[Equipment] Portable generator to power S9

[o2meister]

Can you use a portable generator to power an S9? I called ResMed technical support and they told me that you could NOT. Not sure if they just wanted to sell me a battery!

[surferdude2]

I think you talked to someone who didn't know what they were talking about. There is no reason you can't use a standard emergency generator to power a CPAP unit. I am amazed that anyone would tell you differently.

[o2meister]

Kinda what I thought.....thx!!

[Galactus]

Portable generator puts out the very same electricity that the power company does. You might want to just put a surge protector in between to insure that the power supply doesn't get a surge or spike just because you have nothing better to do and they are cheap.

[trish6hundred]

Hi o2meister,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more answers to your question and best of luck to you as you continue your CPAP therapy.

[justMongo]

The RESMED power brick is forgiving of line frequency and a wide range of Voltage.
A poor sine wave or spiking -- not so forgiving.
You want a good generator; and I would still put a power condition in the line.

Caution: These generators need to be located outside away from where you are sleeping.
CO and CO2 danger.

[Terry]

Can you use a portable generator to power an S9? I called ResMed technical support and they told me that you could NOT. Not sure if they just wanted to sell me a battery!

Honda makes a very nice line of quiet generators that are good for sensitive electronics.

The EU1000i makes about as much noise as a dishwasher.

I'd avoid any of the cheap generators at places like Sam's Club. They're extremely noisy and poorly regulated.

[Ghost1958]

Im sure you can. Where I live we have went without power for up to 7 weeks a couple of winters. I know several around here that ran medical equipment, cpaps etc on generators and even gas and diesel powered arc welders.

[woozie38]

Can you use a portable generator to power an S9? I called ResMed technical support and they told me that you could NOT. Not sure if they just wanted to sell me a battery!

The short answer is NO you can't, but it depends on the generator. If your generator has permanent magnets instead of field coils, its a good chance it will produce suitable power. However most generators produce a sort of modified sine wave which is not suitable and will cause heat to build up in the power transformer of the PAP machine's power supply.The transformer will burn out. Any device equipped with a power transformer requires a pure sine wave power source. The alternative as you've been advised is to use an accumulator (battery), which is probably best anyway.

[Doc J]

Just went camping last weekend and got to use my set up for the first time. A 12 volt dc to 24 volt dc adapter ($80) hooked to my marine trolling motor battery ($100). Used a couple nights and ran my S9 without humidifier no problems. Battery is big and oversized for the job but I already owned it. Eliminates the generator and noise and fumes and all of the above. Does the generator have a dc output? You could use the dc to dc adapter and eliminate the A/C issues.