Medical Equipment

[kiltedwon]

The plastic "tote" container is an innovative choice of battery box... but it should not be inside the trailer.

I guess I should have clarified, I was giving these batteries a dry run in my bedroom before hauling them tentcamping for Labor Day. I'm in the middle of my build and wanted to test them out before permanently installing them in my galley and/or committing to a 110v or 12v electrical system. I did end up buying a vented battery box that will eventually go in my TD.

[kiltedwon]

I have a CPAP that runs on 12v or 110v. I have a 115 amp/hour battery. I can get 3-5 nights out of it....
I built a cubby in my lower cabinet for the machine to go in & I installed a 12v outlet in the same cubby.

Hello Rainjer,

a few questions about your setup.

1. what's your batt reading after 5 nites? Running your batt below 50% cuts their life in half doesn't it? My CPAP draws 3amps max on 12v, so if I ran it for 4 days that's 100h. (3a x 8hr x 4nites = 100 amp hours).

2. I'm thinking of a CPAP cabinet too, but how did you vent yours? Does your cabinet draw intake from outside of the TD? Also do you have a fan on your TD?

Thanks.

[rainjer]

Hello Rainjer,

a few questions about your setup.

1. what's your batt reading after 5 nites? Running your batt below 50% cuts their life in half doesn't it? My CPAP draws 3amps max on 12v, so if I ran it for 4 days that's 100h. (3a x 8hr x 4nites = 100 amp hours).

2. I'm thinking of a CPAP cabinet too, but how did you vent yours? Does your cabinet draw intake from outside of the TD? Also do you have a fan on your TD?

Thanks.

The 3 amp max I would think would be at start-up. After it get running it does not draw as many amps. I know that is how most power tools are rated. I have never measured the battery. My box has charge indicater lights. I have never gone below yellow.

My CPAP goes in a cubby hole open toward the bed. I have a roof vent & both side windows open. No fan.

[oldschoolimport]

I'm an acute care respiratory therapist, so this is right up my alley. since I work in a hospital, I don't get to see much of the equipment from the home health side, aside from the occasional patient who brings their own to use while they are an in-patient. I never knew that 12v cpap units were available. the only home units that I've seen come thru have the 3 prong computer type cords on them. thats pretty neat!

[wlooper89]

There have been a lot of good ideas in this topic for camping with a CPAP. Two of my friends use them and I am sure the possibility of camping on battery power would be interesting to them. One couple vacations in Maine on an island in a small house the wife owns with no electric service. They go there for about one month each summer. Perhaps he should think about installing solar or a small generator. A generator could charge up the battery during the day and then be shut down during the night for quiet.

Other thoughts, if the battery can be charged from the tow vehicle then a drive from one camp ground to another would work, although one probably does not want to break camp too often. With a converter or battery charger on board, AC hookup at a camp ground would both recharge the battery and allow an AC connection for the CPAP.

Good luck with your build!

Bill

[atomaker]

Just a note to fellow cpap users...
Some CPAPs with 12 volt capability actually use that $90.00 adapter because they yse 12V POSITIVE GROUND! I have a medtronics Elite and an older REMSTAR. The REMStar is 12V DC Negative Ground, and the Elite is 12VDC Positive ground.
By the way, My REMstar will run 4 nights on a 127 Ah battery. It probably would go longer, but I'm not willing to take the chance.
Cheers!
atomaker

[Alphacarina]

Lead acid batteries don't 'vent' much gas when you're slowly discharging them - They only vent when they're being charged so having them in the room with you (even a small room) isn't much danger . . . . but if you're anal about it, an AGM battery (like an Optima) is an excellent choice

My Wife's CPAP (a DevilBiss Intellipap 54HH) runs on 120 volts and has a separate 12 volt input. When the power goes out, it automatically switches to the 12 volt source and then it switches back when power is restored - The heater/humidifier doesn't operate when it's on 12 volts though. We frequently have power failures our here in the country and I leave it hooked up to a small 8 AH AGM motorcycle battery in her nightstand drawer with a Battery Tender Jr plugged in the wall to make sure it stays charged.
http://www.amazon.com/UPG-UTX9-Adventur ... B001ZTBN92
This set-up with the charger cost me less than $75. We carry it and the charger with us in a small camera bag when we travel. I bought the 8 AH battery because the $240 setup that DevilBiss recommends comes with a 7.8 AH battery and they claim it runs the machine for 18 to 24 hours, depending on the machine settings
http://www.cpaptravelbatterypack.com/de ... packs.html
If you were to recharge this with a small inverter using your cigarette lighter while you drive every other day, it should work well for camping and it's very lightweight and portable. AGM batteries can safely be run in much deeper cycles than standard lead acid batteries without harming them. If a little 8 AH battery can do two days, then a quality 80 AH marine deep cycle AGM should easily do 2 weeks or more without recharging . . . . assuming your model machine uses no more power than the DevilBiss we have

Don

[dreadcptflint]

I can say that solar power is the way to go.



I added my panel this year and enjoy staying off the grid when I am camping.

[bearfromobx]

mounted in a vented plastic battery case on the tongue of the trailer and haven't had any problem with five days or more. As others have stated earlier I use my Phillips Resironics System One without the humidifier, although mine is powered from the 12V input. I wouldn't buy a $45 inverter to avoid buying a $90 12V power cord due to the additional load the inverter adds to the battery. One thing I love about the marine design is the threaded terminals.

I am looking at the charging requirments for my Optima battery (which is a combination start/deep cycle Marine) so I can hook the battery to the tow vehicle to charge while in travel, but I'm not sure if I can without damaging the battery.

[Ratkity]

My resmed cpap has a 12v power cord and also an AC cord. Pulls the same amps as the fantastic fan (~3amps). I can run 2 nights using both and lights. I have put an 85W solar panel on the camper and now can run indefinitely! On a sunny day, I can be charged by 9 am and by noon on a cloudy day. Those aren't scientific times, just when I thought to check the controller and battery (120 AH deep cycle).

Hugs,
Ratkity

[Wolfscout]

I was just reading over this thread. some have mentioned the hose problem
I purchased the CPap bedside hose Holder http://www.ebay.com/itm/270785783429?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649.
It really assists with my comfort level. I'm new with the CPaP machine ... going on 4 weeks now.

[Maureenm]

Hadn't noticed this thread before, so I'll stick my 2 cents in... I've used a CPAP for several years now and spent a few camping trips uncomfortably without it(tent camping). I eventually bought the Everest machine that has it's own rechargeable battery pack along with a 12v adapter that can be used directly or used to recharge from the cig lighter in the car. It lasts about 3 nights before needing to recharge. I got it for tent camping before I got my tear, but now it's still perfect as I do not have power in my teardrop( at least for now). It's also compact enough that I can use it for air travel without taking up the entire carryon. I still have the bulky one by the bed for everyday use. It wasn't cheap, but very worth it to join my family camping over the last few years.

[jeff0520]

Hello All,
I am a trucker, so in a way, I camp every night. My CPAP machine runs on 12 volts DC, but it had a warning on the instructions not to plug it in when the engine was running. it seems it doesn't like the charging voltage. it only wants 12 volts, and no more. My truck has a battery pack heat and A/C unit for when the truck is not running. Battery life is only 8 hours or so. I didn't want my CPAP to go dead just because the A/C ate all the juice. So, I got a big deep cycle battery, put it in a battery box, and installed a power port on the box. Then I cut the cords off 2 old DC gizmos that quit, and made a double male plug. When I get up in the morning, I unplug my CPAP, and connect the power outlet on the battery box to a power outlet on the truck. The battery charges all day while I drive. I have roughly 7 days worth of CPAP power in that deep cycle, so I'm always good.
When I'm in the woods, I use my solar array to maintain the battery. It's a great system