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Ready for an upgrade
#11
RE: Ready for an upgrade
partsman, there is not much to the upkeep of the humidifier on the newer machines. As long as you use distilled water, you just dump it every morning, let tank air dry and refill at night.
Wash with dawn soap and some use a vinegar rinse once a week.
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.  ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA.  INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#12
RE: Ready for an upgrade
I'm here to say your tap water is just fine. I've been using mine since 2008 without a problem. As far as upkeep, just rinse and fill. If you notice deposits use a vinegar soak or I use Star San which is the sanitizer I use for cleaning beer brewing kegs, bottles and glassware.
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#13
RE: Ready for an upgrade
(02-07-2016, 12:19 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: Call Aetna and confirm their policy on rental or sale. Do not rely on your DME (salesman) to tell you they requrie rental. I have Aetna because my wife is also in the public sector. First-time users are required to lease the equipment for 3-6 months after which it is purchased upon demonstration of compliance. Veteran users like you and I can get the machines purchased outright. Don't ever believe a DME...best advise you'll get on this forum.

Here's the relevant text from my insurer, Moda Health, which I verified over the phone:

The Plan covers the rental charge (not to exceed the purchase price) for durable medical equipment.

If I remember right, they have you return the machine and lease you another when purchase price is met.

Problem now is that they've restructured our plan so that most regular expenses (doctor's office, etc.) don't go against the deductible, so I always have a big nut there. Last time I checked I had burned through my deductible, so I went to a sleep specialist and found out about the huge cost of a study and the leasing requirement, so I gave up.

(02-07-2016, 01:32 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: I'm here to say your tap water is just fine. I've been using mine since 2008 without a problem. As far as upkeep, just rinse and fill. If you notice deposits use a vinegar soak or I use Star San which is the sanitizer I use for cleaning beer brewing kegs, bottles and glassware.

I'm sure our tap water would be fine too. No added fluoride, and so clean we in the repair industry use it to top off vehicle batteries. Cascade mountain stream water!
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#14
RE: Ready for an upgrade
Well, I have self-financed CPAP equipment for quite a while. I retired my M-series auto cpap received in 2008 a bit over a year ago with 20K hours. You have almost twice that. I purchased an auto CPAP and auto BiPAP off Craigslist, both with low hours and in very good condition for $200 and $350 respectively. With a high deductible policy at that time, it was by far the less expensive option.

Lots of good deals out there right now in new machines since Respironics just discontinued the PRS1 series for the DreamStation. That is your best bet, but it won't be around forever. Your timing is good.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
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How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#15
RE: Ready for an upgrade
Hoping to not start a religious war but - what machine is going to be best for me? I'm guessing the older models are going to be best price/performance wise. Looks like I need APAP, humidifier, and heated hose. I am pretty tech-savvy so ease of navigating the operational interface doesn't scare me.

I see I can get an S9 in pink ;-) for a pretty good deal, and occasionally a really great deal, and the PR's for pretty good deals. Any other brands I should be considering?
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#16
RE: Ready for an upgrade
You are best off to stick with resmed and respironics, data wise. They are the best supported. I have a Resmed S9 Autoset, and it's the only machine I have ever used, its a great machine with a good amount of data. The Resmed algorithms seem to suit me, but I can't really compare. I believe resmed has the better pressure support model, with it's EPR, but the respironics machines report RERA (as do the newer resmed but not S9) as a tinkerer you may appreciate that the phillips respironics machines are 12v and are easier to battery operate than the 24v resmeds. (no power loss do to conversion, so smaller battery requirements and no need to purchase the $100 converter)
هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه  هههههه
Tongue Suck Technique for prevention of mouth breathing:
  • Place your tongue behind your front teeth on the roof of your mouth
  • let your tongue fill the space between the upper molars
  • gently suck to form a light vacuum

Practising during the day can help you to keep it at night

هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه  هههههه
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#17
RE: Ready for an upgrade
(02-07-2016, 02:23 PM)partsman Wrote: I see I can get an S9 in pink ;-) for a pretty good deal, and occasionally a really great deal, and the PR's for pretty good deals. Any other brands I should be considering?
The pink S9 AutoSet is a good machine and just the same its silver cousin
You can always covered it, if bothered by the colour
Check Supplier #29 for the price on pink

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#18
RE: Ready for an upgrade
Hi partsman,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Wow, you have had your older machine for a long time.
Good luck to you on your new machine decision.
Much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#19
RE: Ready for an upgrade
OK, so I ended up purchasing the used PR System One REMstar Auto 560 with A Flex. Now I need to know how to do initial setup. I'm assuming I need to wipe any data on the previous owner's SD card, then set some pressures according to the information here on apneaboard.com. How do I bracket the pressures on the unit? My old machine is set at 12.

Thanks for all the help, everyone! Looking forward to geeking out on my sleep data. I assume I should download and use Sleepyhead, right?
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#20
RE: Ready for an upgrade
Go to the top of the page to CPAP setup manuals; and get the one for your PR System One REMstar Auto 560 with A Flex.
That will give you the pathway to setup.
There should be a way to erase all data on the machine and reset it to factory defaults...
Just doing the SD card may leave data on the machine from previous use that will get written to the card.
Everything except blower hours can be reset. (That's how you can tell if it was just driven a few times down Colorado Blvd!)

Sleeprider is very knowledgeable of PR machines and can help you tune it.

You can bracket the upper and lower pressure limits around the former 12; like 10 minimum and perhaps 16 maximum.
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