[Equipment] S9 Autoset, RIP

[JJJ]

Hi all. It's been a while since I was active here, but I'm back because I could use some advice and comments, and for that, there is no place like Apnea Board!

Background: My initial sleep study was on 3/23/2012 with a diagnosis of severe sleep apnea. Fortunately it is just ordinary sleep apnea, no unusual stuff, so the doc prescribed a Philips Respironics System One (PRS1) and told the DME to set it to 5-15 cm. I collected it and, because the DME was telling me lies, I returned it a couple weeks later and bought my own PRS1 for $300 on the local Craigslist. About that time I came here and started learning more about sleep apnea and treatment options.

About a year later the PRS1 suddenly wouldn't mount the data card, so I bought a Resmed S9 Autoset from Supplier #2. (Later a friend fixed the PRS1 - a pin was bent deep in the slot, but I liked my new S9 Autoset, so I put the PRS1 on the shelf as a backup.) I used the Resmed S9 Autoset every night since it arrived until just now. About a week ago It made a whining noise when I turned it on, and eventually the whining lasted all night. Now, I have my dumb moments, but I do know what a bearing sounds like when it's about to fail. And sure enough, night before last it wouldn't run and the screen said 'motor defect.'

Since buying the S9 Autoset I signed up for Kaiser Permanente (KP), so when it failed I called them. They said that they did equipment repair and had walk-in hours every day from 8-5. The next day I schlepped the S9 Autoset through 30 miles of screaming city traffic to their sleep center. When I got there they said 'we don't have any technicians in today.' Me: 'Why did they tell me yesterday that they had walk-in hours every day? I drove 30 miles to get here!' This went on for a while and finally I left. When I got home I called the main KP number and made an appointment to speak to a sleep specialist the next day, a ploy to get past the front desk. When I went to see the specialist yesterday morning she said they wouldn't be able to fix my S9 Autoset and that I should throw it away and buy a Dreamstation DX500H11 from them for a $298 co-pay*. I declined the Dreamstation so she gave a PRS1 as a loaner, setting up the card for 8-20cm. 'so we can find out what setting you really need.' Now, I had my S9 Autoset set for 15-20cm. and it averaged about 17cm. all night long, and frequently hit 20cm., so I already know what I need. I offered her the data card from my Resmed, but she didn't want to see it. I'm pretty sure that was because she didn't know how to look at data from anything but Respironics products, because that is all they use. I took the loaner home, although I don't know why - my old PRS1 is on the shelf.

[Update: It is now the morning after. When I went to bed last night I intended to use the loaner, but the sleep specialist at KP had failed to include the wall-to-transformer section of the power cord. I could have used the power cord from my own PRS1, but I decided just to use my old PRS1, although I changed its setting to 8-20cm and inserted the data card from KP.]

On getting home, before saying kaddish for the S9 Autoset, my first attempts were to see if I could find a repair place and how much it would cost to get a new motor for my S9 Autoset. I'm not poor, but why spend money if I don't need to? I could probably install it myself if I could get the motor someplace. I was able to connect to only one repair place online, and they wanted $155 to install a new motor, with free shipping both ways. But I must ask for my first questions:

1. Does anyone have any experience with repair places? Recommendations or warnings? Does anyone have a spare S9 Autoset motor you'd like to sell me?

2. I searched the forums for 'repair' and 'motor' but didn't find much. Are there posts here that I missed that might help with repairs?

In addition to looking for repair places I spent most of the day online trying to get up speed on everything that has happened in the last couple of years in the CPAP marketplace. I read through all the reviews here and some were really helpful. My second question is:

3. If you were happy with an S9 Autoset or a PR System One but wanted to upgrade to a later model, which would you recommend, the S10 Airsense Autoset or the Dreamstation?

4. I have Sleepyhead v0.9.3-0 (beta) Revision: cc17b9daeda878991717a238e0166f87a0e8df21 on Xubuntu 14.04. (I will upgrade to 18.04 when it is released in about a month.) Am I correct in assuming that my Sleepyhead will be able to read date from either of these machines?

*Kaiser collects a 20% co-pay, but they can base it on the list price (~1500). I'm sure with their volume they don't pay more than ~$600, so the $298 is closer to a 50% co-pay. It's still cheaper than buying it myself online. And their agreement says I become the absolute owner and they assign the warranty to me.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments.

[MikeBear]

I don't know how many hours are on your old S9 Autoset, but I've seen them for sale and working for around $100 on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. That's cheaper than a motor transplant that may or may not work.

Maybe you can find one working , with less hours on it.

[PaulaO2]

I've considered doing the same. Putting the motor from my Escape into my Autoset to see if that fixes the whine (constant that goes up and down as I breathe). But, alas, I don't have the space to spread out the parts. My brother works with flow meters and I'm going to ask him if he'd like to delve into it as a side project.

But, yes, see if you can find one used. Granted, the motor will be used, too, but may be cheaper.

[PaulaO2]

1 & 2 - there are some listed at the bottom of the Supplier's List. Do a search for their name and see if anything comes up. Seems as though someone used one of them successfully.


3 - I just upgraded from S9 Autoset to the A10 Autoset. I really like it. It is super quiet. How did you do the one night on the older PRS1? You may not like the rhythm of the Dreamstation since you are used to the Autoset.

4 - Yes.

[JJJ]

1 & 2 - there are some listed at the bottom of the Supplier's List. Do a search for their name and see if anything comes up. Seems as though someone used one of them successfully.


3 - I just upgraded from S9 Autoset to the A10 Autoset. I really like it. It is super quiet. How did you do the one night on the older PRS1? You may not like the rhythm of the Dreamstation since you are used to the Autoset.

4 - Yes.

1 & 2 - I didn't think of the supplier list. There are two on it, and one was the place that I had already contacted. I sent the other an e-mail just now, so we'll see. Also, over the weekend I will be at a meeting of electronics geeks who love to take things apart. I'll bring the sad S9 Autoset there and we'll take it apart. I might get lucky.

3 - I'm not super fussy about noise, but yeah, last night I noticed that the PRS1 was definitely noisier than the S9 Autoset. I didn't notice anything about the rhythm, though. I also see that Resmed advertises the A10 Airsense as producing 26 db, which is not bad. But the Respironics web site claims that the Dreamstation is the quietest on the market, although they give no specific numbers. I'd like to see some real numbers for the Dreamstation.

Thanks for the input.

[trish6hundred]

Hi JJJ,

WELCOME BACK.!

[Mosquitobait]

I tried both the Respironics and the Resmed. The Resmed was hands down better for me for therapy. If you found the Resmed to be better for you, stick with the Resmed brand because the algorithms are the same for the newer machines. The Respironics machines also use the same algorithm on the Dreamstation as for the previous series.

I loved both the S9 (bought used with only 100 hours on it) and my Airsense. The biggest differences that you may or may not like is that on the Airsense, the screen is banked instead of straight up, the humidifier bin is hinged vs. opening with flaps (or that really bad pinched plastic deal) so you have to be a bit careful. While you and I have no problem getting to the clinician settings, there are more things available for you to change in the regular consumer settings. You can also get the machine hours on the Airsense without going into clinician settings. The Airsense includes RERA data, but that is probably not an issue to you given your regular AHI. I got a great deal on the 2nd Airsense for my backup which is the only reason why I sold my S9. So, with 2 Airsense machines, I have the same equipment so only need 1 extra bin and heated hose instead of one set for the Airsense and one set for the S9 (they use the same filters and standard hoses).

[ShaunBlake]

Hi, JJJ, glad you're active again. Like you I'm KP covered. Unlike yours, my sleep medicine facility uses ResMed for sleep study & titration and I wound up with an AS10 AutoSet to replace my broken S9 Escape (which, like your S9 AS, served me reliably if not well since 2012/10).

I'm curious in what part of the country you found your KP repair facility. (It hadn't occurred to me to look to KP for repairs.)

Just a suggestion: if you really want to consider a Dreamstation, it would be prudent to try-before-you-buy; I don't have personal experience with them but have read several threads of folks who weren't happy with Dreamstation after using AirSense 10s.

[holden4th]

I bought an S9 Bilevel a couple of months ago to replace my PRS1 760 BiPAP. It just feels so much better to use. My 760 is now my travel machine and I'll be taking it to Perth (Western Australia). It will be interesting to see how it works for me now that I've been using the Resmed. I'd also say that if you like the Resmed then stick with that. An Airsense10 could be a good move.

[booksfan]

3. If you were happy with an S9 Autoset or a PR System One but wanted to upgrade to a later model, which would you recommend, the S10 Airsense Autoset or the Dreamstation?


Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments.

Hi,

I started on xPAP in mid-January. My DME had both the Dreamstation auto and the AirSense 10 AutoSet for me to try. The Dreamstation was very quiet and I liked the way the humidifier tank fit into the machine. But when I tried the AirSense 10 Autoset for Her (he said I might like the additional algorithm), I was stunned at how silent it was! That's the one I got. Much to my husband's delight, since he thought I should get the ResMed machine--he uses the Airsense 10 Autoset (not the for her)!