Powering an Oxygen Concentrator

[redetorok]

Hey everyone:) I have a Caire Companion Eco Oxygen concentrator that I use mostly at night when I am sleeping. It has a 350 watt maximum rating. Although I have a 4000 watt generator onboard I don't want to run it for prolonged periods of time so I am looking for some input on how much solar power would be needed to run the concentrator and perhaps even a toaster or some other small low wattage appliances. But am mostly curious about the concentrator. There is a 100 watt solar panel mounted on top of my Class C but I am sure that it won't be enough to do what I want it to do. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

!. How many additional panels will I need?
2. What wattage should they be?
3. What size of an inverter should I use?
4. What would be the best controller to use with the system?

[CA_Traveler]

A portable pulse concentrator may not be appropiate for sleeping.

[Dutch_12078]

If your insurance is paying for you concentrator, ask your provider about switching to a portable battery operated model like one of the Inogen One models. The G3 for example, only draws 10 amps using the 12-volt power cord and with their rechargeable double battery runs 10 hours on a charge.

[wanderingaimles]

On the other qx,
Inverter? you would want at least one rated for 400 watts continuous, 600 watts would be better. And it should be a pure sine wave inverter.
Not recommending any of these, just examples, inverters

On the controller, you may find it easiest to get a kit from a company such as Renogy which would have the controller included.
If you are going to have a total of 400 watts get at least a 40 amp controller to allow an extra panel or two in the future if needed, without having to change the controller.
Examples, solar kits

[time2roll]

Best to get matched batteries when adding capacity.

[Lwiddis]

Red, from your posts it is very clear you know little about RV electricity. Close to nothing. Start by reading at least two tutorials. All free on the Internet.

[CA_Traveler]

FYI DWs Respironics Phillips Everflo 350W rated draws 300W or 2.5A AC so about 28A DC.

[CA_Traveler]

jdc1 wrote:
A toaster? That's a lot of wattage. Anything with heating elements eats up power....FAST.

But only on for a few minutes.

[wanderingaimles]

A second pair of 6 volt would be preferable in almost all cases to adding 12 volt batteries, especially if they are not true deep cycle.
Do you have access to a Kill-O-watt type meter? It would be helpful to know how much the unit actually draws, not what the power supply is rated for.
After getting the meter, track REAL power usage for a day, and then make your decisions on what to buy.
But additional batteries and more solar (maybe 300 watts more) certainly wont hurt,
The Solar then could slow charge all day with you only needing to run the genny occasionally when you need a boost.
Edit add,,,,,
Saw CA Traveler post after I posted, and I am mirroring his. The one thing that could reduce your power need somewhat is your comment about (Mostly use at night)
Your genny charges fast to bring batteries up to 75 or 80% but getting the last 20% is slow, and thats where the solar really shines. Chances are you can run the genny in the mornings for an hour to make coffee and recharge, and then let the solar finish during the remainder of the day. The meter will help you figure this out.

[CA_Traveler]

Get a Kill A Watt and measure the actual power usage and then use the following.

350W/120V is 3A AC draw which is about 33A DC with an inverter, enough for you to pause perhaps. 33A*8h is 264Ah and you'll need 528Ah for a 50% discharge. Two 6V GCs at 230Ah in series is 12V @ 230Ah. 4x GCs is 460Ah, barely enough for 8 hours of Ox. Add 2x GCs for the house.

You need 6x GCs and likely 500W or more of solar.

Adjust the above for hours of sleep etc. But I'm sure you know that that Ox machine uses significant power just because of how warm it gets. You can go with $$$ lithium’s which might also trigger new charger and inverter but can be drawn down to 20% hence smaller total Ah but you still have to replenish the 80%. You can run the gen daytime for some amount of charging. Another option is a $$$ portable Ox machine which use a lot less power and will run on 12V, not sure how they will hold up for continual night time usage.

The bottom line is Ox machines use a lot of power.

[jdc1]

A toaster? That's a lot of wattage. Anything with heating elements eats up power....FAST.

[redetorok]

Your response is appreciated 🙂 As far as batteries are concerned, would it be best to get like 2 12 volt or would an additional 2 6 volt deep cycles work? I have 2 6 volt golf cart batteries for house power now.

[time2roll]

If the O2 is anywhere close to 350 watts continuous you are really looking at 500+ watts solar and more battery. May still need to run the generator some to do some bulk charging.

So 4 or more matched 100 watt panels.
400 watt sine wave is fine for the O2. Need to verify the rating of that toaster etc.
I like Morningstar controllers. 45 amp should do it.

[Lwiddis]

Determine the battery power needed. The panel watts necessary are determined total battery amp hours and your location. Solar panels don’t run anything and toasters are not small users. 350 watts is a bunch.