What do you do when the power shuts off?

[FL andy]

I wonder what the group uses to be notified of power failure when you are asleep? Or are you not concerned?

I have a Respironics BiPap machine that has an alarm when the mask is off, BUT, even IF it works for a power failure, the alarm is soooo very quiet that it does not wake me up - so far.

If one wears a full face mask when the power goes off, isn't he or she in danger at that point? Especially during a prolonged apnea period?

Living in Florida, we experience a whole lot of electrical storms during the summer.

[Liam1965]

It depends on the mask. The ResMed Ultra Mirage has this film thing in the junction between mask and hose. When the power is off, it folds back, and suddenly you have a huge open area that you can breathe through.

Power goes on, and then the film closes the hole and provides you with positive pressure.

Also, not being able to breathe will wake most people up. I don't worry about my swift, for example, because I get stuffed up so often that my brain is used to just opening my mouth. The moment I can't get sufficient air through it, I'll just start mouth breathing, as if I were congested.

Trust me, there are enough stories on here of people waking up when the pressure on their auto was too low, or finding themselves having taken off their masks mid-sleep, I don't think there's a high chance of suffocation, and as I said, I know at least the Ultra Mirage has a great safety system in place.

Liam, used to not breathing well in the night. As, I guess, are we all.

[chrisp]

Andy,
I can run my PB420E from a battery. When I hear thunder I just reach over and connect to the battery. No problems . You could also operate directly from a battery with a charger connected to it. The charger will switch on when the battery is low . Keep your humidifier pluged into the house outlet.

Cheers,

Chris

[Mikesus]

That is the only problem that I see with the Remstar Auto. There is no way to run the humidifier seperately (as far as I can tell) As the control for it is run thru the power cord. (not much of a problem really tho)


Then again, from what I have read, there isn't a unit that you can power by battery with the humidifer. And inverters are a BIG no no. (for the humidifiers)

[-SWS]

Indeed, you can power that humidifier separately, Mike! Just get an identical power cord that the main CPAP/AutoPAP unit uses, and power the humidifier separately with that. The two co-units will still work perfectly in tandem because the control signals are optically coupled (re: small round optical windows that match up on both halves).

[Mikesus]

Indeed, you can power that humidifier separately, Mike! Just get an identical power cord that the main CPAP/AutoPAP unit uses, and power the humidifier separately with that. The two co-units will still work perfectly in tandem because the control signals are optically coupled (re: small round optical windows that match up on both halves).

Learn something new every day! Thanks SWS!! So, if I built up a battery backed supply, I would not worry at all other than heated humidity...

[chrisp]

Here, Here.
I've ran my Resmed Spirit for days using an inverter. Even used it with the humidifier. It can be done. Its just a bit more expensive. I use a AIMS pure sine wave inverter. 300 Watts . $115. Well the price went up a bit.

http://www.invertersrus.com/inv300ps.html

Cheers,

Chris

[Mikesus]

True sine wave should work fine. The pricing has really dropped, good catch Chris!

The problem is that most inverters are not True Sine Wave. Because of that it tends to mess with a lot of devices... So don't use that $40 special from the local WalMart...

[Janelle]

Has anyone thought or heard about using a computer type backup battery system? Would the energy requirements be about the same? Just thinking inside my hyperactive brain since for the third night in a row I can't get to sleep.

[Liam1965]

Has anyone thought or heard about using a computer type backup battery system?

I've wondered about this. The problem with a UPS is that they're designed to deliver high power for a relatively short period of time. You want something that can keep your computer running long enough for you to save everything you were working on and shut down properly, and that requires enough energy to keep your computer & monitor (at a minimum) running for perhaps 10-20 minutes.

I honestly don't know what the power draw of a CPAP machine or humidifier is, nor how much longer a UPS battery would last under a lower power draw.

Oh, and most of the cheaper UPSs have a really annoying alarm that goes off, as long as the power is off and ANY power is being called for. So it might keep the CPAP machine going, but the alarm would be annoying enough (IMO) that I at least wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. (Now, there are models without alarms, or with ones you can turn off, but it's something to keep in mind if you decide to shop for one and try it out.)

Liam.
(No more cute closings. Too many objections.)

[Mikesus]

Another factor is that most computer UPS are not true sine wave. Best not to try.

[WillSucceed]

I talked with the Respironics people about inverter use and was told by them that both the RemStar and the integrated humidifier can tolerate an inverter with a modified sine wave. So, when I go to my in-laws place up north (electricity there is iffy at best) I use an inverter attached to a battery. No problems.

I did talk to both ResMed and PB about this. The Spirit is OK with a modified sine wave inverter but the integrated humidifer is NOT. Go figure?

The PB person was unclear about using an inverter so I have not tried it with my 420E.

[Mikesus]

Good info! When we go out with our motorhome I might not need to run the genset! (tho we usually do cuz of the A/C)

[Hugh Jass]

I have one of these suckers:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/ ... earch=true

Any opinions on safety ? Could this fry my unit ?

Thanks for any help.

Regards

[Guest]

I have a Respironics Remstar Plus and Remstar Auto both with C-Flex. In the event of a power outage I bought an automobile jump start battery (with a cigarette lighter outlet) at Sam's Club for $45 and a Respironics Shielded DC Power Cord (with cigarette lighter plug) for about $25.

The Remstars CPAPs (without humidifier) are rated at 3 amps max on DC power (see data plate on bottom of Remstar) and the battery in the jump start has a capacity of 19 ampere -hours. So it ought to power the Remstar (without humidifier) for at least 6 hours (19 AH divided by 3 A).

With the abover mentioned power cord plugged directly into the REMstar CPAP unit and a 12 Volt battery of sufficient capacity you are good to go. To run the Remstar CPAP itself you don't need to mess around with an inverter and its attendant inefficiencys and problems.

I am glad I read this thread because I realized that the REMstar humidifier needs power too. It does not have a 12 volt input only a AC input so it does require an inverter. So I will buy the inverter as discussed in previous posts on this thread (the Remstar humidifier manual page 8 says 300 watts minimium). I will also get a second jump start battery just to run the humidifier. If one is using a larger automobile battery of sufficient capacity it can probably be used to run both the Remstar CPAP and humidifier. I would still suggest using the inverter only on the humidifier and the CPAP powered as above. Remember the lower the setting (heat) the humidifier is run at the longer the battery will last.

I would suggest recharging the battery(s) after each nights use.

Hope this helps. I am not a doctor (and not a great engineer either)although I should have listened to my mom and gone to med school rather than engineering school- I would be a lot richer.