uninterrupted battery backup system

[stevenal]

I bought a battery off Ebay years ago to power my System One. To my surprise, I found I could not use the battery continuously without draining it. A nighttime power failure would leave me searching for a flashlight and sorting cables before attempting (unsuccessfully) to return to sleep.

Due to an unacceptably long recall, I now own an AirSense 10. My 11V battery is apparently too low a voltage to get the convertor started in the Remed DC cord, so now I'm thinking of a battery system for the new CPAP. I've read the postings advocating a roll your own approach, but would really rather get something off the shelf. So far, the Freedom V2 is the only one that seems to fill the bill. Are there others that can be used without interruption, and without going to an AC computer style UPS? Anyone have experience with the V2 or other systems they can share?

Ideally the Airsence would quietly hum away through an outage, and if I noticed the ceiling fan had quit I would reach over to turn off the humidifier and go back to sleep. I have other solutions for camping, so that's not a consideration. Thanks.

[loggerhead12]

The Freedom V2 is 99.9 watt hours according to their specs. That will get you one night for $280.

I know you want an all-in-one solution, but if you do decide to piece one together you'll get 5x the run time (or more - my power requirements are high) for half the price. "Roll your own" is a bit of a strong term. All of the components are plug-n-play with standard SAE connectors. Plug the battery, the charger, and the Resmed converter into the splitter and you're up and running. If you leave the charger connected you will get the automatic fail-over UPS-like experience you're looking for without the annoying beeping.

[Dog Slobber]

Are there others that can be used without interruption, and without going to an AC computer style UPS?

Just wanted to jump here to comment on consumer based computer UPSs.

There seems to be a fairly common held belief (not necessarily by you) that UPSs provide a good battery backup for CPAP. And no, they are one of the poorest solutions.

Typically:

• They can only be used through an AC inverter, and don't provide a DC solution, so this means up to about 40% loss of efficiency.
• For the price, they often have considerably less Amp Hours
• They are expensive
• They often have a beeping indicator, to indicate the battery is in use

I bought a PowerBox that is doing the job well for me, and I'm guessing not much more expensive than a DYI solution would be that included:

• Battery tender
• DC Adapter
• 33 AH battery
• capacity indicator
• Box
• + more

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/moto ... p.html#srp

I also have the ResMed DC-DC converter.

I have one occasion where I needed to use it. My condo had a planned power outage and it worked great (with Humidity).

[loggerhead12]

Those are great packaged solutions. I have a similar one that I keep in the car. It's only about $100 more than my home-made setup and it's all in one package.

Do you use the DC out into the CPAP converter or just plug into one of the AC outlets? The AC would be convenient but, as you mentioned, you'd get less out a charge because of the inefficiency, and a lot of electronics won't like the modified sine wave.

Can you leave it plugged into power and your CPAP full time so it go from charging to running without waking you up?

[stevenal]

It likely will have a wall wart style charger that won't have enough amperage to power a CPAP and humidifier. This means when you attempt to use it in continuous mode you will draw from the battery, causing it to cycle nightly and not last long. The wall wart is also likely to be designed to be disconnected once the battery is charged, and not float it gently like the Battery Tender you pictured in the other thread. Another battery killer.

[SleepGeek]

I bought a PowerBox that is doing the job well for me, and I'm guessing not much more expensive than a DYI solution would be that included:

Battery tender
DC Adapter
33 AH battery
capacity indicator
Box
+ more

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/moto ... p.html#srp

I also have the ResMed DC-DC converter.

I have one occasion where I needed to use it. My condo had a planned power outage and it worked great (with Humidity).

While I do like the package and the concept is similar to what I've been using - the reviews for this on Amazon are quite disturbing.
https://www.amazon.com/MOTOMASTER-ELIMI ... geNumber=1

[stevenal]

Perhaps I can nudge this away from jump starters, and back to the original subject of this thread.
I did manage to find this comparison:
https://batterypowersolutions.net/bps/w ... N-2020.pdf

Four of five can work continuously, two of the remaining four work with the AirSense, and one of those has both a higher run time and the ability to double up for double the run time. Not exactly an unbiased source, so if members have additional insight please share.

I meant no disrespect by "roll your own." If members have achieved their goal by piecing parts together, more power (pun intended ) to you. I'm looking to use tax free money through an FSA. Automotive equipment would certainly not qualify, but a CPAP battery should.

[stevenal]

The Freedom V2 dual battery system arrived yesterday. The batteries charged quickly and it was ready for use. Pulled the wall plug to test, and the Remed never skipped a beat. The only negative so far: The same as my old Ebay battery, all connections are in the front by the displays. Rear connections would have a much cleaner look.

[Tony415]

You can buy this 54Ah Dakota lithium deep cycle Lifepo4 battery to use the KFD Car Charger DC Adapter for Resmed S10.
https://dakotalithium.com/product/dakot ... hoQAvD_BwE
I used this set up like this for going camping and I can use the AirSense-10 with water tub. With that battery it could last you 3-4 days no problem.
At home you can put a timer to charge the battery every other 2 days with correct lithium battery charger. charging time for 10A charger around 5-6 hours is good enough.
https://dakotalithium.com/product/dakot ... y-charger/
Then you will never worry about power outage. One time I forgot to charge the battery and it about half capacity. I could use it only one night plus some other charging and camping lights. The battery I used was a regular car battery. Just some idea to make a back up system works better than UPS system. But this set up is not good for air plane traveling.

[SleepGeek]

Pulled the wall plug to test, and the Remed never skipped a beat.

That's the way it should be.
Shouldn't have to get out of bed to go looking for a battery and cables.
When the lites go out thats the best time to sleep.

How much did it cost for that setup? Does it come with a charger?

[stevenal]

560 pre-tax dollars on my FSA card for the dual system.
It uses the Resmed brick, so no separate charger. Resmed brick to battery 1, jumpered to battery 2, connected to AirSense.

[chunkyfrog]

Those FSA bucks must be spent by the end of the coverage period--or they are forfeit.
When I had a Flex account, I bought glasses, hearing aids, and cpap stuff.
I even purchased a pulse-ox and a Zeo.
One year, I actually left a few cents in the account for the bean counters to fight over.

[stevenal]

Second test was performed last night, disconnected from AC all night long. With my low pressure and humidity settings, I drew one battery to about 50% and the other to 90. I should be able to last several days when the public safety power shutoffs begin to arrive in my area. No more further tests, since I don't wish to cycle the batteries unnecessarily.
After writing the above, I neglected to reconnect the AC for about five hours. The 50% battery went to 17% with the CPAP off. No cell service where I live, so I'll be using airplane mode to try and stop the phantom load battery drain.

[SleepGeek]

I drew one battery to about 50% and the other to 90. I should be able to last several days

If it were me, I would want to know how many days I could expect before that day came. I thought that was the whole idea about lithium batteries?

[loggerhead12]

Second test was performed last night, disconnected from AC all night long. With my low pressure and humidity settings, I drew one battery to about 50% and the other to 90. I should be able to last several days when the public safety power shutoffs begin to arrive in my area. No more further tests, since I don't wish to cycle the batteries unnecessarily.
After writing the above, I neglected to reconnect the AC for about five hours. The 50% battery went to 17% with the CPAP off. No cell service where I live, so I'll be using airplane mode to try and stop the phantom load battery drain.

Practice for a real event. Disconnect the CPAP power brick from the battery when you're not using it, then hook it back up to sleep. That'll stop the drain completely. See how many days you can get when stuff gets real.