Connecting a CPAP machine to a battery?

[mileena]

I have been prescribed a CPAP machine for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. How do I run this while traveling if I don't have a generator or battery?

I am thinking of buying a portable jump starter like this:



I already have a 400 Watt inverter which I can connect to it and which I read is sufficient to power the CPAP machine and humidifier from what I have read. Or can I just use my car battery? Otherwise, I need a battery that is portable since I bring it inside to charge, like at a gym or library.

Also, how do you connect the jumper cable clamps of a portable battery with jumper cables of an inverter like below? It is hard to get a good connection.



Thanks for any help!

[mileena]

PaulJ2 wrote:
I have a Phillips Respironics unit myself. My TT has a 12 volt socket and i just plug into that with the optional 12 volt cord i received with the unit.
You might check into that option.

Is this the one?

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/ion-lithium-battery-cell-cpap.com-battery-pack.html

EDIT: Uh oh...it says the product is no longer available.

[mileena]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Respironics operate on 12vdc and can run directly from a battery with the correct cord. Check your specific model for clarification by looking at the label on the unit.

Are you looking to use this in an RV? Most all RVs already have a 12vdc system you can simply plug into.

FWIW, Resmed units operate on 24vdc and have a converter cord to plug into 12vdc.

The respironics cord is around $25 and the Resmed cord is around $80.

Thanks beemerphile1! No, I am not plugging into an RV, for now. When I travel, I stay in my van. But I do not want to plug into my outlet (used to be called cigarette lighters in the olden days) and drain my car battery. I do want to buy a Class B or truck camper though soon.

[Tiger4x4RV]

Research the charging time on whatever power source you choose. You'd be amazed at how long some of them take to charge!

[kerrlakeRoo]

DW and I both use machines, mine is a CPAP without the humidifier, (appears to use about 4 amps per hr) and hers is a BIPAP with the humidifier (uses as much as 7 amps per hr) Both are Phillips units capable of running straight from 12 volts.

If you wear the mask 8 hrs the energy consumed can be as high as 50 amps per night. for a single machine. So how big is you house battery? can it carry that usage without totally depleting the battery?

[mileena]

beemerphile1 wrote:

mileena wrote:
...It is a Philips Respironics DreamStation. I will go to their site and buy a battery....

If you truly need a separate battery, do not buy the CPAP $400 battery pack. Any AGM battery for $100 will do just as well if not better.

Thanks! I googled them, and they are regular car batteries. I need something you can carry with you to charge at my gym or wherever.

[Tiger4x4RV]

CPAP.com shows a shielded DC (12V) cord for the Dream Station available for $29.95. https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-dreamstation-shielded-dc-cord.html

I have an older Respironics System One machine and have used the CPAP.com DC cord for it for years in the RV with no trouble. It uses a cigarette lighter type plug and the regular 12V wiring.

Read the manual on your jump starter carefully. Some of them cannot handle the sustained load of running a CPAP. Here is a link from the Stanley website for the unit shown in your photo. I'm a librarian, good at looking things up, and not an electrician, so I'll leave it to you or your electrical pro to interpret what this manual says about the sort of load your Dream Station will create.

You may need the humidifier. Humidity here in SoCal has often been in the single digits lately and my respiratory system has really appreciated having that humidifier.

[PaulJ2]

I have a Phillips Respironics unit myself. My TT has a 12 volt socket and i just plug into that with the optional 12 volt cord i received with the unit.
You might check into that option.

[SidecarFlip]

I actually run mine on a Li-Ion battery pack when hunting. You cannot run the humidifier, pulls too much juice but I can run my machine for 3 8 hour nights on 2 Li-Ion packs which Cpap.com has on their site.

I use a passive humidifier I made from a plastic quart juice bottle. Works fine.

[beemerphile1]

mileena wrote:
...It is a Philips Respironics DreamStation. I will go to their site and buy a battery....

If you truly need a separate battery, do not buy the CPAP $400 battery pack. Any AGM battery for $100 will do just as well if not better.

[beemerphile1]

Respironics operate on 12vdc and can run directly from a battery with the correct cord. Check your specific model for clarification by looking at the label on the unit.

Are you looking to use this in an RV? Most all RVs already have a 12vdc system you can simply plug into.

FWIW, Resmed units operate on 24vdc and have a converter cord to plug into 12vdc.

The respironics cord is around $25 and the Resmed cord is around $80.

[mileena]

gkainz wrote:
First, please edit your photo sizes - my 2 monitors just about display your pics! 🙂

Done!

gkainz wrote:

Second, That's the least efficient way to connect your CPAP to a battery. To go from DC to AC and back to DC again - (assuming your CPAP, like nearly all I've had or are familiar with - has the AC to DC brick in the power supply cord, and run off of 12VDC) induces a lot of loss.

CPAP supply companies have portable batteries available specifically for their matching machines, and of course, you pay 2-10x premium for the "name brand" matching.

My most recent CPAP (ResMed) runs off of 24VDC so I'll end up buying the 12 to 24V DC step up transformer and run off a jump start battery pack.

My prior CPAP all used 12VDC, so I made a 12V adapter to plug into a jump start battery pack similar to what you show, but mine had the cigarette lighter socket built into it.

So, a little research on your specific CPAP to see what the input voltage requirements are and you "should" be good without the converter.

Good luck!

Thanks! Yes mine has that battery "brick". It is a Philips Respironics DreamStation. I will go to their site and buy a battery. I've read that they only last 4 hours or so, without the humidifier. We'll see.

[gkainz]

First, please edit your photo sizes - my 2 monitors just about display your pics! 🙂

Second, That's the least efficient way to connect your CPAP to a battery. To go from DC to AC and back to DC again - (assuming your CPAP, like nearly all I've had or are familiar with - has the AC to DC brick in the power supply cord, and run off of 12VDC) induces a lot of loss.

CPAP supply companies have portable batteries available specifically for their matching machines, and of course, you pay 2-10x premium for the "name brand" matching.

My most recent CPAP (ResMed) runs off of 24VDC so I'll end up buying the 12 to 24V DC step up transformer and run off a jump start battery pack.

My prior CPAP all used 12VDC, so I made a 12V adapter to plug into a jump start battery pack similar to what you show, but mine had the cigarette lighter socket built into it.

So, a little research on your specific CPAP to see what the input voltage requirements are and you "should" be good without the converter.

Good luck!

[lmpres]

Might want to do some more research on that. I had this same discussion with my Sleep Apnea Dr. a couple months ago. He told me you have to be very careful with the equipment because they are very touchy. Surges can do a lot of damage to your machine.