Recommended UPS for cpap machine?

[famewolf]

My profile lists my specific model but I figure I could just get a decent UPS and for such a small device it SHOULD handle it for at least several hours.   Does anyone have any suggestions of what to look for?   I see the occasional deal on slickdeals.net and have also looked at some APC units I'm fond of on ebay that can hotswap battery packs.

[SnoreLacks]

If you are still watching this thread, I would recommend one of the many "power banks" that you can get at places like Amazon. I would look for one having a minimum 500 watt-hour energy capacity rating. These have the advantage of operating silently, where the average UPS will not without modification (removing the alarm beeper).

You will want to find a model that can be charged at the same time it's providing power to an attached load. Those from the Jackery brand are capable of this, and theirs is one of the more well known and established companies. A true sine wave inverter is also nice to have, although the power brick for your machine doesn't care much about that. Any power bank of decent quality will have such an inverter. A model that can be charged while providing power to attached loads will take over seamlessly should the lights go out, and go back to charging its battery when the power comes back on.

Most of the larger power banks do have a cooling fan within that will cycle on periodically.

If you do want to use a UPS, I'd look at the APC Smart-UPS line, starting with the 750 VA model. These aren't cheap new, but you can find used ones all day long for pennies on the dollar (or free!) that will be in top form once again with only a new set of batteries. (If you are even minimally handy, you can rebuild the battery packs yourself using third party replacement sealed lead acid batteries.) They will also let you turn the beeper off under software control, as opposed to physically removing it. (Those with a display on the front will let you do so from a menu. The older ones that just have two buttons and indicator lights can be set not to beep from a computer, and will then remember the setting.)

You may want to take a copy of this information if you find it useful, as I've requested of the forum management that my account and posts be deleted. I don't know if that will happen or not.

[SuperSleeper]

Most off-the-shelf home UPS devices WILL NOT power your CPAP machine for several hours unless they are modified to run off a much larger-capacity battery.  Small home UPS units are designed primarily for two purposes:

1) Surge Protection

and

2) Enough backup power to give you a few minutes of backup power (usually about 20 minutes max) to safely shut down your device (ie, a personal computer or other device).

In addition, most home UPS devices have an annoying "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP..." that continuously blares out when the power goes off.  I doubt that high-pitched beeping will be conducive to a good night's sleep.  So even if you use a UPS, you'd need to find a way to turn that beeping off, or disconnect the internal speaker that makes the sound.

The need for a much higher capacity battery is especially true if you use a heated humidifier with your CPAP machine - using heat involves a much higher drain upon a battery.

Don't fall for the common misconception that a standard UPS will power your CPAP machine in the case of a power outage.  Using a deep cycle battery, or a Lithium-Ion "powerbank" (as SnoreLacks described above) is going to be the best option for you, if your goal is to continue sleeping with CPAP for the remainder of the night after a power outage.

Or, if you have the experience and knowledge, and still want to use a UPS for backup power purposes, you'd have to alter it by disabling the beeper and also removing the original battery and somehow connect a larger-capacity battery to that device.

That said, I utilize a UPS on my own CPAP machine, but I don't use it for backup power purposes - it's primarily there for surge protection.

If you do a forum search for "CPAP power" (and select "search titles only"), you'll find many, many threads on this subject with a lot more info than what's been posted here, including various options that might work for you.

[SuperSleeper]

You may want to take a copy of this information if you find it useful, as I've requested of the forum management that my account and posts be deleted. I don't know if that will happen or not.

You can read our forum policy on that, here:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...n-Requests