Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

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davelikesbeer
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Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by davelikesbeer » Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:02 am

I plan to go camping for the first time with my CPAP, so I made a trip to batteriesplus. I bought a deep cycle 35 amp hour battery, the 1.25 amp Battery Tender Plus, a power port (cigarette lighter style) connector, and a battery box. I also bought the Respironics 12v adapter. Basically, this is the setup recommended by JohnBFisher. Feb 10 2010 subject: Battery Backup Design, although I stopped short of the inverter.

Although it was a whopping $30 more expensive, I chose the 1.25 tender because I didn't like how the 0.75 Battery Tender Junior's transformer (cube) plugs directly into the wall. There was a cheaper/faster 6 amp charger, but it had a fan and if I decided to make this rig into a UPS by adding an inverter, I wouldn't want that.

Last night I tested the rig at home with my PR System One Remstar Auto. My prescription is 16-19, 90% is typically around 17, and I used the humidifier set on 2 and it lasted at least 9 hours. So I'm sure this set up will last two nights of camping with the humidifier in passover mode (set to 0).

The workers at Batteries Plus seemed knowledgeable on the subject. I wasn't the first person to go in there buying parts to take a CPAP camping.

I hope this data point helps someone decide how much power they need.

Dave.
Last edited by davelikesbeer on Sun Jul 03, 2011 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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pollyanna40
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by pollyanna40 » Sun Jul 03, 2011 12:38 pm

Hi i had a nightmare when i went Pointins holiday resort,there was no plug socket in bedroom,i got well upset and they had to borrow an extenion lead of the workmen down the road!! i mean why dont they have plug sockets in the bedroom? most people use hairdryers and alarms on holiday!! did my head in..lol..Enjoy your Camping trip x x

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GumbyCT
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by GumbyCT » Sun Jul 03, 2011 1:11 pm

Dave care to share how much you spent for the setup?

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davelikesbeer
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by davelikesbeer » Sun Jul 03, 2011 1:40 pm

GumbyCT wrote:Dave care to share how much you spent for the setup?
Respironics cable: 24.95 (cpap.com)
35 Amp Hour Deep Cycle Battery: $89.99
Battery Tender Plus: $59.99 (as mentioned in the post, I could have gotten one for $29.99)
Female quick disconnect Cigarette DC Power Cable: $8.99
Battery Box , size U1: $12.99

Sub-total: $196.91

Add sales tax and shipping as applies to your location.

I got 10% off these prices at Batteries Plus simply by asking. The reason I asked was a nearby branch (that had reduced hours) had a coupon for 10% off anything in stock. My final total was something like $167.53 at Batteries Plus plus $24.95 at cpap.com (no shipping on orders > $100) for a grand total of $192.48.

One final note. I bought this in a brick & mortar store because I needed it this weekend. I probably would have searched online for everything other than the battery.

Dave.
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GumbyCT
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by GumbyCT » Sun Jul 03, 2011 3:14 pm

davelikesbeer wrote:
GumbyCT wrote:Dave care to share how much you spent for the setup?
Respironics cable: 24.95 (cpap.com)
35 Amp Hour Deep Cycle Battery: $89.99
Battery Tender Plus: $59.99 (as mentioned in the post, I could have gotten one for $29.99)
Female quick disconnect Cigarette DC Power Cable: $8.99
Battery Box , size U1: $12.99

Sub-total: $196.91

Add sales tax and shipping as applies to your location.

I got 10% off these prices at Batteries Plus simply by asking. The reason I asked was a nearby branch (that had reduced hours) had a coupon for 10% off anything in stock. My final total was something like $167.53 at Batteries Plus plus $24.95 at cpap.com (no shipping on orders > $100) for a grand total of $192.48.

One final note. I bought this in a brick & mortar store because I needed it this weekend. I probably would have searched online for everything other than the battery.

Dave.
Not a bad deal. Plus you can increase the size of your battery should you want/need to.

Good Job.

_________________
Humidifier: HC150 Heated Humidifier With Hose, 2 Chambers and Stand
Additional Comments: New users can't remember they can't remember YET!
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
;)
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!

davelikesbeer
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by davelikesbeer » Sun Jul 03, 2011 7:53 pm

Using the 1.25 amp tender, it took 9.5 hours to recharge the 35 ahr battery from the single night's use. If the math works out as one would expect, that would mean it used 11.875 amp hours over 9 hours of sleep, so 1.25 amps per hour. This means, I should be able to get two nights of sleep without the battery going below 20% charge while using the humidifier (three if I let the battery go dead).
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archangle
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by archangle » Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:56 pm

davelikesbeer wrote:Using the 1.25 amp tender, it took 9.5 hours to recharge the 35 ahr battery from the single night's use. If the math works out as one would expect, that would mean it used 11.875 amp hours over 9 hours of sleep, so 1.25 amps per hour. This means, I should be able to get two nights of sleep without the battery going below 20% charge while using the humidifier (three if I let the battery go dead).
It would be 1.25 amps, not "amps per hour."

The info is useful, but I wouldn't put much faith in that amp number. The charger probably doesn't put out a precise 1.25 amps. It may well supply more current when the battery "wants" it. Also as the battery is nearly charged, the current may go down as well.

That's not a knock against the charger, it's the way a charger should work. It's designed to charge the battery well, not measure current usage.

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Last edited by archangle on Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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DC-AC

Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by DC-AC » Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:42 am

These dc-ac converters that plug into the cars cig lighter, will they have enuff output to run a pr one

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The Texan
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by The Texan » Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:34 am

Do NOT discharge a deep cycle below 50% or it will be toast very quickly. Also, if you decide to increase the battery size, Sam's Club has 220AH deep cycle for under $100.

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archangle
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by archangle » Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:07 pm

The Texan wrote:Do NOT discharge a deep cycle below 50% or it will be toast very quickly. Also, if you decide to increase the battery size, Sam's Club has 220AH deep cycle for under $100.
Be careful about those batteries. I saw some like that, but they were 6 V batteries. You'd need two of them. They may have some 12V 220Ah batteries, but what I saw were 6V.

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Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Also SleepyHead, PRS1 Auto, Respironics Auto M series, Legacy Auto, and Legacy Plus
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davelikesbeer
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by davelikesbeer » Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:29 pm

Crap... I should have read the manual for the Respironics Shielded DC Cord more carefully.
The DC cord is shipped with a 3 amp fuse already installed. This is used for many devices including the M Series device without humidifier.
I believe I blew the installed 3 amp fuse within one minute of use while camping. I suspect a warmer bedroom reduced the power consumption of the humidifier thus allowing me to use the 3 amp fuse at home without it blowing.

Anyhow, for the future, I will have to use the REMStar Auto machine with a 3 amp fuse without the humidifier (or in passover mode, I suspect), or put in a 5 amp fuse.

Is it safe to use 5 amp fuse? The AC transformer claims 12VDC 5 A output, so a 7 amp fuse would be too much.
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physicsbob
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by physicsbob » Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:16 pm

The Amp Tender charger runs in three different modes. The first is a constant voltage, putting out as much current that the battery will take up to the max of the charger. The current will reduce as the battery becomes charged. Second mode, top off mode, is constant current, with the voltage being raised to keep current constant at about one amp up to about eighteen volts. The last mode is float mode , where it turns on and off a trickle charge as the battery needs it. So you can't use the current rating and time to calculate battery charge..

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The Texan
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by The Texan » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:48 am

Mine runs on the 7A fuse full time. I threw away the 3A & 5A and use just the 7A. My Series M and my PRS1, one in the RV and one in the house, run on DC all the time.
davelikesbeer wrote:Crap... I should have read the manual for the Respironics Shielded DC Cord more carefully.
The DC cord is shipped with a 3 amp fuse already installed. This is used for many devices including the M Series device without humidifier.
I believe I blew the installed 3 amp fuse within one minute of use while camping. I suspect a warmer bedroom reduced the power consumption of the humidifier thus allowing me to use the 3 amp fuse at home without it blowing.

Anyhow, for the future, I will have to use the REMStar Auto machine with a 3 amp fuse without the humidifier (or in passover mode, I suspect), or put in a 5 amp fuse.

Is it safe to use 5 amp fuse? The AC transformer claims 12VDC 5 A output, so a 7 amp fuse would be too much.

_________________
Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: CPAP Rx pressure=7.0, APAP set at 8.0 to 12.0; AFlex setting=1; Humidifier setting=1
Bob & Betsy - USN Ret'd '78 & FL LEO Ret'd '03 & "Oath Keeper forever"
'05 HR Endeavor 40PRQ, 400 Cummins, our home.
69 years old and back working in the oil patch, to survive retirement, in the current economy.

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GumbyCT
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by GumbyCT » Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:14 am

fwiw - my dysfunctional DC cord, made from Radio Shack parts came with a 5A 250V fuse fuse which I have not had a problem with. It could be the humidity at home was a bit higher and/or the HH was not called on to heat on initial power up.

Note to Self: add spare 5A & 7A fuses to packing list.

_________________
Humidifier: HC150 Heated Humidifier With Hose, 2 Chambers and Stand
Additional Comments: New users can't remember they can't remember YET!
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
;)
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!

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archangle
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Re: Camping battery for PR System One RemStar Auto

Post by archangle » Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:44 pm

GumbyCT wrote:Note to Self: add spare 5A & 7A fuses to packing list.
The fuses in the Respironics DC cable package are a little strange looking, and they say something to the effect of "only use Respironics fuses." I'm guessing they're slow blow fuses or some such.

_________________
Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Also SleepyHead, PRS1 Auto, Respironics Auto M series, Legacy Auto, and Legacy Plus
Please enter your equipment in your profile so we can help you.
Click here for information on the most common alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check for yourself.

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