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POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Adoniscmj - 09-05-2015
Hi everyone, just recently we had a storm here in WA state and many thousands of homes were with out power. This made me think what am I supposed to do at night or if the power goes out when my mask is on. I would probably wake up as it would be difficult to breathe through the mask without the machine on. So I figured a way to power my ResMed Air Sense 10 Auto Set through the night in case of power outage. I have my CPAP connected to my battery backup for my computer and it works flawlessly. I was wondering what others have done in this case to prepare for the power going out during a storm. Maybe also use this post as a friendly reminder that we are going into fall now and the weather can be unpredictable, don't find yourself in the same pickle I was just in.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Ghost1958 - 09-05-2015
Have pr system one machines that can run off standard modified sine wave current.
Will be picking up a small gas generator before bad weather sets in.
One night of backup wont cut it out here.
If we lose power its usually for days not overnight.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Adoniscmj - 09-05-2015
(09-05-2015, 08:49 PM)Ghost1958 Wrote: Have pr system one machines that can run off standard modified sine wave current.
Will be picking up a small gas generator before bad weather sets in.
One night of backup wont cut it out here.
If we lose power its usually for days not overnight.
Some places the power goes out for a while like on the islands in Wa state but most of the residences there have back up generators. My power here rarely goes out so at the most one or two nights and the battery will take care of it. Mainly I put this out to remind people that we are getting into that time of year where these things can happen so be prepared.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Sleepster - 09-06-2015
Just remember to turn off the humidifier when using the battery back up. It uses, by far, more energy than the CPAP machine itself.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Sleepster - 09-06-2015
(09-05-2015, 08:49 PM)Ghost1958 Wrote: Have pr system one machines that can run off standard modified sine wave current.
They also run natively on 12 volts DC, so you could use your car battery if you have the right pair of cables on hand. One cable plugs into your machine and has a cigarette lighter socket on the other end. The other cable has a female cigarette lighter socket on one end and a pair of alligator clips on the other for connecting directly to a battery. These cables have fuse and surge protection.
ResMed machines require a special converter do accomplish the same task as they run on 24 volts DC.
My back up machine is a PRS1 BiPAP.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Adoniscmj - 09-06-2015
(09-06-2015, 12:19 AM)Sleepster Wrote:(09-05-2015, 08:49 PM)Ghost1958 Wrote: Have pr system one machines that can run off standard modified sine wave current.
They also run natively on 12 volts DC, so you could use your car battery if you have the right pair of cables on hand. One cable plugs into your machine and has a cigarette lighter socket on the other end. The other cable has a female cigarette lighter socket on one end and a pair of alligator clips on the other for connecting directly to a battery. These cables have fuse and surge protection.
ResMed machines require a special converter do accomplish the same task as they run on 24 volts DC.
My back up machine is a PRS1 BiPAP.
That is why I run mine into a power inverter that is connected to a car battery. My APC for my computer runs my CPAP for a long time as I don't ever use the humidifier. I hate warm moist air, so I am good there. My purpose of this thread is just to remind folks that we are coming into the time of year that we can have some nasty storms that cause power failure and they should have a backup plan in place for their CPAP machine. Battery or generator it doesn't really matter just make sure it works and know how long they can run it that way.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Mosquitobait - 09-06-2015
For us it's mostly a non-issue. Power outs almost never happen and when they do, they are fixed within a half hour. We have our own power company for the county rather than a huge system. They have a list of houses of medically fragile people and those are the first homes, after the mains are back, that get service. That said, my brother is able to sleep sitting up, so that's all he would do for a power out. I could sleep in a recliner, although I've never successfully slept in a recliner. That is something to experiment though - does a recliner eliminate or substantially decrease your apnea events? If not, then you really need that backup, particularly if your apnea is severe.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - GeoffD - 09-07-2015
(09-05-2015, 07:33 PM)Adoniscmj Wrote: So I figured a way to power my ResMed Air Sense 10 Auto Set through the night in case of power outage. I have my CPAP connected to my battery backup for my computer and it works flawlessly.
I'd wager your computer UPS wouldn't come close to running your A10 for a night, particularly if you need to use the humidifier.
I bought a ResMed 12v to 24v DC-DC converter and a 35 amp-hour AGM deep cycle battery. Feed "Resmed 37297" into Google. There is a link to Supplier #26 for $84.00 with free shipping on a holiday sale. Supplier #3 has it for a similar price but free shipping is for orders over $100. You can find a 35 amp-hour battery on Amazon for about $65.00 with free shipping. I bought a "Battery Tender Junior" that you can find at Walmart or Amazon for sub-$25.00. I have a "real" battery charger but the battery tender is small so I keep it in my bedroom with the battery and top the battery up every couple of months.
With the humidifier and heated hose turned off, I can get three nights out of it on the boat. In the winter with the heat running, I don't see how I could get away with no humidifier.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - OMyMyOHellYes - 09-07-2015
(09-07-2015, 12:21 AM)GeoffD Wrote: In the winter with the heat running, I don't see how I could get away with no humidifier.
Can you run it with the humidifier full but no heat? Passive humidification. The way it is sized, though, there is very little surface area with the S-10. If you couldn't do it with the ResMed S-10 (I can't help it if ResMed can't figure out how to name their machines properly), then check out Respironics #1006087 which is a non-heated humidification system that has a HUGE surface area.
OMMOHY
PS - Oh, whoever mentioned using an inverter, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad juju. Easy? Yes. Horrendously bad power loss? Yes.
RE: POWER FAILURE BACKUP FOR CPAP USERS - Adoniscmj - 09-07-2015
That is what I am saying my ups does in fact power it through the night with out the humidifier. I never use the humidifier as I hate humid air. I have a large UPS that has no problem with powering a cpap. I already tested it. I also have a large Group 31 battery and a 1200 watt inverter that also is used for backup purposes. I put this thread out to remind folks that we should have a way to power the cpap through the night just in case.