My Camping Battery Box

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mshilko
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 8:44 am

My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Wed May 28, 2014 2:32 pm

Project
I wanted to put together a battery box for Scout car camping for use with my Resmed S9. I camp about 10 times per year.

Goals
1. My longest camp is summer camp at 10 days, and wanted to build a box that would last with 1 or 2 charges during that period. I think with my current setup, depending on how often I use a fan, I will be able to make it the whole ten days or maybe one charge at most.
2. I wanted to be able to run a 12v fan also for summer camping.
3. I wanted to also be able to charge my phone as needed or any other USB devices I might take or buy.
4. Should last 5 years or more. I expect this too if I maintain the battery properly.

Process
1. I starting reading researching and found the commercial CPAP battery solutions to be very pricey, lacking capacity, and having no additional outlets (12v or USB)
2. I found a great post on this site about a battery box design for use at home in case of power outages. I based my design on this one, but changed and added things based on my needs. This post has tons of great information on everything from inverters, converters, battery types; etc. so I will forgo any talk on those subjects and you can refer to this awesome post.
3. Researched deep cycle batteries on opted for a good deep cycle.
4. Found out how much current my machine needed to run. For Resmed CPAP’s you can refer to this document on their site. Without the humidifier or the climate-line tubing, the S9 draws .55 amps/hour at 10 cm H2O (my highest pressure). My battery has 105 amp/hours of power, and since you should only discharge deep cycle battery about 50%, this means that there are about 50-55 usable amp/hours. Dividing the 50 amp/hours by the .55 amp draw, I would get about 91 hours of use. At 9 hours per night this would be about 10 days! Awesome.

Parts (Total Cost ~$360.90 + $33.95 for the Luggage Cart)
1. MinnKota Trolling Motor Power Center ($58.46 from Amazon) – I chose this over the one in the above mentioned post because:
  1. It already had two cigarette lighter 12-volt outlets preinstalled. (1 for my CPAP, and the other for a 12-volt fan)
  2. It had external posts for charging and/or running other 12V devices. I plan to only use these to charge the battery, but who knows what other use they may have for me.
  3. It has two circuit breakers installed for the outlets (15 amp) and the external posts (60 amp)
  4. I didn’t have to assemble the ports and outlets as they were already there. I did add the below USB outlet though.
2. Size 27 Deep Cycle US battery (~$150 with no core trade-in, would have been $10 less if I had a core, from Local Dealer) – I wanted a Trojan Battery, but the local dealer said they make these to order and the lead time was 30 days, which I didn’t want to wait. Also, the US battery was considerably cheaper than the Trojan, so that worked well for my inner cheapskate. So I think I got a very good quality product for a good price. I had to visit our local dealer to purchase this item; I could not find it online without ridiculous shipping rates as it weighs in at 59lbs. This is the largest battery that the box says its fit, but I have read that people have put a larger battery in there. This 27 fits with about ½” to spare all around with plenty of room at the top for the connection wires.

3. Poly-Planar USB-PM Panel Mount USB Charge Port - 12V ($23.21 from eBay) – I chose this so I could charge my phone or any other device that uses USB. I found this cheapest on eBay. I linked to amazon as their product pages are more stable than eBay’s.

4. ResMed DC/DC Converter for S9™ Series Machines ($84.95 from RespShoppe.com)– I bought the appropriate DC converter for my machine. I chose a converter over an inverter due to the plain fact that inverters are about 100% more efficient than a converter. This means for a given battery, I get twice as long before having to recharge than if I were using a converter. This was a no brainer for me as length of time in between charges was important to me.

5. Stanley BC1509 15 Amp Automatic Battery Charger ($44.28 from Amazon) – I needed this over the battery tender just for speed of charge. If I discharge the 105ah battery to 50% (recommended), this charger will take 50/15 hours to charge or a little over 3 hours. With the Battery Tender Junior at .75A it would take 50/.75 hours to charge. Over 66 hours to charge, which is far too long for my application. Again, it is just because I will actually be deep cycling the battery as opposed to having it hard-wired to the wall outlet all the time. Use a charger with the appropriate amperage for your situation.

6. Finally bought the Safco Steel Luggage Cart - 175 lb. capacity ($33.95) to haul the battery box and charger to and from camp and to the electrical outlets for charging while at camp. The battery alone weighs 55 pounds

7. This year at camp (2015) I added another accessory. The Onite® USB LED Light for Camping ($14.00 from Amazon) – Nice yellowish light for then tent that runs off the second USB port. Also bought the AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Extension Cable (~$6 from Amazon) as well to allow for more placement options. I really like the switch, so I don't have to unplug it to turn it off.

Assembly
The only thing I that really required any work was adding the USB ports to the box. I had to drill out the top of the box to the appropriate diameter (~1 1/2”) and wire it up to the existing connectors tucked away in the lid. To do this I did have to remove the protective cover inside the top of the battery box. This was as simple as removing two screws from the outside of the box and the two nuts and bolts holding the handle and the cover in place. I just wired the USB outlet to the same terminals as the 12-volt cigarette lighter outlets were wired to to take advantage of the built in circuit breaker.

Conclusion
I have been using the box at home in the bed room for a week or so and everything seems to function well. I have been charging my phone and using the S9 with humidifier and climate line tubing just to cycle the battery as much as possible to achieve a higher charge retention. I get at least 4 nights out of the box, and expect 2-3 times that that when not using the humidifier or climate line tubing, depending on my 12-volt fan usage during the summer. Either way, I think I have achieved all of my goals with this box. Let me know if anyone has any questions.

Update / Performance
I just got back from a 10-day Boy Scout camp and wanted to give a performance update. I used my S9 without humidifier or climateline, charged my phone nightly, and used the 12-volt camp fan for ~10 hours total, mainly to dry my shoes as it was unseasonable cool. I did not have to charge the battery at all and it was still over 50%. note: Deep cycles should not be discharged past 50% routinely. So bottom line, goals surpassed and the battery box worked great.

Picts (Click each for larger view)
Box closed up and ready for transport.
Image

Inside Box
Image

Closeup of Added USB Ports
Image

Closeup of Built in Battery Voltage Meter and Breakers
Image

Setup for Use
Image

Setup for Charging
Image
Last edited by mshilko on Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:41 am, edited 15 times in total.

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Pesser
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by Pesser » Wed May 28, 2014 3:05 pm

This is a splendid amount of work. I have booked marked this for later reading and study. Thank you very much for posting!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Wed May 28, 2014 5:24 pm

Sounds like a pretty nice setup... I'd be using a PR autoSV advanced (without humidifier) therefore I might not get the same run time due to the higher power drain of an ASV unit, however I consider this method worth checking out. Weight is not an issue for me, nor does it appear to be for you Maybe John Fisher will come along and weigh in.

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mshilko
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Thu May 29, 2014 1:47 pm

Pictures Added.

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Thu May 29, 2014 7:20 pm

Thanks for the pictures, that makes the project look impressive.

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Mask: AirFit™ F10 Full Face Mask with Headgear
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I like my ResMed AirFit F10 FFM - reasonably low leaks for my ASV therapy. I'm currently using a PR S1 AutoSV 960P Advanced. I also keep a ResMed S9 Adapt as backup. I use a heated Hibernite hose. Still rockin' with Win 7 by using GWX to stop Win 10.

mshilko
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 8:44 am

Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Sat May 31, 2014 10:05 am

Pictures fixed.

mshilko
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 8:44 am

Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:05 am

See usage update that I added to main post. Bottom line after a 10-day boy scout camp: worked great!

jscholz
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Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:34 pm

Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by jscholz » Wed Jun 25, 2014 5:26 pm

happy that it worked well for you. The set up looks nice and neat without taking up too much space.

mshilko
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 8:44 am

Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Thu May 28, 2015 11:11 am

A fellow camping dad just bought a different setup. It is expensive, but has everything one would need for an extended "car" camping experience (with electronics, fans and CPAP) all packed nicely into the box including an inverter and charger built in. All you have to do is buy the battery. It is called an ArkPak starts at $329 without battery. If I had it to do again, I would definitely consider this setup. It has a 110, 12v, and USB out as well as an Anderson plug. See the link below for details.

http://www.arkportablepower.com/collections/all
Last edited by mshilko on Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

DDD
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by DDD » Thu May 28, 2015 7:33 pm

Thank you all very much for the information! I stopped monthly camping because I had no way to power up my CPAP without electric, I never thought a battery setup would be this simple. This battery/cable setup was just way to easy not to complete. I was elated at my first camp-out with my CPAP this past long weekend. After 5 years on CPAP I feel like that barrier is gone. If you have any doubt about this I can tell you it works. Just make sure you have the proper cables for your CPAP/device (CPAP.com is where I got my cables) Went to Wal-Mart purchased a Marine Battery, Group Size 27DC and that was it, simple as can be. I added the power center box to charge my phone another great idea. A BIG THANK YOU to all!
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Dennis

mshilko
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Mon Jun 15, 2015 12:27 pm

Glad to hear you are back to monthly camping. We just got back from 10-day summer camp and I did have to charge towards the end as it was unseasonably warm and I used my fan a lot at night and during daytime naps. Did you use my setup or the Arkpak?
DDD wrote:Thank you all very much for the information! I stopped monthly camping because I had no way to power up my CPAP without electric, I never thought a battery setup would be this simple. This battery/cable setup was just way to easy not to complete. I was elated at my first camp-out with my CPAP this past long weekend. After 5 years on CPAP I feel like that barrier is gone. If you have any doubt about this I can tell you it works. Just make sure you have the proper cables for your CPAP/device (CPAP.com is where I got my cables) Went to Wal-Mart purchased a Marine Battery, Group Size 27DC and that was it, simple as can be. I added the power center box to charge my phone another great idea. A BIG THANK YOU to all!
Semper
Dennis

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bwexler
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by bwexler » Mon Jun 15, 2015 9:03 pm

I am planning a similar setup but may go with a simple battery box from Walmart for about $7. I already have a 600 watt sine wave inverter and a pair of AGM batteries and a couple digital voltage meters. So for $20~$30 dollars I can put together a 210 amp hour system almost as nice as yours. I also have the PRS 1 960 but I won't be leaving the humidifier or heated tube behind. I also have an almost new 10 amp charger that I bought circa 1970.
I may also add a battery separator solenoid if I decide to wire it into the charging circuit in the car.

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Jewel
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by Jewel » Fri Jul 03, 2015 9:21 pm

This is a great thread.

I'm going to be camping for five days later this summer and thus far, I've not been able to secure an electrical site.

Unfortunately I'm not able to purchase the items to make such a set up (or the amazing ArkPak Portable Power Source) but it's good to know this is an option if my finances ever permit it.

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jab1972
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by jab1972 » Tue Jul 07, 2015 11:32 am

Do you do anything special to store it? I don't have a basement or garage, so it will likely end up in a closet somewhere.

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mshilko
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Re: My Camping Battery Box

Post by mshilko » Tue Jul 07, 2015 12:01 pm

I leave mine in the garage when not in use attached to my charger, but storing in the house is probably better as the temperature is more constant than my garage. Make sure to follow the manufacturers charging maintenance for your specific battery. I am supposed to charge mine every two months when not in use. Mostly mine stays on the charger and get a trickle charge from the charger most of the time. The charger is smart enough to know what the battery needs, at least I assume it is. The battery itself is in the box so any leaks, if they happen, would be contained. When charging you want to make sure there is room to breath as some of the gases can be volatile I have read, so I wouldn't charge in the house or closet. Good luck.