Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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HoustonMedic08
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by HoustonMedic08 » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:07 pm

Update: I've gotten three consecutive nights (around 6 hrs a night) with the Pilot Pro and my machine at 10cm of pressure (no humidifier). For me, I've found I can go quite fine for a few nights with no humidification. Not super comfortable but not awful either. I can get two nights while simultaneously charging my phone off the battery—which for me is a pretty handy feature.

Now I need to come up with a rugged case and a solar charging setup...

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raftergirl
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by raftergirl » Fri Jun 19, 2015 6:49 am

I'm heading out for long river trip next week. 2 nights in a campground, 7 nights on the river. My plan is to bring one of my 12 V batteries for the campground, two 12V + my Li Ion battery for the river. I know I can get at least two nights, maybe three off each of those batteries. My hope (and the big test) will be to see how well my AllPowers 28W solar panel will recharge the Li Ion battery during the trip. We have planned one layover day on the trip, so unless it rains that day, I should have a full days worth of solar recharge opportunity. My hope it that the solar charger can provide enough boost to make the Li Ion battery a viable long term power source so that I can eliminate more of the heavy 12V batteries. I will report back after the trip on how it all works.

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SleepingSue
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by SleepingSue » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:50 am

Update on my use of Poweradd battery (see my previous posts in this thread)

I recently returned from a 6 week trip through Vietnam, Mongolia, Russia and Germany. I used my cpap every night, but didn't take the humidifier to keep things simpler and to carry less stuff. I missed the humidifier, but did OK without it.

I used the Poweradd battery very successfully on 3 different nights for overnight train travel when there was not a convenient power outlet (or an open one - the few outlets were always being used to charge cell phones).

We flew many different airlines and went through security in many different country's airports. The only issue with the battery was when we were leaving Beijing. They asked specifically about batteries, and shunted us off to the side because of the Poweradd. Then they took us to a desk in another room where we waited for a short time until word came from somewhere above that the battery was fine.

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kiapolo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by kiapolo » Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:13 pm

I hiked for 4 days/3 nights in Haleakala earlier this month. Planned on using the PowerAdd Pilot Pro and a Respironics M Series Auto CPAP for two of the three nights. I on the first night I attempted to use the combo, the CPAP was much louder than I was anticipating and ended up not using it that night (sorely disappointed!). The cabins at Haleakala have 12 bunks all in one big room. The final night I set up my sleeping area in a side room that we ended up calling the bridal suite. Since I only needed the battery for one night, I enabled the Auto setting and pumped my pressure setting up to 20 (I usually use a BiPap with the upper setting at around 22-24). I slept for 8 hours and had 25% battery left. It was glorious! I used a HME for a humidifier, and that work okay. I wasn't dried out like if I didn't use a humidifier, so I guess that was a success. Kind of a lot of weight to back in and out for just one night of use, but next time I'd rearrange the sleeping set up to make it work.

Anyway, here's pics of the hike: https://imgur.com/a/7i6CK

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Sonnyboy
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Sonnyboy » Wed Jul 15, 2015 9:22 am

kiapolo wrote:I hiked for 4 days/3 nights in Haleakala earlier this month. Planned on using the PowerAdd Pilot Pro and a Respironics M Series Auto CPAP for two of the three nights. I on the first night I attempted to use the combo, the CPAP was much louder than I was anticipating and ended up not using it that night (sorely disappointed!). The cabins at Haleakala have 12 bunks all in one big room. The final night I set up my sleeping area in a side room that we ended up calling the bridal suite. Since I only needed the battery for one night, I enabled the Auto setting and pumped my pressure setting up to 20 (I usually use a BiPap with the upper setting at around 22-24). I slept for 8 hours and had 25% battery left. It was glorious! I used a HME for a humidifier, and that work okay. I wasn't dried out like if I didn't use a humidifier, so I guess that was a success. Kind of a lot of weight to back in and out for just one night of use, but next time I'd rearrange the sleeping set up to make it work.

Anyway, here's pics of the hike: https://imgur.com/a/7i6CK
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.

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raftergirl
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by raftergirl » Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:56 am

Reporting back on my 7 night river rafting trip. I brought two of my 12V batteries, my Qi-Infinity Li Ion battery, and my All Powers 28 W folding solar charger. First off, the trip was great, but very hot. Like triple digits the whole time. Luckily we could spend a lot of time in the water to cool off. With all that sun, I had no problem getting an extra night's charge from the solar panel. With my pressure settings at 14-16, I generally use about 40-50% of the battery per night. I had the solar charger going for about 8 hours and got the battery back to about 60% charged for the extra night of power. You do have to keep an eye on the solar panel, and shift it as the day progresses to get optimal sun on it.

Next up in Sept. will be a 9 night river trip. I went back to Amazon to see about buying a second Qi-Infinity battery and was bummed to find that they don't carry that model anymore. I did locate the company website and they do still have it. Same price as Amazon. I'd much prefer to buy via Amazon in case I need to return a dud battery. Amazon does have a ton a Li Ion batteries in the 26000 - 32000 power category. Since I tried a PowerAdd Pilot at first and it didn't work, I'm leaning towards getting the 56000 Qi-Infinity again.

The solar charging worked well, but I was too chicken to try charging while actually on the river. Too much chance of splashes getting the set-up wet. I might try it on the fall trip. It really doesn't take much time to disconnect, fold up, and stick it back inside my dry box while floating.

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:46 pm

kiapolo wrote:I hiked for 4 days/3 nights in Haleakala earlier this month. Planned on using the PowerAdd Pilot Pro and a Respironics M Series Auto CPAP for two of the three nights. I on the first night I attempted to use the combo, the CPAP was much louder than I was anticipating and ended up not using it that night (sorely disappointed!). The cabins at Haleakala have 12 bunks all in one big room. The final night I set up my sleeping area in a side room that we ended up calling the bridal suite. Since I only needed the battery for one night, I enabled the Auto setting and pumped my pressure setting up to 20 (I usually use a BiPap with the upper setting at around 22-24). I slept for 8 hours and had 25% battery left. It was glorious! I used a HME for a humidifier, and that work okay. I wasn't dried out like if I didn't use a humidifier, so I guess that was a success. Kind of a lot of weight to back in and out for just one night of use, but next time I'd rearrange the sleeping set up to make it work.

Anyway, here's pics of the hike: https://imgur.com/a/7i6CK
Glad your battery system worked. I hiked the crater forty years ago... I'd put my pictures up but all I had in those days was a Kodak instamatic and the pics have faded. Your pictures are great tho... thanks for posting. It all makes me want to go back. Queue up Eddie Money's 'I Wanna Go Back'.

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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by chrisinaustin » Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:27 pm

So I spent the last day or two reading through this and a few other threads. Going out on a four-day camping trip in two days and wanted to figure out my best move. I ended up taking the conservative route and replacing my worn out 55 Ah AGM battery. Down the road a LI battery like this is looking like a good option, but this time around I didn't have the time to try it out in advance, and didn't want to be left high and dry and airless. That all being said, once I got the battery home and hooked it up to test, it seemed like a good time to hook up the multimeter and see exactly what my System One was drawing with the mask on and thought it might be helpful others to take a video of the results. My prescription is 11, so YMMV, but what I saw confirms what I've been reading here — either the startup spike in current or the spike when there is air leakage is what is tripping up the shutoff on the PowerAdd.

The video is here: https://youtu.be/6FvPZqLaNZ0

Leea
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Leea » Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:03 pm

I went camping this year for the first time in years. I didn't want to spend $hundreds on a battery, especially to find out it only lasted 2 nights. I did it without any additional cost.
I drive a Prius. Because it is a hybrid the engine starts as needed to keep the battery charged. So I used an inverter and a 50 foot extension cable. For the inverter I used an old dead computer UPS I was going to throw out anyway. I wired it to the car battery. I guestimate it cost me less than $1 a night in fuel.

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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by hegel » Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:16 pm

Help! I have to leave in about an hour and the Poweradd isn't working with my machine. I get a "service required" message on the cpap screen and it won't start. The battery has 81% charge; the input gizmo fits--the only one that will fit. The battery is on. This is pretty awful as I need this battery to power my machine over the next two nights. My bad for not doing this earlier. Any suggestions?

flyswatta
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by flyswatta » Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:30 pm

I've had that happen before. It's almost like the battery takes too much load at once and cuts off the power. Try unplugging it and plugging it back in. I sometimes have to do that a few times and it will eventually work.

I hope you get it working!

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JasonK94Z
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by JasonK94Z » Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:11 pm

Figured I'd jump in on this thread now. Just had my sleep study done. Of course I'll be getting a machine soon, more than likely a ResMed from what I hear.

I camp out 3 nights a couple times a year. My question is, if I buy a PowerAdd battery, I could recharge a little it every morning in my truck? Running of course. The new Ram trucks have a power inverter built in with a 120 volt outlet on the dash also. Without knowing my setting, etc. yet, I know this is hard to answer. I'm just trying to plan ahead since next month I'll be camping and riding my dual sport motorcycle in the mountains

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CapnLoki
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by CapnLoki » Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:03 pm

JasonK94Z wrote:Figured I'd jump in on this thread now. Just had my sleep study done. Of course I'll be getting a machine soon, more than likely a ResMed from what I hear.

I camp out 3 nights a couple times a year. My question is, if I buy a PowerAdd battery, I could recharge a little it every morning in my truck? Running of course. The new Ram trucks have a power inverter built in with a 120 volt outlet on the dash also. Without knowing my setting, etc. yet, I know this is hard to answer. I'm just trying to plan ahead since next month I'll be camping and riding my dual sport motorcycle in the mountains
The powerAdd (and other similar lithium based batteries) is a good choice when the weight is the key issue. However, because it has limited capacity, it will take a while to charge it. In other words, a 30 minute quick charge won't do a lot to charge up - it might take a few hours. Actually, people report about a 6 hour full charge time, and you'll use more than half the charge every night.

For this application you'd be better off with a larger capacity lead-acid battery (preferably AGM) that's a lot cheaper, albeit heavier. A U1 scooter battery has about 3 times the capacity of a PowerAdd for about 60% of the cost. At 25 pounds its luggable and it can be charged directly from the cigarette lighter. Actually, it might cover your 3 night trip without recharging,

If you get a ResMed, you'll want the 12 to 24 volt converter (about $85) so you can run directly off the battery. Otherwise, you'll need an inverter that will take almost twice the power. A Respironics xPAP runs on 12V with a simple cable, and they tend to be more efficient then ResMed, so they are a better choice if you camp a lot.

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JasonK94Z
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by JasonK94Z » Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:37 pm

CapnLoki wrote:
JasonK94Z wrote:Figured I'd jump in on this thread now. Just had my sleep study done. Of course I'll be getting a machine soon, more than likely a ResMed from what I hear.

I camp out 3 nights a couple times a year. My question is, if I buy a PowerAdd battery, I could recharge a little it every morning in my truck? Running of course. The new Ram trucks have a power inverter built in with a 120 volt outlet on the dash also. Without knowing my setting, etc. yet, I know this is hard to answer. I'm just trying to plan ahead since next month I'll be camping and riding my dual sport motorcycle in the mountains
The powerAdd (and other similar lithium based batteries) is a good choice when the weight is the key issue. However, because it has limited capacity, it will take a while to charge it. In other words, a 30 minute quick charge won't do a lot to charge up - it might take a few hours. Actually, people report about a 6 hour full charge time, and you'll use more than half the charge every night.

For this application you'd be better off with a larger capacity lead-acid battery (preferably AGM) that's a lot cheaper, albeit heavier. A U1 scooter battery has about 3 times the capacity of a PowerAdd for about 60% of the cost. At 25 pounds its luggable and it can be charged directly from the cigarette lighter. Actually, it might cover your 3 night trip without recharging,

If you get a ResMed, you'll want the 12 to 24 volt converter (about $85) so you can run directly off the battery. Otherwise, you'll need an inverter that will take almost twice the power. A Respironics xPAP runs on 12V with a simple cable, and they tend to be more efficient then ResMed, so they are a better choice if you camp a lot.
Awesome. Thanks for the reply.
So a Group U1 battery, 35 Ah should do it.
I'm not concerned about weight. It will get loaded into the back of my truck along with my other camp gear and dirtbike. I set my tent right next to the truck so I won't have to carry it far.

So many brands and price points to choose from.

Colin Worth
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Colin Worth » Wed Sep 02, 2015 6:57 pm

Hi all, first post on here. I followed the advice in this thread and got myself a Transcend Auto mini cpap and a Poweradd battery. But I have a question. The power cord that came with the Transcend Auto says that it supplies 18 volts to the cpap. I can set my Poweradd battery to 16, 19, or 20 Volts, but not 18. Recently, I had the pressure sensor go out in the Transcend Auto and had to send it in for repair. Wondering if it's a bad idea to be running it with a setting of 19V on the Poweradd. Does anyone know? Maybe the Transcend changed the specs/voltage requirement recently?

Thanks,
Colin