Buying a second used machine for travel

[drbones]

Hi!

I have a Resmed Airsense 10 Elite and have had great success with therapy over the past 4 years. I started traveling more for work and I'm concerned about breaking my one and only machine since I'm a klutz. 

I was looking at purchasing a used Resmed S9 Elite with 200 hours from a local craigslist seller, but got to thinking that I should reach out to the experts and get an informed opinion about going from a S10 to an S9.

I've read that others have bought used machines, has anyone put together any guidelines on what to look for when buying a used machine (I did search, but didn't find any good posts/threads)

What be the best way to disinfect the used machine? I would definitely replace all the hoses, masks, tanks and filters, but how do you clean the interior without damaging it?

Should I be concerned someone is trying to sell a machine that is actually owned by the DME company?

Thanks!

Dr.Bones

[PaulaO2]

Download the manual for it. Look up how to find the machine hours. Write down the steps so you don't forget.

Don't get one that smells of smoke or other weird smells.

Don't buy it without plugging it in to ensure it works.

Unless the hoses and stuff are in a factory or DME sealed bag, don't buy them. Or throw them away if they are part of the deal. You don't want to use someone else's hose because you don't know their health or cleanliness level.

Check out the prices for Supplier #2 in our Supplier's List. Used machines that have been checked out and cleaned.

[Sleeprider]

Well, if it's not an Autoset, and Elite is good. What's the price? There is no practical difference between the Airsense 10 and the S9 Elite other than form factor. It's good to have a backup.

[Mosquitobait]

I had an S9 as a travel/backup for the first 2 years. I normally use an Airsense for Her. It was great! I would still have it but I came across a great deal for an unused Airsense For Her and bought that. Then I didn't need to have 2 sets of different hoses and humidifier bins.

The biggest thing to check for is whether the person using it was a smoker. The S9 CAN be taken apart using a torx screwdriver to check for any critters but the seals are pretty tight when in use, so pretty hard for that to happen. I had to find a handy available guy though because I didn't have enough hand strength to turn the screws. An airsense is actually harder because it looks like you need some kind of allan wrench to do it.

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I would have no reservations about an S9 Elite as a backup.  Unless you are in a smoking home, make sure it has never been used in a smoking home.  that one factor would be a deal killer for me.  Alsop any other weird smells.  If it has them, it may take a while to get rid of them if ever.  (Corporate apartment I stayed at in PHX had stupid Glade/Airwick/Fabreeze plug ins hidden around that got in my machine and took a year to clear out ... was a PITA.  I complained.  Their cleaning staff would sneak them back in.  When I would find they had replaced one, it went out in the trash and told them I would not pay to replace them. 

S9 and S10 are pretty much same-same, I believe.  The "for her" features lacking?  So what.

Check motor run hours (get the technician manual).  200 hours is about three weeks use out of an expected 125 week life and if used occasionally should last a long long time...

[drbones]

Thanks everyone!

Great advice all around, unless the hoses were factory sealed, I would replace all the user replaceable parts. For the price being asked, ($125) I can't go wrong it it is from a clean smoke free house.

Dr. Bones

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Have you actually tried a Z1 machine?  And compared it to a more mainstream solution? (if so, and it worked, great!)

I did.  I bought one used from somebody that got it before a cruise and as soon as they got back to town, got rid of it.  I tried it for a few days.  It was disconcertingly noisy.  And not, in reality, all that much smaller than a mainstream machine once you throw in tube, mask, power cord/converter and the in-line muffler (special for the Z1 to try to address the noise issues).

Sold it to someone else who thought they too might make it work.  I wonder how many hands it has passed through now. 

Outside the machine, it seems "quiet".  All the noise stays inside and comes up the tube, through the nose and directly into your ears through the sinuses.

These things were the object of much discussion on this board when they came out and I think most folks found they were not a workable solution for them.  But YMMV.

If you want something REALLY portable, try googleing "Airing CPAP" .....  I said portable, not effective, or even existing.  

[Note:  IMHO Airing does not exist outside of a money making scheme]

[ShoshTrvls]

I have both the Z1 and the S9 autoset.  I'm not as dissatisfied as you with the Z1; I use it about 2 days a week when I'm away from home.  Admittedly, it is a bit louder, but I did't think all that much louder (and I find the rhythmic sounds sleep-inducing, in fact).  

I also really like the iPhone app that comes with the Z1, which you can use for all purposes (turning on and off, adjusting settings, reading your stats in the a.m., etc.)  Much easier than having to fiddle with the knobs and dials of the S9, especially when you are away from home.

[Fats Drywaller]

There is no practical difference between the Airsense 10 and the S9 Elite other than form factor.

Just for whatever it's worth (I have no stake of any kind in the matter and don't much care now), here's a quote from a post by TyroneShoes that I saved for reference many months ago when I was evaluating the various machines on paper and deciding which one to get.  Feel free to confirm, refute, ignore, or whatever you want.  

... I also recommend [the A10] over the S9, because the S9 does not really consider arousals directly in its data. It treats them by treating apnea, but the Respironics models and the ResMed Airsense 10 are more equipped to handle that data directly. If your xPAP is treating your events but you still have some arousals, it is probably a good thing to be able to see that data directly. In my case, I don't seem to have any arousals, so the S9 is fine for someone like me.

If you have pretty good treatment and a low treated AHI, that is great. But some folks still have arousals even with good xPAP treatment, so anyone starting out or having knowledge that arousals are an issue for them should probably avoid ResMed models older than the Airsense 10.

[Fats Drywaller]

Have you actually tried a Z1 machine?  And compared it to a more mainstream solution?  (if so, and it worked, great!)

I did.  I bought one used from somebody that got it before a cruise and as soon as they got back to town, got rid of it.  I tried it for a few days.  ...  Sold it to someone else who thought they too might make it work.  I wonder how many hands it has passed through now.

A while back I was looking at the Z1 just on paper (and in pixels), being in the market for a portable machine with a built-in display (no phone or computer needed to change settings), and I read everything I could find, and it was quite an education.  At the end of a day or two of that, my strong reaction, with some regret at having to rule out that possibility, was: "No freakin' way!  Not ever!"  And in fact, it could be that the best summing-up was in one of your AB posts in the thread "HDM Z1 Auto?" ... this stuck in my mind:

I have been told by a reputable DME/tech that has disassembled both that comparing the Z1 to one of the Traditional machines is like comparing working on a Yugo vs a BMW

For the benefit of anyone encountering this who is doing similar reading but who doesn't yet know anything about the long and somewhat disturbing back-story of the Z1, I'll add this quote from another board, which I think is very important to take into account when browsing the many HDM/Z1 threads.  This is by Tangledhose, 2015-07-28, thread title "Z1 travel machine":

I want to point out also that "bill-e" was a former employee of HDM and still has ties with the CEO of the company, so from now on I will disregard his comments on the Z1 as I feel his opinion is strongly biased.  I don't make that comment recklessly, but it is an issue that should be kept in mind when reading his posts concerning the Z1; in my personal opinion he has misrepresented the product in his posts.

A side note, also for the use of newbies who want to read up on this stuff:  The search facility here at AB rejects search terms shorter than four characters, but you can use (among others) Google with the terms: site:apneaboard.com intitle:z1 OR intitle:hdm -intitle:printable