Need help with CPAP for camper

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:
A few thoughts on CPAP in an RV:

I’m not sure what brand you have, but in my experience anyone with an RV would do well to avoid ResMed CPAP’s. There are other choices that are far more suitable for use off of the grid.

You will use far less battery power by running off of 12 VDC rather than using an inverter for 120 VAC.

If you choose to use an inverter, it may need to be a pure sine wave inverter. Check the requirements for your specific CPAP.

Yes, you probably need the heated humidifier at home. But in an RV, you are in a small space with lots of humidity. You do not need to turn on the heat when using the humidifier, even in winter. Save some battery power.

If you want to buy a different CPAP for camping, you do not need a new script. The internet CPAP vendors will accept a script that you fax or email and it does not need to be a recent date. So long as it is written for you and shows your prescribed pressure, you can buy any kind/brand of CPAP you want. If you are paying, you do not need to settle for the cheapest most bare-bones CPAP that Medicare or your insurance insists upon. My script was for a regular CPAP, which I could not tolerate due to the constant high pressure, but with my script I was able to buy an auto-titrating CPAP which is vastly more pleasant to use. (It goes to the high pressure only on the rare occasions that it senses that I need the extra pressure.)

Another thing with internet sellers: The total price you pay may be lower than the co-pay on your insurance if you were to buy from a local brick-and-mortar medical supply. In addition, some insurance companies are happy to reimburse you for purchases made on-line – it saves them money compared to the brick-and-mortar suppliers. Check with your insurer.

Wayne

Why avoid a resmed???

I've had resperonics and now have a resmed. I have absolutely NO issues with a resmed for off grid use.

I have the battery pack solutions 12V to 24V DC-DC converter, it runs my resmed just as long as my resperonics of a portable battery pack, resmed can easily turn off the humidifier if needed.

It's power draw is actually quite low and runs off a DC source quite nicely and it is much smaller than the resperonics I had.