[Product Review] Battery Powered!

[mjbearit]

So, I had mentioned that I was purchasing a battery for those times that the power goes out and for travel. I know some folks told me that it wasn't a good travel thing as they don't last very long, etc. Well, I want to tell everyone that there have apparently been some breakthroughs in batteries!

What: This is a generic Battery back up for all xPAP type machines, and I suppose you could use it for other things too!

Where: I purchased through Supplier #2. It is the only one he has listed on his website as of the writing of this review.

Who: The packaging has the name Targus on it, which is a name I am familiar with from the computer industry so I suspect this little jewel was re-purposed for xPAP use.

The battery is about 4 pounds. very light and fits in the palm of my hand. It is seriously about 2x3x4. It has a coiled cord coming out of the pack that ends in a "cigarette lighter" recepticle, like what is in your car. It also comes with a charger which ends in a "cigarette" lighter type thing. The first thing you have to do is charge it and the instructions said something about it could take up to 8 hours or 6 hours or something if it was completely depleted, so I just left it to charge overnight.
When you purchase this you also have to purchase the DC cord that is machine specific. The one for my machine (Respironics) was about $30, but the bad news is that the one for the ResMed folks is about $100.
On my machine the DC cord plugs into the same port as the AC cord we usually use every night, so it is very user friendly. I do not know about ResMed or other machines.
So last night I wanted to test this baby out and see what it would do. When you look at battery units for our machines they have all sorts of charts based on your pressure and machine and such, but all of these are with no humidifier. Well, I bought an auto machine so I am not going to step back in time to a fixed pressure and I have a humidifier for a reason also and I am not going to do without it. So I figured it would be the acid test for me! I decided to go to bed a bit early and watch some television (I know about sleep hygiene, but this was in the interest of a complete review!) so I went to bed early last night as I was tired anyway from working in the yard. The plan was to watch an hour and a half of television, turn it off and go to sleep. Well I woke up after an hour and a half, turned it off and went back to sleep! When I awoke this morning the machine was still going strong! Below is the data:

Machine: PR DS550 Auto
Pressure: Min-12.5 Med-12.8 95%-13.5 Max 15.1
Humidifier: x2
Start 18:54 End 04:45

Yes, the battery lasted over 9 hours and 45 minutes with the humidifier on and the machine on auto. I also had several events last night that the machine needed to respond to so it wasn't like it just kept the same pressure the whole time.

I was prepared to be awakened in the middle of the night with a dead battery, but I figured if I got 4-5 good hours, I could make this work for emergencies. I was very surprised and just a tad bit happy that it out performed my expectations! While LiON (Lithium ION) batteries will over time die on you, and need to be replaced, this particular pack sure does what it needs to in a very small space. This is also TSA approved so you can take it with you on your flight.

Great product!
Mike

[PaulaO2]

Oh, good! I was considering buying one. So you got the battery and then the cord? Cool.

Next month, that sucker is mine, too.

[mjbearit]

Oh, good! I was considering buying one. So you got the battery and then the cord? Cool.

Next month, that sucker is mine, too.

Yes, you need both. If you have any questions about the cord to get, call Mark. That little sucker for you ResMed folks is another $100, so be sure you get the right thing!

Good luck! I know you'll love the size when you see it!

Mike

[MAPnea]

Hi, Mike,

I would love to purchase this battery but I know next to nothing about battery packs. I am unable to drive because of partial sight and I do not own a car. I'd hate to have to ask my neighbors if I could use their car to charge this batters; so, my question is: Is there another way to "charge" this battery that does not involve a car with a cigarette lighter? THANKS

[pumpkln]

I have the battery for Remstar, from Supplier #1, works great, the battery lasted all night, and still had charge left.
The battery charges with the outlets in the house. You should be able to use this with low vision.
The batterey is produced by the supplier.

[me50]

Hi, Mike,

I would love to purchase this battery but I know next to nothing about battery packs. I am unable to drive because of partial sight and I do not own a car. I'd hate to have to ask my neighbors if I could use their car to charge this batters; so, my question is: Is there another way to "charge" this battery that does not involve a car with a cigarette lighter? THANKS

Most newer cars don't have a cigarette lighter in them, at least not as a normal accessory. We have plugs in our car but no cigarette lighter

As far as charging the battery, I don't know much about them either. I probably should consider getting one but we just never have been without power.

As a side note: Be sure and tell your power company that you are on CPAP and they will work the areas with outages priority in areas where medical equipment are involved.

[MAPnea]

Hi, me50,

Thanks for your suggestion about contacting my power company to let them know I'm on a CPAP. That would work if I lived in "civilization", but I don't. Our power company is a rural co-op and during high wind activity and storms, our power frequently "goes out" for a few hours (or more). Two summers ago we lost power for three days thanks to a "wild fire" at one of our substations, sixty miles away.

I thought sleeping with a battery powered CPAP might be a good solution when storms were predicted for our area. Maybe I should just invest in a generator!

[PaulaO2]

Because of the way the power grid is laid out, I doubt letting the power company know you have a CPAP is going to help any. And I doubt that a CPAP would put you on any kind of priority list anyway. In terms of medical necessity, it is not a high need. Yes, it is important in the long term but missing a night or three due to power outage won't kill the average user.

If you have issues concerning your health, have multiple disabilities, or other life-threatening issues that make you dependent on electricity, then you should be letting the local fire department know, not the power company. The fire company keeps such a list and in the event of a natural disaster, such as a bad snow or prolonged power outage or whatever, they go down the list and determine if anyone on that list is in danger. They can help move you to a shelter or help you locate a small generator.

I finally talked my mother into doing this and it has come in handy! During all the snow they've had in NJ, she gets a phone call after each storm, making sure she has what she needs. Does she need to get out for any appointments? Did she want to evacuate? If so, they would have had the city come out to plow her road. Once, after snow had been on the roads for several days, they called again to see if she needed any groceries.

[me50]

Because of the way the power grid is laid out, I doubt letting the power company know you have a CPAP is going to help any. And I doubt that a CPAP would put you on any kind of priority list anyway. In terms of medical necessity, it is not a high need. Yes, it is important in the long term but missing a night or three due to power outage won't kill the average user.

If you have issues concerning your health, have multiple disabilities, or other life-threatening issues that make you dependent on electricity, then you should be letting the local fire department know, not the power company. The fire company keeps such a list and in the event of a natural disaster, such as a bad snow or prolonged power outage or whatever, they go down the list and determine if anyone on that list is in danger. They can help move you to a shelter or help you locate a small generator.

I finally talked my mother into doing this and it has come in handy! During all the snow they've had in NJ, she gets a phone call after each storm, making sure she has what she needs. Does she need to get out for any appointments? Did she want to evacuate? If so, they would have had the city come out to plow her road. Once, after snow had been on the roads for several days, they called again to see if she needed any groceries.

I suppose it depends on where you live. For us, the power company handles all of that and they have forms for those that have medical equipment to fill out so they are aware of it and will deal with those areas accordingly. this is the info I got for my state and the way they handle this. To them, CPAP is a priority although it isn't as high a priority as someone on a vent, etc. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to check with your power company and let them advise you on what you should do and/or who you should contact. YMMV.

[mjbearit]

Hi, Mike,

I would love to purchase this battery but I know next to nothing about battery packs. I am unable to drive because of partial sight and I do not own a car. I'd hate to have to ask my neighbors if I could use their car to charge this batters; so, my question is: Is there another way to "charge" this battery that does not involve a car with a cigarette lighter? THANKS

Most newer cars don't have a cigarette lighter in them, at least not as a normal accessory. We have plugs in our car but no cigarette lighter

As far as charging the battery, I don't know much about them either. I probably should consider getting one but we just never have been without power.

As a side note: Be sure and tell your power company that you are on CPAP and they will work the areas with outages priority in areas where medical equipment are involved.

My power company knows I am on CPAP so I get a very small break called Medical Baseline Usage every month on my bill. My meter is also tagged with a medical tag so that they won't just pull the meter without checking with me first, but, at the end of the day, when the poser goes out because some car hit a transformer or something, you are going to lose power and they recommend that you have an alternative source of power to protect yourself in just such an emergency.