[Equipment] Battery backup

[OMyMyOHellYes]

The PWRgate does a couple of things: It automatically switches between the live power supply and the battery as needed. It also serves as a battery charger. I have not used one, so I would need to ask some questions before saying it will do what a Delray Battery Tender would do. Given that the radios these pieces of equipment power sometimes cost as much as a car, I think they are probably on the better end of the spectrum though.

I like making PowerPole cables myself. However, there are pre-made cables that would certainly do the job without investing in wire and crimpers, and strippers and the PowerPole parts themselves.

For this application you would need at least two cables: two cables with ring terminals on the ends for attaching the power supply and the battery to the PWRgate (either manufactured or home made); then either you could chop off the cigar lighter plug from the Resmed power supply and replace it with PowerPole plug, or just get the premade PowerPole to cigar (female) cable and plug in ResMed's DC converter to that. If you have another system that uses 12V DC, you could just go from the PWRgate direct into the back of the machine either making your won cable or using the female cigar cable and the manufacturer's DC car cable.

If you want, PM me and I can send links to each of those components.

OMMOHY

[OMyMyOHellYes]

OK - here's a schematic picture of the setup. Note that the cigar plug has a fuse in it that you could size for the current draw on the xPAP.

I read the specs on the charger. It appears to have the same type charging and maintenance programs as the Battery Tender. For the most part I respect the stuff that West Mountain puts out (I use their RigRunner distribution for my radio shack) and I would have no qualms using this setup if I was in an area subject to frequent outages (I can deal with having to get up and set up a battery solution once a year, which is about what we average here.)

[Shastzi]

This looks like exactly what I have been looking for!
Thank you OhMyMy!!

[PaulaO2]

LOL I have some of these components now! West Mountain was on my list of places to check out today, to see if I could find something to handle the draw of the APAP. I'm broke for a week so it is a good time to go their site. I never ever go there with money in my account!

It is rare for us to lose power in the summer like we have so far. Five times since June, each lasting anywhere from just an hour to up to seven so far. Friends of ours lost theirs for 16hrs this last time. So it is making us twitchy as we prepare for winter. That's when we lose it for days at a time.

[DariaVader]

I'm just not a do-it-yourself guy when it comes to electricity, and especially when it comes to important medical equipment. I hope one of our vendors, someday, will offer a plug and play battery/tender kit as has been discussed. I thin 100 Ah would be great, and I'd consider 200 Ah. Solar charging is not make or break for me as our house is quite shady. Being able to charge from a portable back-up generator without perfect regulation would be great. Unfortunately, I am, so far, a market of one.

Dave

make that market of 2

[GeoffD]

I have seen something in the radio world and I would think about doing something like this if ever I was in a situation where short term power failures were common:

1. Get a 13.8V (12V) power supply to hook to household 110 AC outlet
2. Get a Super PWRgate from West Mountain Radio
3. Get a battery (35, 55, 75, 100, heck even 200 AH if that's what your fancy runs towards.)
4. Resmed users only - get the Resmed DC power supply.

Given the price of 35 amp-hour AGM batteries (about $65 bucks with free shipping), it would be cheaper to just run those in parallel. They only weigh 25 pounds so they're really easy to move around.

I have very reliable AC power so I don't have a problem pulling the battery and DC-DC converter out of the closet if I need them.

[foss]

Battery Tender sells the pre-wired ring cables for about $5 on the large online bookstore. Battery Tender also has a 5 amp model to charge higher capacity batteries. The 1.25 amp model barely keeps up with charging after an all nighter with everything running. The 5 amp model doesn't cost a lot more than the 1.25 amp model.

The Battery Tender does the same as PWRgate. It will charge while power is available, your machine can operate while the Battery Tender is connected and only discharging the battery when the power goes off. The Battery Tender picks right back up when the power returns.

The Battery Tender or the PWRgate, pretty much the same just choose the one that is most economical.

I will point out that I have been using Battery Tenders for at least 10 years on motorcycles and ham radios. I have never had a problem with them. The batteries ultimately die of old age.

Jeff

PS.I am still curious about the ResMed or Medistrom backup batteries. They "look" the same. One of these days I may splurge and buy the much less expensive Medistrom version and give it a try. I keep hoping someone, somewhere will post a review online.

Jeff

[parkerdt]

After the other threads on these, you should no longer be curious about the Medistrom. I did the math for you, HERE in that thread, and the laws of physics are, so far as we know, immutable.

The C-100 was reviewed by DariaVader, with similar results. HERE

The ResMed Power Station is an 8 Amp-hour battery. It also seems to only function as a backup, not as a UPS. So you can do the math for 8 amp hours.

Dave

[parkerdt]

So while hopefully staring down an expected power outage tonight, I got really interested in this subject again.

What about this:

ResMed DC Power Brick plugs into:
MinnKota power center #1820175. Seems to have a cigar lighter socket included in the case containing:
Some Group 24 or Group 27 AGM SLA battery - 50-100 Amp hours. VMAXTANKS MR86-50 50ah AGM Hi Performance Battery (other suggestions ?) maintained by:
Deltran Battery Tender Plus- 12v, 5 amps - has ring terminals to connect to the MinnKota box.

Opinions, please!

Thanks,
Dave

[parkerdt]

Actually, looks like the Battery Tender could sit on top of the box, and there is a slot to run cables inside to connect directly to the battery.