Machine Reliability

Heather,

Nothing has changed with the reliability of the PHD except that they now offer stainless steele dialysate tanks instead of plastic so they do not leak. Which is what caused a lot of alarms and long service calls. Reliability and service is still the same…not very good.

How long have run on the PHD?

Are you still on it?

Tucker writes:
Nothing has changed with the reliability of the PHD except that they now offer stainless steele dialysate tanks instead of plastic so they do not leak. Which is what caused a lot of alarms and long service calls. Reliability and service is still the same…not very good

Do the steel tanks prevent the plumbing from backing up as in the above case or are you referring to other type leaks? What type of reliability/service problems do they currently have?

Well the only time I would give up my PHD is in a Hurricane or Tsunami.
I guess if I had all the problems Debby says she had I would be dis-enchanted likewise.
However, I am on my second PHD… another generation, I have seen the reliability improve tremendously. I just count on a Tx everyday and have only had minor intervention 3-4 times in 6 months and probably only missed a Tx once or twice…I don’t know …so infrequently it’s hard to recall but to the point where I consider myself fortunate to be using it.
I never had leaks onto the floor …the leaks I had with the previous fiberglass tanks were Dialysate leaks in the interior system that the machine detected and shut down needing a service call.
The PHD is like a Rolls-Royce of Dialysis, I think. Honk, Honk!

Do you have local service?

Do you have local service?

Yes, maintainence is local and they also service areas where the technicians don’t live as in some of the techs in my area go hundreds of miles by car or ever thousands by plane. They are very responsive…I’ve never had a delay where they can’t get to me even on Sunday.

Who do you communicate with at Aksys when you need clinical help, technical help, administrative help? Not asking for names unless you can give out. But what are their titles and do they get back with you promptly?

Heather:

Aksys has a 24 live tech support line, so when I have a problem and I sometimes dialyze at odd (to others) hours, I call and get the tech support guy out of bed, and I’m not usually the 1st to get him up at 3 AM or so…
I feel very good somehow about doing that, I figure if their machine has got me up, they should share my joy.
The customer service office is the supply department and they have regular central time business hours and they are very helpful and friendly.
The tech support people are the ones who contact your local technical service engineer although I have all their numbers to call direct if I want. For purposes of tracking a service call they like to get the call in Chicago and then assign the in-home tech themselves. I do it either way when it is appropriate.

Guillaume

The SS Tanks do not prevent plumbing backups. The machine will go down on an average once every two weeks or so, some a lot more some less. The have a lot of problems with the parts in the machine. Also the user can easily cause a lot of problems if they just dont do everything exact. It is very picky and is wha makes the machine frustrating and harder than it is portrayed to be.

Hi Heather,

I don’t have Tucker’s access to all the Aksys(pun intended)
patient records. But in regards to the SS, here’s what I know:
My machine has one of the new (7 months old) Stainless Steel tanks, it neither backs up or leaks.
When I had a fiberglass one, it didn’t leak on the floor, it had ‘Dialysate Leak’ errors that the machine detected and then alarmed, not fluid leaking out of the machine.
I just don’t know about anyone else’s machine.
Mine is easy to use and it does not let me make mistakes…that’s what all the bells and whistles are for…the screen tells me what the next thing to do is and if I try to do something else, it beeps til I pay attention and tells me what the proper step is …it truly is different from any of the other machines I’ve used. (and before anyone says…I’ve never used NextStage and I don’t know how that one works}
BTW, I’m kind of wondering if Tucker is a former employee, I know one was fired late last year in my area.
Regards,
Guillaume

I never understood about “bloody water” spilling out of the machine. It does not make sense to me at all. I can not imagine why the effluent would be bloody – blood never crosses the dialysate membrane so this just cannot happen. It seems like what is described is a drain backing up which is not the fault of the machine . All the Aksys needs is your standard washer hook-up so there is a drain just like the one you have for your washer and just like your washer you’ll get a spill if the hose falls out of the drain or the drain is clogged. This post didn’t make sense to me when it was first posted even if the drain did back up it does not explain the statement that the water was bloody.

As to the other questions my experience mirrors Guillaume’s.