Need help with... CPAP without electricity

[mrsharkbait]

Hi all;

New member here and new to sleep apnea as well.

I'm going to be fitted with a machine and mask very soon, and there are undoubtedly great machines out there. However; my requirements are very strict.

I often travel by sea kayak as a guide. Often for 7-8 days at a time, without ANY electricity, and a need to keep the machine's weight under 2#.
I would then need to be able to recharge batteries via a solar collector.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might solve this predicament.

Doc, says going without isn't an option as I have a cardiac issue that's interelated.

Thanks in advance;

mr sharkbait.

[robysue]

There are some possible solutions for you---particularly if you can tolerate CPAP without a humidifier. (Some people can, some people can't.)

One of the smallest, most travel friendly machines out there is the Z1 Travel CPAP Machine made by Human Design Medical. The blower unit weighs only 10 oz. There is an optional battery pack that works directly with the machine and is super compact as well. The battery and its surrounding powershell weighs a bit over 1 pound. But the battery is only a one night battery. And I've been unable to quickly find any information about whether that battery can be charged via a solar collector.

Another possibility is the Transcend Travel CPAP Machine. Until the Z1 came along, the Transcend was the smallest CPAP on the market. The blower unit for the Transcend weighs just under a pound, and battery for it weighs about 1.5 pounds. But the battery is advertised as a multi-night battery that should allow most people to get 2 or 3 nights out of one charge and is also a Transcend Portable Solar Charger that can be purchased to charge the battery. The Solar Charger weighs about 1 pound. (Whether the battery would charge on other solar collectors is not something I can determine.) So if you can tolerate straight CPAP without any humidification, the Transcend + its battery + its solar charger would get you everything you need for extended periods of time without any electricity. The total weight would be about 3.5 pounds for the machine, the battery, and the solar charger. You also need to factor in the fact that even the lightest hose and mask weigh a bit, so the total weight is going to be closer to 4 pounds than 3.5.

You can find out more information about both of these systems at many of the vendors on the supplier list. Supplier #1 has both machines in stock for example.

[trish6hundred]

Hi mrsharkbait,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
What robysue said.!
Hang in there for more suggestions and best of luck to you with your CPAP tharapy

[justMongo]

For 7-8 days, you will certainly need to recharge.
You should be able to charge off a solar array -- you will need to workout some basic engineering details.
You will need a charger to regulate the charge... and the array voltage should match the input requirements of the charger.
Then working backward from the power consumption rate of you CPAP to the Amp-Hour capacity of the battery; then figuring the power output of the array in Watts required to charge during the expected daylight hours. A fudge factor for efficiency of the circuity needs to be factored in.

Solar array charging may not work at high +/- latitudes during winter months for a given hemisphere.

[mrsharkbait]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I became aware of the Transcend unit later today, though my physician believes it's not suitable for extended use at home. Also, says it's a cash only option. I was certainly hoping to get at least some of my insurance coverage for this.

I'd contacted Transcend to ask about solar charging; and they have no idea if it's possible, though if their battery is chargeable I wouldn't see why solar would be a problem unless the battery needs more power than the available travel solar collectors can provide.

The Z1 unit sure would seem to fit the bill though at this point I have no idea if I need humidification or not. Again; cost could be an issue. My supplier locally doesn't deal with them, and I will need the device very, VERY soon as I have outings booked, so mail order is probably out.

Thanks for the input. Hopefully some solution will materialize quickly.

[Peter_C]

My OSA was found due to the heart damage it created. I would never tell you to do other than what you Doc tells you to do. If someone HAD to go without their NEEDED xPAP for a week at a time (as in, no choices available, period) - there are a few things you can do that may help, and won't hurt - some you may or may not already know:

Do NOT sleep on your back-PERIOD~! Do the tennis ball trick if you must - sew a tennis ball to the back of a T-shirt, so it will hurt if you roll on your back while sleeping.
Do not eat anything within 3hrs of going to sleep.
Think about getting a recording Oximeter with an alarm - set it to wake you if your O2 drops below 75. (5v recharge-able via USB, solar yes - "CMS50F")
Learn to sleep sitting up.

Others may have other suggestions to add. Personally, using a '14watt solar array', I've had poor luck getting much of a charge, even sitting still for 8hrs of daylight. I wish you the best!

[justMongo]

Personally, using a '14watt solar array', I've had poor luck getting much of a charge, even sitting still for 8hrs of daylight.

My S8 machine w/o the humidifier is rated to consume energy at the rate of 60 Watts. (That's 24 Volts x 2.5 Amperes.)
I could do the conversion to Joules for an 8 hour night; however, we may compare Wattage directly in this example . Hence, a 14 Watt array would need 60Watts/14Watts = approx 4 times as long to recover the energy used during sleep operation. And that assumes 100% efficiency in the charger and converter electronics. ergo, one needs at a minimum a 60 Watt Array to recover what is consumed if charging time is equal to run time. With ~75% efficiency in the charger and ~75% efficiency in the converter/inverter one really needs twice the array output. (More like a 100 Watt array.)

[Peter_C]

Thank you, am an old truck driver, and had no way to say it well. I like 'Anker' products, they make great backup batteries that I then use to recharge all my portable electronics hen I go trike-camping. (Garmin 810, Kindle, Shuffle, iPhone, 5v USB camp lights, etc), so then, instead of having lots of dead stuff, everything gets a fresh charge overnight. The 'battery' will last me for 3-5 days/nights, and will recharge in 4hrs when plugged into a wall outlet.

For grins, Anker came out with a very durable 14watt solar panel that folds nicely, but a full day in camp gives me less than a half charge on the 'battery'. Better than nothing, but not ready for prime time in my book.

[drgrimes]

Sharkbait, welcome aboard. Hmmm a kayaker (is that a word?) named "sharkbait". Well if you disappear from the forum suddenly, we will bow our heads and say a few words in your honor.

[JohnNJ]

If you can't take the machine with you, you might want to look into a hammock sleep system. They make them really well now and you could possibly adjust it so your sleeping position is more toward standing than laying flat.