One thing that has came as a real downer for me is that with apnea it meens I can't go camping anymore without having AC power available.
No canoe overnighters, I tried going without the machine one night and I ended up being such a mess that I went home early in the morning
Are there alternatives that work?
I know that you can use a generator or the UPS battery power supply box thing to run the machine but I really don't want to drag that kinda stuff around after a bad keg portage experience.
Camping and Power outages
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wading thru the muck!
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:42 am
Hello Clownshow,
No worries, You can use your remstar directly from a 12 Volt battery by itself. Just take your power cord to radioshack and match the connector .it will cost $7 ea. Or buy it aat cpap.com for 24.95 for each type. You should get the style adaptor to go to your lighter in your car and 1 to connect to a battery with clips.. For power in a tent use a car jump starter with accessoiy outlet plug the lighter style plug into the accessory outlet. It should last a few nights running cpap only. you can thenplug the jump starter into the lighter outlet for a few hrs to recharge it. The ignition should be on. Google K&K Jump-n-start $123 delivered. Comes with a $40 replacement coupon if you kill it for any reason. Even drive over it ! . They are the best. Walmart sells some for $40-$80. I dont know the quality of them . There are also a few solar owered jump starters out there. Also plain portable power supplys. http://www.costco.com item #742839 (Xantrex 852-1900) $89.99 by mail order.
You may need an inverter to run your humidifier , Im not sure with the Remstar.
PM me if I have you totally confused.
Cheers,
Chris
No worries, You can use your remstar directly from a 12 Volt battery by itself. Just take your power cord to radioshack and match the connector .it will cost $7 ea. Or buy it aat cpap.com for 24.95 for each type. You should get the style adaptor to go to your lighter in your car and 1 to connect to a battery with clips.. For power in a tent use a car jump starter with accessoiy outlet plug the lighter style plug into the accessory outlet. It should last a few nights running cpap only. you can thenplug the jump starter into the lighter outlet for a few hrs to recharge it. The ignition should be on. Google K&K Jump-n-start $123 delivered. Comes with a $40 replacement coupon if you kill it for any reason. Even drive over it ! . They are the best. Walmart sells some for $40-$80. I dont know the quality of them . There are also a few solar owered jump starters out there. Also plain portable power supplys. http://www.costco.com item #742839 (Xantrex 852-1900) $89.99 by mail order.
You may need an inverter to run your humidifier , Im not sure with the Remstar.
PM me if I have you totally confused.
Cheers,
Chris
I just found this as well
http://www.healthyresources.com/sleep/m ... wer02.html
http://www.healthyresources.com/sleep/m ... wer02.html
Battery Operation of CPAP Devices for Sleep Apnea Treatment, Part 2: A battery backup system for use with CPAP treatment
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UKnowWhatInSeattle
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:20 pm
- Location: Seattle, Merica, Earth...
Clownshow,
I use a Xantrex Powerpack 400 for camping. It's only about 20 pounds and I can get 3 nights out of it with my Remstar. I happened to get mine at GI Joe's and I know they carry them at Sears for about $90US. Of course, you can't use the humidifier, but I still have it in-line so I get pass-over humidity and it cuts the noise coming through the hose considerably.
The Powerpack a sealed 20 amp-hour battery system, although the feet burned rings into my hardwood floor finish (warning...).
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/61/p/1/pt/5/product.asp
I use the Respironics "car lighter" type adapter which is also fused...
According to something I read on the Respironics web site, you shouldn't be able to get 3 nights out of a 20 amp-hour battery, but I can. I'm at a pressure of 8, so the machine won't draw as much as yours at 16 (cm of H2O). I also have a 60lb sealed lead acid 92amp-hour battery that isn't going to get much use...
I know an oldtimer CPAP guy (15 years...) who has just taken in stride the idea that his camping days are over. I beg to differ!!
Best of luck to you, man. [/url]
I use a Xantrex Powerpack 400 for camping. It's only about 20 pounds and I can get 3 nights out of it with my Remstar. I happened to get mine at GI Joe's and I know they carry them at Sears for about $90US. Of course, you can't use the humidifier, but I still have it in-line so I get pass-over humidity and it cuts the noise coming through the hose considerably.
The Powerpack a sealed 20 amp-hour battery system, although the feet burned rings into my hardwood floor finish (warning...).
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/61/p/1/pt/5/product.asp
I use the Respironics "car lighter" type adapter which is also fused...
According to something I read on the Respironics web site, you shouldn't be able to get 3 nights out of a 20 amp-hour battery, but I can. I'm at a pressure of 8, so the machine won't draw as much as yours at 16 (cm of H2O). I also have a 60lb sealed lead acid 92amp-hour battery that isn't going to get much use...
I know an oldtimer CPAP guy (15 years...) who has just taken in stride the idea that his camping days are over. I beg to differ!!
Best of luck to you, man. [/url]
Clownshow,
The day I got my CPAP I swung by radio shack and got an adapter, then Sears for a deep cycle marine battery and headed out of town for a camping trip. I learned how to assemble machine, hose and mask (and battery) sitting in a tent! Anyway, the deep cycle battery will run my CPAP (PB 420G at 16 pressure) for a week. I have since picked up a "JumpStart" battery starter, which will run my CPAP for a couple of days, when I'm just going camping for the weekend. One suggestion for camping - take a good plastic container (rubbermaid or similar) to pack machine, battery etc in if it should rain. Tents are NEVER as waterproof as they are advertised to be.
Debbie
Oh, and I don't use a heated humidifier camping. It uses a LOT of power. I have a cheap passover that I've used a couple of times when it's been really dry, but I don't usually need a humidifier.
The day I got my CPAP I swung by radio shack and got an adapter, then Sears for a deep cycle marine battery and headed out of town for a camping trip. I learned how to assemble machine, hose and mask (and battery) sitting in a tent! Anyway, the deep cycle battery will run my CPAP (PB 420G at 16 pressure) for a week. I have since picked up a "JumpStart" battery starter, which will run my CPAP for a couple of days, when I'm just going camping for the weekend. One suggestion for camping - take a good plastic container (rubbermaid or similar) to pack machine, battery etc in if it should rain. Tents are NEVER as waterproof as they are advertised to be.
Debbie
Oh, and I don't use a heated humidifier camping. It uses a LOT of power. I have a cheap passover that I've used a couple of times when it's been really dry, but I don't usually need a humidifier.
Running a CPAP and HUMIDIFIER ON A BATTERY
Check and see if your machine has a 12V plug. Then, go to Radio shack with the machine and they will help you get the right plug. The marine battery, as previously mentioned, is the best option. A cheap 700 watt inverter will also run a humidifier as well. My humidifier only draws 3 amps, but since I never turn it all the way up, even at home, it's much less. I've been able to run both the CPAP (@16) and the humidifier for 4 days on the deep cycle battery. (CPAP on 12V and humidifier on the 110 inverter.) It'll probably do a couple more. I wouldn't recommend using a car battery for more than one night without recharging it. I've gone camping several times, and never had a problem with this type of a set-up. Just make sure that if it's less than 55-60 degrees, that you either have a heated humidifier or some other way to warm the air from the CPAP. Otherwise, the air is so cold it's uncomfortable. Any questions, feel free to E-mail or PM if you wish.
Peter
Peter
Camping with cpap
I also use a deep cycle marine battery when I go camping, I"ve never used the batery for more than three nights, but I still had plenty of juice left in the battery at the end of the weekend. Also, if you buy an adaptor from Radio Shack, also get the female end of a 12 volt power cord and solder alligator clips to them and just plug the cpap into it, and connect the clips to the battery. Just make sure you get the polarity right.
[/quote]Hahaha
Yeah Clownshow,
It was lots of fun. If you think figuring out all that stuff sitting tamely in your living or bed room is difficult, try doing it in a tent, with a flashlight, while it's pouring down rain and COLD outside, and all you want to do is hop in the sleeping bag to get warm. AND you've got to keep all that equipment and paperwork dry while you're trying to assemble it and learn how to use it!(This was BEFORE I learned the rubbermaid trick.)
Camping with CPAP is MUCH easier after you know how to use the CPAP machine. But it was my "trial by fire". After that, I figured CPAP could never again be as bad.
Debbie
Yeah Clownshow,
It was lots of fun. If you think figuring out all that stuff sitting tamely in your living or bed room is difficult, try doing it in a tent, with a flashlight, while it's pouring down rain and COLD outside, and all you want to do is hop in the sleeping bag to get warm. AND you've got to keep all that equipment and paperwork dry while you're trying to assemble it and learn how to use it!(This was BEFORE I learned the rubbermaid trick.)
Camping with CPAP is MUCH easier after you know how to use the CPAP machine. But it was my "trial by fire". After that, I figured CPAP could never again be as bad.
Debbie
I went camping just before I got diagnosed and I used one of the silver emergency blankets underneath my sleeping bag between me and some padding
I used to toss and turn alot back then
I had spun around so much during the night that I had rubbed all of the silver off the plastic by the morning
It was a great trip though. 3 days in a group of 15 in canoes in Algonquin Park in March. nobody knew each other & It snowed the first night. I loved it but a few didn't have a good time
I used to toss and turn alot back then
I had spun around so much during the night that I had rubbed all of the silver off the plastic by the morning
It was a great trip though. 3 days in a group of 15 in canoes in Algonquin Park in March. nobody knew each other & It snowed the first night. I loved it but a few didn't have a good time
Warmth
Hi,
I haven't had any experience doing the battery-operated method, but I've camped out a few times in a tent, plugged in to 110vac at a campground. I didn't have enough power to run the heater...but I kept the humidifier connected for pass-over humidity...and tucked all the hose into my sleeping bag with me to warm the air before it got to my nose. It was really cold and uncomfortable until I did that...then it was plenty warm!
george
I haven't had any experience doing the battery-operated method, but I've camped out a few times in a tent, plugged in to 110vac at a campground. I didn't have enough power to run the heater...but I kept the humidifier connected for pass-over humidity...and tucked all the hose into my sleeping bag with me to warm the air before it got to my nose. It was really cold and uncomfortable until I did that...then it was plenty warm!
george