No Power.....Ugh!!

[LaurieP]

It finally happened after 2 years of being a hosehead. We lost power at 1:40 this morning and it's didn't come back on till 6:15, right when it was time to get up for work. Needless to say I have only had three hours of sleep and I'm wiped out. Time to look for a battery back up because it was a miserable night. I don't ever sleep without my machine. Any brands or places you like best to purchase from???

Thanks Laurie

[cpierc01]

I am new to sleep Apnea but I just ordered a battery backup from CPAP.com our great hosts. I actually was just told (being new I am sure) I ordered the wrong one. So, they told me to refuse the order and order the right one which they told me which one I needed for my machine. I would have chatted with them but I ordered on Sunday and they were not there.

[JohnBFisher]

Laurie, you can also make a battery backup system .. search for "Battery Backup Design V2". It's easy to make it.

[LaurieP]

Thanks for the replies....I'm going to check into making one

Laurie

[purple]

Depending on your type and severity of sleep apnea, you can try to sleep sitting up. Not on your back. but sitting up. My father, who obviously had apnea, but no one knew about such at the time, used to say that for some reason he could sleep in the car with his head on the side of a bench seat better than in his own bed.

I have a lounge chair for the next time my power goes out. For less money than a battery, for some machines, one can get a lighter plug connector for, in for the car to power the machine itself, altho maybe not the humidifier. I guess if it cold like it has been this last week in most of the country, one would not try to sleep in a car.

[JohnBFisher]

Unless it's for just a few hours, I don't recommend using your cat battery that way. A car battery is NOT designed for that type of use. Of course not using the humidifier would reduce the drain on the battery.

[Linus]

If you can, get a deep cycle battery and a battery box. Make sure that you get a power cable that is thick enough to support the start up current of the machine. Turn off your humidifier and run it in pass over mode. All of this will only work if your machine is a 12 volt powered device.

I have used this setup in a camping situation and also during week long power outages. During the long power outages I would charge the battery during the day with my generator. A car can do the same thing. Just be careful. I used a 12 volt outlet to charge the battery with an off the shelf device that is used to link two cars electrical systems through the 12 volt plugs inside of the cars.

[Kiralynx]

It finally happened after 2 years of being a hosehead. We lost power at 1:40 this morning and it's didn't come back on till 6:15, right when it was time to get up for work. Needless to say I have only had three hours of sleep and I'm wiped out. Time to look for a battery back up because it was a miserable night. I don't ever sleep without my machine. Any brands or places you like best to purchase from???

Thanks Laurie

Battery Geeks have excellent batteries, small and compact.

My solution, since I live in hurricane country, was a whole house generator.

[wm_hess]

I'm curious using this box with a Deep Cycle battery. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Tro ... r/20511018. It looks like it might make it easier to use. It alread has two cigarette lighter connections, and external clips for the trickle charger. The concern/question I have is that it fits 24 & 27 sized batteries. I was wondering if the batteries might be a little small.

This product can be found at several different online retailers.

-Bill

[CapnLoki]

I'm curious using this box with a Deep Cycle battery. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Tro ... r/20511018. It looks like it might make it easier to use. It alread has two cigarette lighter connections, and external clips for the trickle charger. The concern/question I have is that it fits 24 & 27 sized batteries. I was wondering if the batteries might be a little small.

Sizing a battery is a tough question because there are so many variables. A CPAP, without humidifier, uses between 5 and 15 Amp-Hours a night; the humidifier can more than double that, depending on the settings. Here's a guide:
http://www.resmed.com/assets/documents/ ... lo_eng.pdf
Note that using an inverter, rather than a 12V adapter, can add a lot to the load.

Most portable batteries are in the 12 Amp-hour range, so they are intended for one night, or airplane ride, etc. However, a Group 24 battery is often around 80 Amp-Hours, a group 27 is 100 Amp-hours, give or take. So either of these larger batteries will handle several nights or a maybe more, depending on the settings. Make sure you get a "Deep Cycle," not just a "marine battery" because there are marine starter batteries which won't work for this application. You can certainly get larger batteries, or add more batteries - I have a setup on my boat that' 450 Amp-hours, but that powers my life in the summer and I spend a fair amount of time and money keeping it healthy. Most people want a "set it and forget it" system that would get them through a few nights maybe once a year, with a battery cheap enough to replace every few years, and a Walmart Group 27 Deep Cycle fits the bill.

The big problem with this box is that your $50 doesn't get you the charger, possible the most important part of the system. I favor the "Battery Tender" brand - Amazon has them starting at $25, but the $50 one is probably a better value if you like to have a small charger available for other purposes. You can get a box and the power hookups with fuses for under $20, so you can build you own box with a charger, for less money than the Minn-Kota.

[JohnBFisher]

I'm curious using this box with a Deep Cycle battery. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Tro ... r/20511018. It looks like it might make it easier to use. It alread has two cigarette lighter connections, and external clips for the trickle charger. The concern/question I have is that it fits 24 & 27 sized batteries. I was wondering if the batteries might be a little small.

This product can be found at several different online retailers.

-Bill

Good find! If I had to do it again, I might choose this battery box. Perhaps my V3 of the design!

You wondered if it would fit size 24 & 27 batteries. Per the information on the page:

Fits group 24- and 27-size batteries

So, yup!

Also it seems to include the wiring for the cigarette lighter connections (power ports) and manual reset buttons as well as a battery charge state indicator.

Good find!

[Stormynights]

I would be very interested in a version 3. My poor husband is very unhandy man. If the plan could be simplified even more he might have a chance at making one.

[Linus]

I wish that i had uncovered that battery box years ago. It is awesome. I think it will fit the most deep cycle batteries.