Going camping...

[67tony]

Can I buy an inverter, hard wire it to a deep cycle RV battery, and run my machine for a few nights?

[DiverCTHunter]

This is a common question - see this thread: viewtopic/t74956/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=73 ... ry#p671485

[Dan Jacobs]

And to keep that battery happy, you might want to look at the highlighted parts of this .pdf about batteries and emergency power:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1347382/Emerge ... 0Power.pdf

[GumbyCT]

Can I buy an inverter, hard wire it to a deep cycle RV battery, and run my machine for a few nights?

You sure didn't give a lot of info, so let me ask...
Why would you want to do that? You do know that using straight DC the battery use time is much better, right?

"and run my machine" refers to what?

[67tony]

Thanks for the replies and the links.

I call the DME office and they refer me to Radio Shack.
Radio Shack says all I need is a 60 watt or bigger inverter. Hard-wired to my battery, plug it in, and you're good to go.

This sure seems a lot easier than the threads referenced above, especially for a guy (me!) who knows little about electronics. Could it be this easy? We camp every year for 7-10 days in a primitive area. I understand the need to recharge my deep cycle RV battery, and can accomplish this every 3 or 4 days (or so I hope). I also understand, of course, no humidifier.

Any thoughts?

[Dan Jacobs]

Radio Shack says all I need is a 60 watt or bigger inverter. Hard-wired to my battery, plug it in, and you're good to go.

Any thoughts?

If the inverter is hard wired to your engine starting battery, you are not so "good to go", as this battery should really only be used for one thing, starting the engine. If you have deep cycle batteries, use the inverter off of those and recharge when you can. It's not as efficient as wiring directly from the battery to the machine, but if that is what you intend to do, use the deep cycle batteries for that job.

Enjoy your trip!

[chunkyfrog]

Somebody used her golf cart batteries for back-up power.

[GumbyCT]

Somebody used her golf cart batteries for back-up power.

I am a believer in using what you "already have". That is how I started with the $25 Jump Starter.

EDIT: Don't want for what you don't have but look around at what you do have, then find a way to make it work.

[Sloop]

Thanks for the replies and the links.

Radio Shack says all I need is a 60 watt or bigger inverter. Hard-wired to my battery, plug it in, and you're good to go.

You have me totally confused. Your PR System One machine already runs off of 12VDC. All you need is a DC cable to plug into your machine. And then find a battery source that accepts a 12VDC plug.

http://www.bestcpapprice.com/Respironic ... p_456.html

[GumbyCT]

You have me totally confused. Your PR System One machine already runs off of 12VDC. All you need is a DC cable to plug into your machine. And then find a battery source that accepts a 12VDC plug.

I asked about that above. Not gonna chase him down for answers

[Dennis de NorthWet]

.................... I also understand, of course, no humidifier.
Any thoughts?

If lack of humidification is something you don't tolerate well, you can get a "pass-over" version for those camping nights. This has nothing to do with Judaism but the one I inherited is rather a flat plastic box that is about a foot square and full of baffles that creates a lot of surface area and turbulence to cause evaporation. No electricity required for a heating element. The one I've got is the REMstar model #1006087. See - <https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... igodigital>

I've not needed to use this thing yet, but the reviews on functional humidification are all positive. However, several reviewers are not happy or confident with the long term strength of the hinges and closures. Just took a good look at the older model one I have, and it has some cracking on the sides that wrap around to the bottom that must have come from some sort of abuse as I don't see how they could have come from normal usage. Guess I'll have to go shopping before I go camping too. Hopefully the newer ones are of a more robust plastic.

Regards,
Dennis

[67tony]

Not gonna chase him down for answers

Went out to dinner with friends, and just got back. Sorry I didn't respond as rapidly as you expected.

I read elsewhere that a yellow or blue-topped Optima deep cycle battery will tolerate deep discharge without harming its life expectancy. So, I can go from the little red-tipped circular plug from the back of my PR machine straight into the 12 volt deep cycle battery...eliminating the power pack the PR machine uses normally?

If it's this easy I am pretty relieved, as all I'll have to hunt up is the power cord adapter and a battery.

[67tony]

"and run my machine" refers to what?

Operating my PR System One REMStar Auto CPAP Machine with A-Flex.

[67tony]

http://www.bestcpapprice.com/Respironic ... p_456.html

Thanks for the link...looks like this is what I need.

[Dan Jacobs]

I read elsewhere that a yellow or blue-topped Optima deep cycle battery will tolerate deep discharge without harming its life expectancy. So, I can go from the little red-tipped circular plug from the back of my PR machine straight into the 12 volt deep cycle battery...eliminating the power pack the PR machine uses normally?

If it's this easy I am pretty relieved, as all I'll have to hunt up is the power cord adapter and a battery.

The power cord may be easy enough to find at Radio shack. At least you can probably get the plug and some wire there. If your machine uses 5amps of current, you'll need 40 Amp-hours or more from the battery for one night's worth of CPAP power. Optima deep cycle batteries can provide around 75 Ah. More than enough for one night, maybe enough for two.

Optima isn't the only brand out there, but they are good. I was pricing some deep cycle batteries at a local NAPA today, and they have a refillable (note: these can spill if tilted over enough) deep cycle cycle batteries for about $100 with a 75Ah rating.