CPAP and battery....

[AlCat]

I do like the idea of charging sequentially - topping the TD battery off on day one, and recharging the CPAP battery on day 2

maybe better than plugging everything into the TD and praying the clouds stay away



I also like the extra AGM battery solution, but I want to solve an additional CPAP-related problem, which is having a battery with me on an airplane. Of course, that will be a whole other adventure, as the airlines and TSA are notoriously inconsistent on this, and I am told the international carriers are even worse...and I only need the cpap when I am flying to Latin America, really....mostly on non-US carriers.

One thing the Tech Support guy said is it may not be worth it to buy the 150 w inverter, as it is not as useful as a 500 - i.e., for grinding coffee or making margaritas!

 

[AlCat]

I ended up buying the 2-battery kit from battery power solutions and it worked great

I re-charged the battery by plugging in to the TD while the TD was pulling from the solar panels. Had no electricity issues over my two-week camping trip, though I had optimal conditions for solar -southern Utah the first week of May - not many clouds in the sky

Fridge kept a low temp the entire two weeks

I did nearly destroy the solar option when I moved the panels while I had my foot on the cord. Thankfully Zamp anticipates such stupidity, and the cord had some clips which fixed the cord to the panel and that clip pulled out and "watned" me that I was doing something stupid before the cord pulled out of the controller.

Might want to make sure you have basic panel wiring repair tools when on my next camping trip!!

-Al

 

[rrunneals]

Ok so if my cpap machine says that it takes 3 amps to run, is that 3 amps per hour. Does that mean 24 amps per night? How long would a 72 amp hour battery last? It’s not good to drain the battery completely. I’m not very good with the 12 volt electrical concepts.

 

[slumry]

Your CPAP manufacturer should be able to provide you with a power data sheet that specifies power consumption with a humidifier and without a humidifier over a range of pressures. They will generally give this information for a typical eight hour night and they will normally factor in an allowance for not draining your battery past a half. Resmed’s power sheet is particularly good. Do not expect to use your CPAP with a humidifier while on battery, I think that maybe where you are getting 3 amps. For my S9, I figure about an amp an hour for eight hours. To extend battery life, you can run the CPAP for 6 hours and then sleep the remaining time without. The last hours of CPAP are not particularly therapeutic.

 

[AlCat]

I bought some travel batteries for my cpap. Expensive, but I didn't want to be without power. Still didn't use the humidifier as it will drain the battery too quickly. You can connect two batteries, however, and run longer, but I wasn't sure how quickly they would recharge, etc., so I just went without the humidifier.

I just spent a weekend in a house with a bunch of old friends. They made fun of my cpap, even though they all had just spent the night NOT sleeping because the other guys in their rooms were snoring loudly. My room, with 2 cpap users, was nice and quiet.

 

[rollsandgravy]

Boondocking without a clap is not an option for me as i'm sure its not for others here. What i did was buy a Jackery 300, about $400.00. It fits in the lower compartment on the right side of the AC. The cpap fits right next to it. I power the cpap with a 12V plug and it only takes the power to about 50% overnight.I don't use the humidifier. In the morning I charge the Jackery back up with the solar panel, I have the ability to get about 60" away from the camper, so I can find some sunshine. After the Jackery gets charged I unplug it and let the battery recharge. If its a travel day then the Jackery goes in the truck and charges as you drive. I don't like camping where there's electric and water and its more like a subdivision than a campground. We prefer National Forest campgrounds and COE campgrounds.