Going commando

Kebo · Post by **Kebo** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:57 pm

Ok, I'm sorry to bring this up again because I know it's been discussed ad nauseum. But ... I want to take my kids tent camping and am flustered by the technical discussion of battery power (and I'm a technophile!). Is spending $$$ on a battery pack that I'll use once this year the only choice? Would it really be that bad to go without one night (therapy not underwear), sleeping on my side or whatever? What would you recommend in my situation?

Shari · Post by **Shari** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:01 pm

I don't know, but have you checked with your DME. Maybe they could rent you a battery pack for the weekend.

6PtStar · Post by **6PtStar** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:06 pm

How far from a vehicle would you be. I have used jumper cables and an extention cord to connect to the car battery and run the CPAP for 1 night and was still able to start the car the next day.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:09 pm

Try sleeping one night at home without it. See how bad you feel in the morning. Then decide.

BTW - I just saw that Costco had one of those portable power station/jumpstarter gizmos for $75. Might be worth it to check there. Heavy sucker...

Cheers,
B.

Shari · Post by **Shari** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:19 pm

6PtStar
Could you explain in detail how you do this. I am fairly mechanically minded. I can't figure out how you can go from a DC car battery to an AC machine using jumper cables and an extension cord. I would fear burning up my machine. Wouldn't you need something to "condition" the electricity.

I wanted to use a power inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter, but it doesn't get power unless the car is turned on. Hmmm.... Must be some way to connect the inverter directly to the battery...

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:51 pm

Kebo wrote:Ok, I'm sorry to bring this up again because I know it's been discussed ad nauseum. But ... I want to take my kids tent camping and am flustered by the technical discussion of battery power (and I'm a technophile!). Is spending $$$ on a battery pack that I'll use once this year the only choice? Would it really be that bad to go without one night (therapy not underwear), sleeping on my side or whatever? What would you recommend in my situation?

CAN you sleep without it? Probably....maybe. If you're relatively new to this therapy, you might be able to. It might be a broken night's sleep if the apneas tended to wake you up.
We (obviously) went for years without it. It might also depend on how severe your apnea was/is.

The "accessories" (batteries, plugs, cables, etc.) may be a little expensive for only one night......unless you plan to do more of it.

I think only you can answer this.

Den

tillymarigold · Post by **tillymarigold** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:53 pm

Shari wrote:6PtStar
Could you explain in detail how you do this. I am fairly mechanically minded. I can't figure out how you can go from a DC car battery to an AC machine using jumper cables and an extension cord. I would fear burning up my machine. Wouldn't you need something to "condition" the electricity.

I wanted to use a power inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter, but it doesn't get power unless the car is turned on. Hmmm.... Must be some way to connect the inverter directly to the battery...

Most newer CPAPs can run on DC power, you just need to get the cord for it.

In my car, one cigarette lighter is powered at all times and the other is only powered when the engine is running. So if you have more than one, I recommend trying both.

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:56 pm

Here's a link to CPAP.COM's power accessories:

https://www.cpap.com/simple-find-cpap-p ... tery-cable

Den

Metal-Fatigue · Post by **Metal-Fatigue** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:56 pm

I have a dental appliance that I use when camping. It better than nothing but not as good as your XPAP, but then it doesn't need recharging either! Mine was cheaper that some of the batteries they sell as well!

I go camping for a week each fall out in the desert of W TX. I don't know if its the fresh air and low humidity compared to Houston or the exercise, but I find I get along just fine with just the dental appliance. Sometimes when I travel and don't want to be bothered hauling the CPAP through the airport, I just take the dental appliance.

Scott

Shari · Post by **Shari** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:12 pm

tillymarigold wrote:In my car, one cigarette lighter is powered at all times and the other is only powered when the engine is running. So if you have more than one, I recommend trying both.

Good point, I'll try that. Thanks

AdmiralCougar · Post by **AdmiralCougar** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:28 pm

Kebo wrote:Ok, I'm sorry to bring this up again because I know it's been discussed ad nauseum. But ... I want to take my kids tent camping and am flustered by the technical discussion of battery power (and I'm a technophile!). Is spending $$$ on a battery pack that I'll use once this year the only choice? Would it really be that bad to go without one night (therapy not underwear), sleeping on my side or whatever? What would you recommend in my situation?

Do you ever have power outages? Having a power back up of some sort just may come in handy more than just once this year if you do...

Christy

goose · Post by **goose** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:43 pm

I'm in the process of ordering the adapters and power cords to hook up to a standard marine deep cycle battery.
I'm going to see about a gel cell (maintenance free) type of battery just because I don't want a wet battery in the bedroom. I'll use a solar panel to charge the battery (wires will run through the wall to outside).
That would work for camping, but is not a light weight solution.

Try whatever solution you come up with for a night in the back yard before you go - or try to go without for a night.
I can't imagine doing without for a night, but I also know it probably won't kill me directly if I do (I'll just feel like crap the next day or so).....

good luck with your solution!!!!

cheers
goose

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:53 pm

Kebo, what I did was to buy the 12 volt cable from cpap.com for $24. Then got a cheap set of jumper cables and took the clamps off one end and put a female power plug on that end of the jumper cables. Then got a cigarette lighter outlet and mounted a male plug on it. Hook the Jumper cables directly to the battery. With this arangement you can put whatever length extention cord you need between the two plugs. Plug in the 12 volt cord into the cigarette lighter plug and plug it into the CPAP. The cigarette Lighter outlet came from Radio Shack.

I have only used it one night but it worked OK for me.

le_wif · Post by **le_wif** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:26 pm

While the importance of continuing your treatment can't be understated, one thing nobody has mentioned is how rested everyone who is going WITH you will feel if you don't bring your CPAP! A tent is a small space, and if my husband's snoring is average for a person with OSA, it's likely that nobody who's sleeping in that tent or nearby will sleep very well either. You might be very tired and not have as much fun, but THEY might also be very tired, and we all know (or can guess) how much fun tired children are on a camping trip.

Have fun!!
Le_wif

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ColoZZZ · Post by **ColoZZZ** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:52 pm

Here's a link to a setup I've rigged up. Radio Shack has the plugs and so forth, check Gruber Power Services (http://www.gruberpower.com/gruberpower/ ... efault.asp) for cheaper battery than I listed.

viewtopic.php?t=18184&highlight=camping

The plug for into the M-Series is the "N" size, have the salesperson at RS help make sure you've got the polarity correct. Also make sure you get cig. lighter plug that's rated with at least 3 amps.

good luck,

-Andy

Going commando

Going commando

Re: Going commando

How about a Dental Appliance

Re: Going commando