Battery jumper boxes: comparing Apples to Apples......

Hey,

It appears that my trusty Everstart battery jumper box is DEAD!! (Not a big surprise, it is at least 10 years old.)

The last time I did this analysis, I kinda remember that someone, (Maybe at this website?) had done a tabulation comparing the power demands of small CPAP machines, and the power output of various jumper boxes.

Using the Puritan Bennett 620G machine, and the Everstart jumper box, I could get 2 nights of camping before the batteries needed a recharge.

I think the electrical spec for this sort of service is Amp*hours.

So, I got a bunch of questions:
1. Does anyone else use a Jumper box for a CPAP power supply?
2. If yes, comments, observations and recommendations would be great!
3. Has anyone else seen the electrical Spec matrix tabulation for CPAP machines and battery boxes?
4. Is amp*hours the right spec for this application?

Thanks for the help.

Rog Smith

rfsmith84 wrote:Hey,

It appears that my trusty Everstart battery jumper box is DEAD!! (Not a big surprise, it is at least 10 years old.)

The last time I did this analysis, I kinda remember that someone, (Maybe at this website?) had done a tabulation comparing the power demands of small CPAP machines, and the power output of various jumper boxes.

Using the Puritan Bennett 620G machine, and the Everstart jumper box, I could get 2 nights of camping before the batteries needed a recharge.

I think the electrical spec for this sort of service is Amp*hours.

So, I got a bunch of questions:
1. Does anyone else use a Jumper box for a CPAP power supply?
2. If yes, comments, observations and recommendations would be great!
3. Has anyone else seen the electrical Spec matrix tabulation for CPAP machines and battery boxes?
4. Is amp*hours the right spec for this application?

Thanks for the help.

Rog Smith

1. I have in the past but use assorted lithiums now. My jump starter is an older version of this guy with same 18AH battery inside and i used to count on two nights from it - but I would also top off with 28 Watt solar panel when the fiery orb cooperated:
https://www.amazon.com/Wagan-400-Watt-S ... power+dome
2. I've changed the battery in my jump starter once (upgraded to 20 or 22 AH I forget which), some of these are easily replaceable!
3. Check out the captain's thread on this - and others - he's got lots of great info for you...
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=114012&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
4. Amp hours are an ok measure, watt hours are a better measure since watt hours can be compared regardless of voltage.

I will second the idea of looking at CapnLoki's thread. He has collected and consolidated a lot of information on picking battery packs for xPAP machines.

rfsmith84 wrote:Hey,
Using the machine, and the Everstart jumper box, I could get 2 nights of camping before the batteries needed a recharge.

I think the electrical spec for this sort of service is Amp*hours.

So, I got a bunch of questions:
1. Does anyone else use a Jumper box for a CPAP power supply?
2. If yes, comments, observations and recommendations would be great!
3. Has anyone else seen the electrical Spec matrix tabulation for CPAP machines and battery boxes?
4. Is amp*hours the right spec for this application?

1. Yes, a number of folks have used Jumper Boxes with success.
2. Although they are a nice all-in-one form factor, I have two issues with them: they are usually cheaply made, check reviews before buying. And they have small batteries - typically 18-20 Amp-hours. For the same price you get get twice the power with higher quality components.
3. I have numbers for Philips and ResMed, but not Puritan. Can you run on 12V or do you use an inverter?
4. Amp-hours are correct for 12V lead-acid batteries, including the preferred AGM batteries used in the jump starters. Watt-hours are better for lithium power packs because they are used at a variety of voltages that confuse the specs. It is easy to convert: Amp-hours times Volts = Watt-hours. So a 20 Amp-hour 12V battery is 240 Watt-hours. Lithium packs are often limited to 100 Watt-hours by airline regulations, so they are good for not much more than one night.

Read the thread linked in my signature. I recommend a 35 AH battery for camping and home backup- it should give you double the time of the jump starter. BTW, there's a fair chance you can replace the battery in your jump starter for about $40.

My experience with a jumpstart box was not a good one. Took it camping thinking I would get a couple nights out of it, ended up with 6 hours of sleep before it shut off. No humidifier, just cpap.

Now I mainly camp in a camper and I have a large Deep Cycle Marine battery that is wired to a 12 volt jack by my night stand. If we lose power at the campground (usually 3 times a summer) I can just switch over to my 12 volt plug and continue sleeping. I was able to get 8 whole nights out of the deep cycle battery before needing to charge it.

There are some really great portable lithium batteries, however they really do get pricey.

I have been using a jump starter for many years now since reading a post on here about it. I thought I would try it since I already had one. I think it was called another battery option or something.

People have to understand that batteries fade with use, age, AND care. You can't just leave it in the garage for 6 months then grab it when the power goes out or you are going camping and expect good performance.

I think the jump starter option is good for those who already have one and/or those who don't seem to understand electricity or wires. It's the closest you will come to plug'n'play but the thing does have to be charged - even new out of the box they recommend charging a day or two. You can't just order it and go off camping as you don't know how long it has been sitting on the self waiting for you.

I also think it is best to have more than one when there is a prolonged power outage or camping trip. That way you can charge one while using another. These things do take longer to charge than it takes to discharge.

I now have two jump starters and one 100A deep cycle battery in a case with a handle and all that. The 100A batt is almost 70# so not something everyone will be hauling around. The jump starter is much lighter, already in a package, with all of the power outlets, AC converters, LED light, air compressor for your tires or inflatables, etc.
While it is not something you will get on an airplane with using it for camping is within its ability but then again prob won't last more than two nites if it has fresh charged or well taken care of battery.

Before camping, a power outage, or whatever you need to try this (whatever you decide on) at home to get an idea how to hook it up, how long it will last you, and how long it takes to charge back up and just how you will do all this.

Using a jump starter at home is like using a UPS on your cpap but there are no alarms that will go off when the power goes out - you just sleep right thru it.

Folks,

Thanks for the replies and help!

Capnloki is da MAN!

I did an Amp test for my PB420G unit: .7 A at 13 cm pressure and 5400 feet of elevation.

I bought a Cat Battery box, it is rated at 19 Ah. (Should be good for 2 or 3 nites with no interim charge. (We will see)

I am going camping next week. I will report back with results.

Thanks again,

Rog

Run it on the battery at home to see how many nights you get.

A jump starter box is not the best solution for cpap, but will work. The life span of the battery will be shortened considerably if you use if for cpap frequently. Assuming is has a starter battery inside; starter batteries are not made to be deeply discharged. Ideally you would get a deep cycle battery and only take it down to 50% discharge to get the most out of what you payed for.

Rob K wrote: A jump starter box is not the best solution for cpap, but will work. The life span of the battery will be shortened considerably if you use if for cpap frequently. Assuming is has a starter battery inside; starter batteries are not made to be deeply discharged. Ideally you would get a deep cycle battery and only take it down to 50% discharge to get the most out of what you payed for.

Every modern jump starter I've looked into use a deep cycle AGM battery, not a starting battery. Certainly all of the replacement batteries you see on Amazon are deep cycle. Using only 50% of the capacity will guarantee long life, but even an 80% discharge is not too bad if you're only planning to use it a few times a year - the charts say you can get 50 cycles or more at this level. Running it dead is bad and should be avoided. Replacement batteries are only about $40 so that makes the risk/benefit decision easy. AGM's have better shelf life (lower self discharge rate) than traditional flooded batteries, but they should be charged up once a month if you expect them to be ready all the time.

Personally I prefer to use a larger deep cycle with a BatteryTender charger, but I understand the convenience of the jump starters.

Deep cycle agm, perfect. Did not know that. I just assumed they used starting batteries.

Folks,

I used the CAT battery box with the PB 420 CPAP.

Got 2 nites of camp use with no problems.

Thanks again for all the help.

Rog

After my experience with their Centech model https://wheelstips.com/best-jump-starter if Harbor Freight started giving away jump packs (of any brand or sort) for free I'd still rather opt for the tape measure or magnetic parts dish instead. Seriously.



It worked one time to start the mower, and a week later it wouldn't hold enough of a charge to turn it over. Only reason I haven't tossed this thing already is we don't have any hazardous waste disposal options anywhere near where I live. Nor any recycling options either. Everything must go either to the landfill or in a burn pile and I'm not comfortable disposing of this either way.