production

it has worn motor bearings and will soon sieze and several people have said its not worth repairing, previous repair attempts result in the correct pressure not being maintained
do other brands of CPAP machines last any longer?

I now have a sullivan resmed S6, which I am happy with although some earlier sullivan machines were very noisy, with a loud whining noise that came in with the air and filled my head

lynn543 wrote:

My healthdyne tranquility quest machine only lasted 7 and a bit years at a moderate pressure setting I think the company was bought out but dont know if this machine is still in production

it has worn motor bearings and will soon sieze and several people have said its not worth repairing, previous repair attempts result in the correct pressure not being maintained
do other brands of CPAP machines last any longer?

I now have a sullivan resmed S6, which I am happy with although some earlier sullivan machines were very noisy, with a loud whining noise that came in with the air and filled my head

Hi,

My first machine lasted 7.5 years at pressures varying between 18 and 14. It was by a French company, subsequently bought out by Puritan Bennett. Towards the end the estimated cost of repair was c. $550 and the machine was hardly worth 150, so it was a 'no contest'.

I think that Healthdyne were bought out by either ResMed or Respironics towards the end of the 90's. The Health authorities in Ireland reckon the CPAP machines have a lifespan of 5 years (depreciation policy), but if not abused should last anything up to 10 years. In fact they usually last 6/8 years.
Usually when a medical manufacturing company is taken over/bought out, the FDA or equivalent will insist that existing products be continued for a specific period and that spares/service be available for a period of anything up to 7 years (varies) for those products, after they cease to produce them.

ResMed (Sullivan) machines are OK. I use the S7 (3 + years now) and can't fault it.

Daniel

Follow-up question:

How often will most health insurance companies pay for another CPAP machine?   UnitedHealth Care will buy me a new mask every six months... I am just not sure about the CPAP machine (and humidifier)...  I am sure it must be on the order of several years.   Does anyone know generally how often?


_________________
mesocosm

OSA / PLMD / Atrial Fibrillation

[quote="mesocosm"]Follow-up question:

How often will most health insurance companies pay for another CPAP machine?   UnitedHealth Care will buy me a new mask every six months... I am just not sure about the CPAP machine (and humidifier)...  I am sure it must be on the order of several years.   Does anyone know generally how often?[/quote]

This is just information from the insurance companies that I have dealt with.  Ususally the insurance companies will only willingly purchase a new machine for you when the cost of repair over time exceeds the price of a new one.  That usually translates into every 5-7 years.  That is the exact wording that we place on our Prior Authorization Forms when we are requesting a new machine for someone.  You could probably find out by calling the insurance and asking them.  What a pain, I know, or ask your insurance verification dept at your DME to do that for you.   Don't you just hate it when your machine just starts making this funny noise and you think that it might be time for a new one.....   

The insurance situation here where I am is that a new sleep study must be performed before the patient can have a new machine paid for.  One of our labs is fairly new, and in a very rural area. People have come in before and said they have had the same machines for 10+ years

A friend of mine who had a ten year old working cpap, said his sleep physician told him that after that many years, even with good care, the machine can become contaminated.  Even with proper care of the filters, some fine dust does manage to find its way in, as does some humidity from our heated humidifiers.   It is also nice to be able to replace machines to benefit from the advances in technology that continually make them smaller, quieter, and have advanced features for comfort.

I had my first machine for 16 years.  Only got it replaced when the motor started to fail.

16 years...wow...that's a long time. My blue cross will cover a machine every five years...so I hope it last at least that long.


_________________
*** Linda ***

i heard 7 years, but in Canada, OHIP (ontario health insurance plan) will cover the cost of a new machine every 5 years.  God bless Canada and free health care!

I live in Quebec Canada and here in Quebec the CPAPs are not covered by the government healt system.   Prices are a lot higher than in Ontario (I don't have an insurance).  

I was wondering if perhaps I can buy the machine in Ontario, the problem is I don't know if I need to be in business with a laboratory here to make adjustments or something else in the machine, or to print the report I need to bring to the doctor.  How long a CPAP last?

Thanks for ideas.

Mitch wrote:

i heard 7 years, but in Canada, OHIP (ontario health insurance plan) will cover the cost of a new machine every 5 years.  God bless Canada and free health care!

I'll second that!

rosacer wrote:

I live in Quebec Canada and here in Quebec the CPAPs are not covered by the government healt system.   Prices are a lot higher than in Ontario (I don't have an insurance).  

I was wondering if perhaps I can buy the machine in Ontario, the problem is I don't know if I need to be in business with a laboratory here to make adjustments or something else in the machine, or to print the report I need to bring to the doctor.  How long a CPAP last?

Thanks for ideas.

Perhaps you want to investigate ordering online. Several of the US online suppliers will ship to Canada. You will need a prescription for the cpap and mask from your sleep doctor. The company that I use says that they will help facilitate getting the prescription.

In Ontario, cpaps are covered under the Assistive Devices Program, not directly by OHIP. Note that only $750.00 of the cost of a cpap is covered. The $750 can be applied to the purchase of any model you choose. It's better than nothing but it isn't the whole cost.  A very cheap mask is supplied with the $750 package but my DME tells me that virtually everyone purchases another mask out of pocket. I felt that it was best to buy the cpap machine locally in case there turned out to be a mechanical or warranty issue, but I have purchased masks, hose, filters, etc from an online supplier.

Medica and HealthPartners both say every 5 years.  For some stupid reason, they still insist on paying rent for a year before they will actually buy it, even if you've been using one for years.
My son got a new machine yesterday and checked with HealthPartners.  That made me curious so I called my provider, Medica, and was given the same answer.


_________________
Gone

In Quebec if you have respiratory complications plus apnea the government lend you a CPAP.
 
The bad of all that is I can't bring the machine out of my home.  So, if I need to travel I need to rent a machine :0(  They say the machine can get contaminated on travels, weird!  

As per the comments I see the machines last for 5 or 7 years, but do you need to repair them in that period of time?  If I manage to get used to the CPAP I was thinking maybe to buy a second hand but now with the issue of contamination I'm not so sure.  I wanted to buy a Remstar, are they better than resmed elite II (that's what they lend me)?  

Do somebody knows which machine is easyer to get used to, Resmed or Remstar ?I know the pressure release system is different in two brands.

Which kind of soap do you use to wash the mask, tubing and humidifier reservoir?  Antibacterial?  In some sites they say not to use antibacterial.

Cpap's tend to last about 7 years, at that point most people want a new one anyways because the newer machines have better technology and are usually quieter.  Rosacer, to comment on them not letting the CPAP out of the house probably has more to do with the fact that during travel is when most CPAP's break mainly because people end up leaving water in the chamber and the machine suffers water ingress (the main cause of broken CPAP, APAP's and BILevel's.  Other than that, as far as repair during that time, Most manufacturers will offer a 3 year warranty, of which most offer free replacement during that time, although some offer only repair during the third year.  After that you're on your own...You probably won't have many problems with your CPAP if you maintain it properly (change filters and keep it clean)  As for repairs, (comparing only resmed and Respironics) the respironics machines seem to break more often, but are much less expensive to repair than ResMed machines which break down less often, but are quite expensive to repair when they do break.  The pressure release system on the 2 machines are quite similar and it seems has more to do with what you get used to.  If you are on a lower pressure, most people don't need pressure release.  It seems that around 17 is where people start needing the "flex" But that does vary from person to person.