Help -- Battery Backup GoalZero---UPDATE

[Muse-Inc]

GoalZero makes a 150 Watt battery that can be recharged by plugging it into a wall outlet or using its solar collector. I talked to ResMed who seem clueless as to whether that's enough power to run my S9 AutoSet, likely the seemingy limited battery knowledge of the person I talked to or my lack of knowing precisely what to ask .

With my pressure range (9.8 and up to 12.6 tops), the current volt is 3.77 so with 8 hrs use the amp hrs are 45 or so said the ResMed teckie. Now this is all geekspeak to me...so will this power my APAP in the infrequent winter ice storm that takes out the power for a day or so? I realized I'd have to re-charge the battery every day --right? (I am so clueless ). Oh, there is battery power guage on the side of the battery. I will have to check that and recharge every few months or so said the sales rep.

The GoalZero page is https://www.goalzero.com/medium-sherpa.html Best Value listing. This is available at their Road Show at my nearby COSTO for the next few days for a great price, so I really need to make a decision ASAP. I bought their 10-LED light and plugged it into my computer...it's really bright! Also bought the USB or solar panel charegeable speaker as the sound is great from my Android phone.

THANKS FOR HELP!

[billbolton]

so I really need to make a decision ASAP.

FWIW, from a very quick look at your needs and the specs of the device, it seems unlikely to me that it will be effective for what you want to do.

"150W" is about 12.5AH maximum of battery capacity (at 12V DC) which is simply not enough for most CPAP purposes.

Cheers,

Bill

[Muse-Inc]

Thanks Bill, I am clueless about electicity and Really appreciate your help! Better to know BEFORE I purchase, even if it's a great price. I might get the small solar panel that'll recharge my cell, laptop, speaker, etc. in an hour.

[RandyJ]

Dane demonstrates and speaks to the issues with this product on cpaplibrary.com :

http://www.cpaplibrary.com/accessories.html

Basically, it would power your S9 *WITHOUT* the humidifier for 8 hours (one night) at 12 cm pressure.

[Muse-Inc]

Wow, thanks Randy! They even tested at a pressure of 12. This just might be the ticket as it's been years since we lost power for more than a single night. And, with a solar panel charger, coming in for about $260 on the Road Show special if I remember correctly, this might just be my answer. I can always fall back on my alarmable recording pulse ox if I can't fully recharge the battery.

Thanks a bunch Randy!!!

[archangle]

Don't buy it.

Are you actually planning on going camping with this as your power supply? If not, you can do a LOT better with a lot less money by buying a deep cycle marine battery and either an inverter or the ResMed DC converter.

The marine battery will power your machine for several nights.

You could also use one of those car jumper batteries and an inverter or DC adapter, and get a nights worth of CPAP.

That particular solar unit has a 150 Watt hour battery and a 15 watt solar panel. It would theoretically take 10 hours to charge the battery. However, that's 10 hours at noon with no shade, no clouds, and with the solar panel oriented directly at the sun. In Atlanta, you will get the equivalent of about 4.5 hours of "sun" on a yearly average per this map. Note that that web page says that winter figures may be as much as 25% to 50% less.

It could take you 2-4 days to recharge your battery even if you have no trees or buildings in the way. If it's cloudy, it could take more. You'll have to find an outside location with no shade during the day, and mount the solar panel at the correct orientation to catch the most sun.

Note that the manufacturer's web site says 10 hours, but "*Expect 2-4x longer charge times depending on weather conditions when charging by solar." Do you really need solar that badly?

That's only a 12.5 Amp Hour battery. Most of the $50-100 car jumper battery packs are about that size or bigger. Some even have 120VAC outputs or you can get a separate inverter. They're also handy to keep in your car.

[Muse-Inc]

Archangle I am clueless about electricity! I read about how I have to recharge in a well ventilated area, it's lead, it's heavy, challenging to connect, etc. Altogether too scary sounding.

[moresleep]

Archangle I am clueless about electricity! I read about how I have to recharge in a well ventilated area, it's lead, it's heavy, challenging to connect, etc. Altogether too scary sounding.

I believe the GoalZero battery is also a lead-acid battery: sealed AGM. You can buy a AGM deep cycle battery--costs more than the "wet" type, but I think worth it, as there are fewer worries about spilling acid.

With lead-acid batteries, you pretty much get what you pay for and are willing to carry. For a 12-volt AGP battery, I figure very roughly 1lb per AH (AH=one amp of current for one hour). Your Cpap probably needs about 10 AH for an 8 hour night, without the humidifier. With the humidifier, it might approach the 45 AH the Resmed person quoted you, although that seems high.

Lithium Ion batteries are a lot lighter, but, for any reasonably large size, they are still very expensive.

[Guest]

Well, I went ahead and bought the GoalZero battery, 2 solar panels (to get 5-hrs in sun recharge of the battery), the LED lantern (came with the road show special). So, I have the battery which powers CPAP at a pressure of 12 for 15 hrs or so when fully charged without the humidifier. I marked marked my calndar to check on it's charge every few months. This has actually proven to be a great relief, worth the $, and I am so grateful the battery, 1 solar panel, and lantern were at the road show special price of $249. I now have backup power if we lose it...an a way to recharge the battery, the only hitch would be no sun but I can't remember 2 days in a row with no sun during winter when it's more likely we'd lose power. I also bought a small panel that will recharge my smartphone...think it'll do a laptop too, will have to check on that tho.

It is a sealed AGM battery, sorta shaped like an elongated egg with a large handle making it easy to carry, esp for those unused to carrying any weight (it's heavy, sorta like carrying several gals of water in one hand). Pretty small too.

Randy thanks again for the link to Dane's video on this.

Thanks to the rest of you who suggested a deep-cycle marine battery, cheaper yes, but I investigated this optoin when I was first considering backup power and my ignorance of things electrical makes it likely I'd do something dumb in the dark, without power, trying to set it up next to my bed and those things are really heavy and might leak or I'd fall over it when I woke up.

[Muse-Inc]

(edited the above post)Well, I went ahead and bought the GoalZero battery, 2 solar panels (to get 5-hrs in sun battery recharge), the LED lantern (came with the road show special), and a smaller solar power panel for charging smaller items. So, I have the battery which powers CPAP at a pressure of 12 for 15 hrs or so when fully charged without the humidifier. I marked my calendar to check on it's charge every few months. This has actually proven to be a great relief, worth the $, and I am so grateful the battery, 1 solar panel, and lantern were at the road show special price of $249. I now have backup power if we lose it...and a way to recharge the battery. The only hitch would be no sun but I can't remember 2 days in a row with no sun during winter when it's more likely we'd lose power. I also bought a small panel that will recharge my smartphone...think it'll do a laptop too, will have to check on that tho. This means when we in the office work from home, I'll have power to handle my work tasks.

It is a sealed AGM battery, sorta shaped like an elongated egg with a large handle making it easy to carry, esp for those unused to carrying any weight (it's heavy, sorta like carrying several gals of water in one hand). Pretty small too.

Randy thanks again for the link to Dane's video on this.

Thanks to the rest of you who suggested a deep-cycle marine battery, cheaper yes, but I investigated this optoin when I was first considering backup power and my ignorance of things electrical makes it likely I'd do something dumb in the dark, without power, trying to set it up next to my bed and those things are really heavy and might leak or I'd fall over it when I woke up.[/quote]

[archangle]

Archangle I am clueless about electricity! I read about how I have to recharge in a well ventilated area, it's lead, it's heavy, challenging to connect, etc. Altogether too scary sounding.

Unless you put it inside something like a tightly sealed Tupperware container, there's no need to worry about ventilation with a lead acid battery for CPAP use. Unless you've got something like a whole house solar power system or industrial power backup system, you simply can't dump enough electricity into a "normal" size lead acid battery to accumulate a significant amount of hydrogen unless it's a sealed container. I wouldn't take the caps off the battery and check the water level with a match, though.

[Muse-Inc]

... wouldn't take the caps off the battery and check the water level with a match, though.