Is it safe to use CPAP in a lightning storm?

[CPAP Mom]

We have had a lot of severe lightning storms lately. I am wondering if it safe to use CPAP in a lightning storm. Can electricity conduct along the hose to you?

I appreciate any help.

[sleepycarol]

I continue to use it, even during thunderstorms. If the power goes out it doesn't take long for me to wake up to remove the mask. Without it, I get very little sleep so would rather take my chances, besides the mask is made of plastic material and doubt it would be a good conductor even if the machine was zapped.

[LinkC]

Lightning coming up thru the hose is not even a remote possibility.

Damage to your machine's power supply by a surge is a greater threat. I'd recommend a surge protector, even when it isn't storming. Even a $10 plug-in from Lowes will do the job.

[archangle]

There's certainly a risk that a nearby lightning strike could ruin your CPAP machine.

I don't worry about electrocution through my CPAP from lighting. It doesn't seem likely that the lightning will take a path through the CPAP machine, jump from the electronics to the heated hose, jump to my body, then jump from my body to ground instead of taking another path to ground. However, sometimes lighting does what it darn well wants to. It could ignore the CPAP machine entirely and jump across the room and hit you directly.

If there was a really severe nearby lightning storm nearby, I'd probably wake up and I might unplug my machine to protect it from power surges until the storm moves away. My dog would wake me up anyway. I've never actually unplugged my machine for this reason in many years. I've continued to use my machine through many a less severe lightning storm.

[Sparky223]

I am a master electrician. I am more worried about power surges from the power company ruining my machine. I have seen lightning do weird things though.

[BleepingBeauty]

We get some really spectacular lightning where I am, occasionally. I don't fear getting zapped, myself, but I absolutely do fear losing my machine, so I unplug it and run it on my backup battery. Of course, when we have bad storms here, we usually lose power, too; so the battery often comes in handy, whether lightning's a factor or not.

If I had no battery but the lightning was really bad, I'd unplug the machine and just wait for the storm to pass. But that's me, with a very expensive machine to replace.

[Tip10]

I am a master electrician. I am more worried about power surges from the power company ruining my machine. I have seen lightning do weird things though.

I work for the power company -- and I agree with the assessment stated above.
You are far more at risk from switching surge or surges caused by the drunk hitting the pole on the corner than you are from lightning.

[Pugsy]

If I had no battery but the lightning was really bad, I'd unplug the machine and just wait for the storm to pass. But that's me, with a very expensive machine to replace.

I don't have a battery. Living in tornado alley we see a lot of storms. If it is bad I will be awake till the storm passes anyway. I do unplug all non essentials just in case of a power surge or a random lightening strike. My mother had her house hit twice in one night a couple of years go.

Last Sunday was bad. I am about 20 miles or so from Joplin, MO. Course the storm hit early evening but I still had as much stuff unplugged as I could get to. I don't try to sleep through the storms. I prefer to be awake till they pass.

[cflame1]

If I had no battery but the lightning was really bad, I'd unplug the machine and just wait for the storm to pass. But that's me, with a very expensive machine to replace.

I don't have a battery. Living in tornado alley we see a lot of storms. If it is bad I will be awake till the storm passes anyway. I do unplug all non essentials just in case of a power surge or a random lightening strike. My mother had her house hit twice in one night a couple of years go.

Last Sunday was bad. I am about 20 miles or so from Joplin, MO. Course the storm hit early evening but I still had as much stuff unplugged as I could get to. I don't try to sleep through the storms. I prefer to be awake till they pass.

I'm glad you're ok Pugsy!

I'm in tornado alley as well... and I usually will just turn stuff off if it's early enough. Everything's on surge protectors here.

[dtsm]

Lightning coming up thru the hose is not even a remote possibility.
Damage to your machine's power supply by a surge is a greater threat. I'd recommend a surge protector, even when it isn't storming. Even a $10 plug-in from Lowes will do the job.

Yep, a surge protector for normal use is great suggestion!

[napstress]

I was wondering about this, too. Ultimately, I see two issues, here: 1) lightening possibly zapping the machine and myself, and 2) power outages making the machine shut down while I'm using it.

When there is lightening, I already turn off my computer and cell phone and stay off my landline. So I figure it's a good idea not to use the CPAP machine either. I experience no difference in tiredness between a night of using the machine and a night not using it, anyway , so my only concern is compliance. Since I otherwise consistently meet compliance, one night isn't going to make much of a difference.

Generally whenever it's not in use, I unplug the machine, just as I do the computer, the toaster, the TV, and the stereo, to reduce phantom energy drain. Every little bit helps!

These two practices pretty much cover most power outage opportunities. But if the power goes out while I'm using the machine, I figure I'll know soon enough . Seriously, I've learned from this forum that you'd wake up and remove the mask before dying in your sleep from the machine going off. It would just be like one, big, hairy apnea.

[archangle]

If you have a machine with a modem, unplug the phone line when there's lightning in the area, even if you leave the machine turned on plugged into the power line.

The phone line creates another path for a surge to get to your machine. There's also a problem of "phone line vs. power line" surges. You're probably more than twice as likely to get power surge damage with the phone line and AC power as you are with AC power alone.

And if you have a machine with a modem and you don't use the modem any more, unplug the phone line from the machine.

[BleepingBeauty]

If I had no battery but the lightning was really bad, I'd unplug the machine and just wait for the storm to pass. But that's me, with a very expensive machine to replace.

I don't have a battery. Living in tornado alley we see a lot of storms. If it is bad I will be awake till the storm passes anyway. I do unplug all non essentials just in case of a power surge or a random lightening strike. My mother had her house hit twice in one night a couple of years go.

Last Sunday was bad. I am about 20 miles or so from Joplin, MO. Course the storm hit early evening but I still had as much stuff unplugged as I could get to. I don't try to sleep through the storms. I prefer to be awake till they pass.

Whoa, that's way too close for comfort, for me. I could never live in the Midwest...

With no battery, what would you do if there was a long power outage? Living in Tornado Alley, you must have a generator or some other backup for power, no?

I definitely sleep better (pun intended) knowing I have a battery.

[xyz]

> Even a $10 plug-in from Lowes will do the job.

Not true. Well, not for very long anyway.

Everyone, not just those in Tornado Alley, needs surge protectors.

That's because:
1) for many of us, our xpap machines cost thousands of dollars. (auto mode, data capable, bipap, etc.) Even if we're fortunate to have insurance to pay for (part of) it, that's what they cost originally.
2) Forgetting lightning for just a moment, the regular power that comes from the power company has problems with it from time to time. Problems that can potentially damage or kill electronic equipment.

Surge protectors are one of those things where, pretty much, you get what you pay for. I've seen people get those cheap $5 ones and end up with no protection at all -- and they didn't even know it!

That's because the better ones use multiple, different types of technologies _together_ to address the problem. The cheap ones often just use one type of technology (the cheapest, of course). And because they are cheap, there's no way of knowing when they quit working (i.e., no warning light).

There are a number of good brands. Isobar is just one of them. All brands have models from the low end to the high end. Steer away from the low end. Middle of the line at least, for medical-related equipment. The more important it is to you (and your health), the more important it is to protect it.

Then there's non-health related gear -- high end TVs (costing thousands), stereo systems, computers, etc. Even new refrigerators. They're very different from the olden days. They're expensive (can be thousands of dollars) and mostly electronic. We just put a really good surge protector on a new refrigerator with lots of electronic features. If it eliminates just one service call, it more than pays for itself. Not to mention the aggravation of being without it. That's even more true for our xpap machines.

[LinkC]

> Even a $10 plug-in from Lowes will do the job.

Not true. Well, not for very long anyway.
(snip)
And because they are cheap, there's no way of knowing when they quit working (i.e., no warning light).

I've had mine about 2 yrs now. If it failed tomorrow it would still be a good investment. Under $10 and it even has a pretty light for ya... It is MOV-based, and stops delivering power when capacity is exhausted. It also carries a $100,000 "connected equipment warranty". Granted, if you are a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy with money to burn, you CAN spend a whole lot more.

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?par ... &cId=PDIO1