WARNING to CPAP Users: PREPARE for the Unexpected - When the power goes out

[SuperSleeper]

Don't neglect to add a fuse as close to the battery as possible.

I wanted to add to archangle's warning here on making sure you have a FUSE on any 12-volt power wiring coming from battery...

The reason you need a fuse is SO YOU WON'T BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN. Seriously.

If you have no fuse (usually placed on the positive wire and close to the battery), and if there is a short of any type along the length of the 12 volt wire, your 12-volt battery will just keep pumping out power and your wiring will HEAT UP RED HOT, melt any wire insulation and could very easily heat up enough to start a FIRE.

Adding a fuse of the proper amp rating will disconnect the power immediately when there is a short. Make sure not to use a slow-blow fuse either.. you want the fuse to disconnect the power immediately, not slowly. Fuses are cheap, houses aren't.

If you're only operating a CPAP machine on the battery (and no other appliances), you should get by okay with a 10 or 20 amp fuse. CPAPs draw varying amounts of amperage, depending upon what the highest pressure is and whether or not you're using a heated humidifier. If you have a ResMed machine, you can find this out by looking at their Battery Guide. Find out what is the max amperage your machine will use and then get a fuse that is a few amps above that.

Also, use the heaviest gage of copper wire that you can afford. The thinner the wire, the more resistance to electricity and the more it heats up as current flows through the wire. Also, the heavier the wire for 12-volt systems, the more distance (of wire) you can use without significant voltage drops.

The reason you want your fuse close to the battery is so that less of the wiring is subject to heating. Ideally, it would be safest to have only an inch or two of wiring between the fuse and the battery.

Serious stuff and I'm glad Archangle added this information.!

A cheap glass fuse holder might look something like this:


That type of fuse holder uses standard glass fuses like this:

[SuperSleeper]

In complement of SuperSleeper Post,

I use that type of fuse and fuse holder and it's working fine too.

I don't know which one is cheaper but it's not necessary to pay a lot to get a good one.

The both type are good.



"Au revoir!"

Gustave

[SuperSleeper]

SS, that's why I use the inverter. It has a fuse in it. I've seen the results of bad wiring from a "simple" 12v set up.

[SuperSleeper]

I withdraw my post because it took up, by mistake, links already present on the topic.

I can see the Battery Guide but where can i find the other link sil vous plait , Merci beaucoup .

[SuperSleeper]

Hi Zonk, (Ho! Nice french words !)

The other one it's a Older Guide (March 2007) an not so different of the recent "Battery Guide" (October 2011).
That's why I removed it. But if you're interested, I am pleased that I will redisplay.

Here is the link:

http://www.resmed.com/us/documents/batte...ts-usa.pdf

"Au revoir!"

Gustave

[SuperSleeper]

Part number CP-2200-ND $3.42 each fits the M series and PRS1 machines fine. It doesn't fit well into the legacy REMstar machine. It makes connection, but tends to fall out. The uninsulated part of the barrel is a little longer on the connector that fits and on the official Respironics DC cable.

I like the CP-2200 ND connector a little better because it's a preassembled molded connector with a 6 foot 18 gauge wire. Sometimes, it's difficult to make a good, neat solder connection to those small connectors. It's also right angle with a strain relief. For my particular project, it should work out well.

Don't neglect to add a fuse as close to the battery as possible.

Parts-Express 090-492 is a 2.5 mm x 5.5 mm x 11.5 mm plug with a 6 ft cord. I measure the barrel length on the official PRS1 cable to be 10 mm, so this may be the same part as the CP-2200-ND.

If we add a fuse to this, we come close to the cable sold by Phillips Respironics for this purpose (actually it's two cables: PN1001956 and PN532209 connected together; and available as a single item for $43 from CPAP-Supply as "Battery Adapter Cable and 12V Cord"). We'd still be missing the barrel-shaped pieces integral to the connecting wire that we see on virtually all DC charging cables, like, say, the ones you see on your laptop cable. I don't know what these things are, but my guess is they're choke coils (inductors) used to subdue power surges (current spikes). Perhaps this is the official reason the manufacturer insists you use their cables?

[SuperSleeper]

the cable sold by Phillips Respironics for this purpose (actually it's two cables: PN1001956 and PN532209 connected together; and available as a single item for $43 from CPAP-Supply as "Battery Adapter Cable and 12V Cord").

I ordered and today received these cables. They're well-made and durable. It appears efforts have been made to make them water resistant.

The "Sheilded DC Cord" is used to power the PRS1 PAP machines from a cigarette lighter in your car, RV, camper, boat, etc. It's designed for the typical negative ground systems, and I have verified that the wire with the white stripes is indeed the negative. Inline are two huge cylinders that I guess are choke coils. They're heavy, have a diameter of about 1 inch and a length of about 2.5 inches. There's a glass tube type 3 amp fuse installed in the cigarette lighter socket, and six spare fuses (two each of 3 A, 5 A, and 7 A). The instructions state that the 3 A fuse is to be used with M Series devices with no humidifier, the 5 A fuse with a variety of other machines including my BiPAP Pro, and the 7 A fuse with a Synchrony system or an M Series device with humidifier.

The "DC Battery Adapter Cable" is used to connect the Sheilded DC Cord directly to the terminals of a 12-volt battery. The alligator clips appear large enough to fit onto the terminal posts of a car battery. There's a 15 amp automotive blade-type fuse about two inches from the red (+) alligator clip.

The next time we have a hurricane I'm taking the battery out of my car and hooking it up to my CPAP machine. Then it can go back in the car to be charged up for the next night. Maybe I'll buy a spare just in case, and keep it hooked up to a trickle charger.

[TheDreamer]

Currently, I have my xPAP setup on a PowerSource 400 (these are hard to find now)....while its only a 400W 'UPS', it has 40AH of battery in it. So, it can run low power loads for a long time.

I have survived two summer storms (where I went to sleep without power, and it got me through the night)....I have the humidifier on it, but I only use passive during the summer.

Since I have an Intellipap Auto now...I've been thinking of rigging up a 12V something for its DC input....

The Dreamer.

[Clay L]

My situation is unusual but I am very well prepared because of it.
My wife and I live full time in our motor home.
I have a 600 watt true sine inverter that changes 12 vdc to 120 vac. If the power goes off I turn the inverter on and can run my CPAP (or satellite receiver and TV and other stuff).

If the two house batteries get too low I can start my 5500 watt generator to recharge the batteries and run everything in the coach including the microwave.
I usually have about 70 gallons of gasoline in my coach tank and the generator can access about 3/4 of that fuel. I should only have to run the generator two to three hours a day to keep the batteries charged so I have enough fuel for quite a while.

The generator produces power as clean as the power company and will not harm any of my appliances or electronics.

[mlee001]

Hi everyone,

My first post on this new Apnea Board. I have been on a CPAP machine for well over 10 years. My back up battery for my CPAP machine is one of those portable Jumper Battery with a 12 volt cigarette port, which I connects to the my CPAP's 12 volt cable. The unit has a sealed deep cycle battery which I can take and place anywhere. It also has a handy charge indicator button which will show me how capacity of the battery. I have taken the battery with my CPAP to sleep on a houseboat for the whole weekend without any problem. It even jump started the houseboat when we were going back to dock that Sunday afternoon (lol). I don't travel with my heated humidified, but I think I should test to see if I could and for how many nights on a single charge.

I had tested a number of computer server UPS unit with my CPAP machine. Taking the battery power to an inverted really make it not last very long. Granted this UPS set up is ON all of the time, but how could I sleep if that thing BEEPS every 5 or 10 minutes to tell me the AC power is out (lol).

The portable Jumper Battery is the back up battery of choice for my CPAP unit. Hey, I even jump started my neighbor's car from time to time, and inflected flat tires with a portable pump. I always make sure I recharge the portable Jumper battery when I've finishing it. Check out this type of portable battery units if you don't have one for your CPAP machine.