CPAP with no on-board battery

[dbhost]

I don't camp in camp grounds often and when I do I plug in. As for the box what makes it work so good is the hundred foot rock climb down hill Oh ya and my Camper is on the edge of the ridge blocking the other folks on the ridge from the noise.

Hows the run time on that? I would hate to have the generator run out of gas about 2 hours before I want to get up. I think they say run time on this thing is 5 hours at 50% output. I can't imagine the C pap would get anywhere even close something probly more like oh heck, 15% output maybe?

I really ought to test this in May have an opportunity soon. I checked with a particular campground I want to go to that doesn't have electrical and there is no problem running the generator all might. Considering this particular campground is less than 200 yd away from a train track I would imagine it's going to be noisy anyway in we will be sleeping with your plugs but the point of this isn't so much camping but being at the event.

 

[dbhost]

Just for the fun of it I went and checked out new a liners today and while they're intriguing I must say the price tags on them are quite shocking. I also looked at a Kodiak Cub which is a fairly small bumper pull hard side trailer that I must admit was a lot more appealing than the. The wait Was fairly low and it head good ground clearance with all terrain tires factory equipped with a nice wide footprint which was be perfect for use on sand. I'm not all that crazy about the fact that it's not collapsible though. And obviously there is the money issue period from what I am seeing new and used in the market I'm getting more and more convinced than an older pop up in good shape with an axle flip or other left and some decent wide tires is really what I need.

 

[jnc]

@dbhost I love the Aliners also but I am 6'2" so their out!

 

[dbhost]

@dbhost I love the Aliners also but I am 6'2" so their out!

The ones we looked at yesterday were shockingly steep priced for what you got. More power to those that chose them they do look like nice little trailers, I just can't see myself paying $23K after taxes for a little teeny tiny trailer with the only bed being an admittedly large dinette that converts to what looks like a king bed. With a Tetris arrangement of cushions to make up the mattress. Just doesn't look all that functional, or at least comfortable to me.

 

[jnc]

Hows the run time on that?

I'm not to sure of the true numbers but I can tell ya that I typically sleep 6-7 hours a night and I've never had an issue when I remember to start the night with a full tank.

 

[dbhost]

I am getting ready to do the Texas Renaissance Festival, and they allow generator use at night. I just need to pick a perimeter site and set the generator as far away from everyone else pointed away as possible. See how it does. If I can get 7hrs sleep I am more than good....

I am going to test my jump box first to see if it can run the CPAP all night like theory (and Resmed seems to) says it can. I can simply recharge the jump box in the morning with the generator while cooking breakfast / taking a shower....

 

[BikeNFish]

The DW and I both have CPAP's. When boon-docking, I run two group 27 batteries in parallel (seperate from the pup battery) and use a 2000w genny to recharge them. We do not run the humidifiers and heated hoses on the CPAP's. The CPAP batteries are run down to about 50% after eight hours of sleep.

We plug the pup directly into the genny and recharge everything at once (CPAP batteries, phones, etc.). It takes three hours to recharge everything. I run the generator late morning into early afternoon.

I have never had anyone come to me to complain about the genny. I have had multiple occasions when folk have commented on how quiet my Powerhorse generator is and where can they purchase one.

 

[BikeNFish]

I am going to test my jump box first to see if it can run the CPAP all night like theory (and Resmed seems to) says it can.

I just purchased my replacement CPAP a couple of months ago. I inquired about the Resmed battery and the Technician said that in reality, they only run a CPAP for six or so hours.

 

[dbhost]

The DW and I both have CPAP's. When boon-docking, I run two group 27 batteries in parallel (seperate from the pup battery) and use a 2000w genny to recharge them. We do not run the humidifiers and heated hoses on the CPAP's. The CPAP batteries are run down to about 50% after eight hours of sleep.

We plug the pup directly into the genny and recharge everything at once (CPAP batteries, phones, etc.). It takes three hours to recharge everything. I run the generator late morning into early afternoon.

I have never had anyone come to me to complain about the genny. I have had multiple occasions when folk have commented on how quiet my Powerhorse generator is and where can they purchase one.

What are the battery specs, and what are the specs on your CPAP?

I know in a pinch, like I said, I got 6hrs out of a Halo Bolt with the Resmed Airsense 10 humidifier off plugged into the 110v AC socket.

Long term goal, once pop up, or truck camper gets into my arsenal, is to set up a pair of 100ah AGM batteries, one for the "house" the other for the CPAP, 1500w Inverter, and at least 400w solar. But that is all a long ways off...

What I CAN do for the mean time, try the jump box. If that fails to power sufficiently, I still have time to return it to Wally World. and grab one of the 100ah deep cycle batteries, and a marine battery box. Add a 12V socket and just charge the battery during hte day. (Those AGM batteries are steep!)

 

[BikeNFish]

What are the battery specs, and what are the specs on your CPAP?

I do not recall the specs on either the batteries or the CPAP, all I know that it works great for the both of us with plenty of battery juice left at the end of the night. I do know that they (batteries) are both 100+ ah. I run them with a 800w Inverter, each CPAP plugged in to it's own Inverter outlet. The cooling fans never engage on the Inverter.

I run two similar group 27 deep cycle batteries in my boat and know that I can run the trolling motor all day without recharging. That is how I got the idea of running the CPAP's on the same amount of power. On a whim, I tried it one night at home and was then convinced that it would work in the pup, too. And it did, so I didn't worry about the numbers on the battery or the CPAP. Group 24 batteries probably wouldn't work unless you ran three in parallel, but now you are taking up a lot more room.

 

[dbhost]

Okay, so let's make some assumptions here...

Per the Respironics documentation, the AirSense 10 draws 53 watts max with the humdifier off.
The battery in the jump box I am testing is rated at 22 amp hours.

Using the calculator at https://www.webstaurantstore.com/guide/600/how-to-calculate-amps-volts-and-watts.html and assuming a nominal 110V AC draw, 53 watts (again MAX rated wattage) will create a draw of .48181818.... amps. Adjusting voltage to 120 bumps the amp draw down to .441666... amps. So not quite half an amp draw. Now assuming what I am seeing on various RV, and CPAP forums, the general consensus says that an Inverter comes in at a 10-15% loss in energy efficiency. So let's round up the CPAP to .5 amps, and through the Inverter .65 amps at a 15% hit for Inverter loss.

Per the Resmed battery guide, at 10cm a 12 amp hour battery is required for 8hrs operation of this unit.

At the cost of the Resmed Air10 DC-DC adapter, I just can't see myself investing in one of those instead of putting those funds toward a bigger battery and better Inverter. A 15% loss is acceptable in my book.

 

[Toedtoes]

Also remember that during the day you can use the battery and Inverter to run other things as well. The adapter is only of use for the cpap.

 

[dbhost]

Okay so I did run a test of sorts. I just don't seem to be able to sleep 8 hours, but I ran the CPAP off of 110V on the power pack. I got 6 hours + without it running out, and the LEDs that show battery charge level and sadly it is just bars, no real good data, but I went from 4 to 3 bars in 6 hours,

I figure camping, I can use my CPAP overnight, no problem, and then charge using the generator during the day. Need to test to see how long the generator takes to charge the power pack....

So I admit I have already forgotten exactly what I paid for the power pack, aside from the fact that I know I got it on sale. I think it was around $62.00 after tax. I got the generator on coupon at HF, but I spent the extra to get the extended warranty. I gave it the 1 year extension just to insure I got a year out of it. I figure with most HF stuff, if it makes it 1 year, it'll go at least 5 with no issues... The first year is the critical time.... That was $124.00 after tax. So for less than $200.00 I got a workable power system for my CPAP that will serve additional 110V low wattage power requirements, up to, and including my 5K BTU AC. (4 amps max).

 

[tfischer]

Is there such a thing as a 12VDC CPAP? You'd get a lot better performance without going from 12->120V and back.

 

[dbhost]

My old Phillips Respironics System One CPAP took 12v DC input via a 110v AC / 12V DC transformer. In theory it could run 12V DC direct without the transformer. The DC cables for them are plenty cheap and simple...

I need to find some place to fix mine. It was replaced because I started getting a smoky smell through it (I don't smoke). I think it might be gunked up with cat hair... And I am certain it would be more efficient.

 

[speckhunter80]

Is there such a thing as a 12VDC CPAP? You'd get a lot better performance without going from 12->120V and back.

most CPAPs are 12V however some of the newer ones are 24V

 

[SteveP]

Other than @Haybale I don't see the need for all this extra expense. When we were tent camping I lugged a g24 battery along to run my cpap. It would run 3+ nights without any other use. When we got the camper, it would make 3 nights on the original g24, also running the water pump and minimal lights.

With the upgrade to a g31, 100 watts of solar and led lights we can run indefinitely without worrying about conservation, including charging laptops and other devices.

Yeah, you're going to need additional charging, just like you do with all these other devices, but you don't need an alternator driven by a 200+ hp engine to do it.

I like my camping simple, without the need to worry about having to charge multiple power sources multiple ways. Size your battery bank to your load, size your charging strategy to the battery bank, and relax.

 

[West Coast Canuck]

For travelling both my wife and I have Resmed Air Mini CPAPs that uses cartridge for humidity. This saves battery usage and we run both of them off a group 31 AGM deep cycle battery off a 400 watt Inverter. We dry camped for 5 days and topped it up with a portable 120 watt solar panel 3 days in but probably would have lasted the 5 days without and this is running two CPAPs

 

[SteveP]

West Coast Canuck
Do you use the Mini at home? Either this year or next the Dr is going to prescribe a new machine, and will probably want to push me to the P10.

 

[Haybale]

Always remember to turn the heaters (hose, humidifier) off when on limited battery power!