Electrical Issues

[quietmorning]

The power went out very briefly in my house last night - shutting my machine off temporarily. I woke up working very hard to take a breath in and blow it out - then the machine started back up again.

Is there something I can do to make sure the power isn't interrupted momentarily? Can I use a surge protector with battery back up? Or would that fry the machine?

This is something that frequently occurs in our house, so it's worth working out for the long haul.

Thanks!

[JDS74]

Quietmornibg:

Yes, an uninterruptible power supply like you can get at a office store or computer store would work just fine.

The more power, the longer it would work. This is only usuable for quite short times, 10 to 15 minutes or so.

It would be helpful if you clicked on "User Control Panel" and selected you equipment and selected text mode as looking at the pix doesn't always easily identify the CPAP/XPAP machine selected.

If you need a longer time period, search for backup power and you'll find some extensive discussions.

[archangle]

The device you want is called a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply).

Many of them will not only power your CPAP for a short period of time, they can also be configured to beep and give you an alarm when the power goes out.

"How to choose the right UPS" could fill up an entire web site.

Don't count on the UPS powering your CPAP for a long time unless you spend a lot of money.

[LinkC]

they can also be configured to beep and give you an alarm when the power goes out.

Isn't the whole point of UPS so you DON'T wake up when the power goes off? Why would you want an alarm? (If you really want to wake up, gasping for air works a whole lot better...and it's WAY cheaper...)

[quietmorning]

Quietmornibg:

Yes, an uninterruptible power supply like you can get at a office store or computer store would work just fine.

The more power, the longer it would work. This is only usuable for quite short times, 10 to 15 minutes or so.

It would be helpful if you clicked on "User Control Panel" and selected you equipment and selected text mode as looking at the pix doesn't always easily identify the CPAP/XPAP machine selected.

If you need a longer time period, search for backup power and you'll find some extensive discussions.

Hi, JDS74, I do have my equipment listed and the text mode chosen. . . I'm not sure why you can't see my equipment. I'll copy and paste it here:

Machine: PR System One REMstar Auto CPAP Machine with A-Flex
Mask: Opus 360 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: I'm on a modem right now and will be so until they change me to a smartcard.

I don't think I need very long - just something to smooth the gaps when the house hiccups. If it goes longer than a minute, I'd rather wake up and be alert through a power outage. This house hiccups a LOT, though.

[quietmorning]

The device you want is called a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply).

Many of them will not only power your CPAP for a short period of time, they can also be configured to beep and give you an alarm when the power goes out.

"How to choose the right UPS" could fill up an entire web site.

Don't count on the UPS powering your CPAP for a long time unless you spend a lot of money.

Thanks - yeah, I only need to smooth out the bumps during the night. It's a little infuriating to go to sleep then have to wake up a half a dozen times because the power blips are messing with the machine.

[quietmorning]

they can also be configured to beep and give you an alarm when the power goes out.

Isn't the whole point of UPS so you DON'T wake up when the power goes off? Why would you want an alarm? (If you really want to wake up, gasping for air works a whole lot better...and it's WAY cheaper...)

If it's out longer than a minute, I really do want an alarm. . .the waking up gasping for air wakes me up to a very panicky state and it's precious hard to go back to sleep after that. . .so. . . hmmm.... I guess I'll look around to find something that works with what I need. I don't want an alarm waking me up for every blip, though.

[JDS74]

John B Fisher posted a series on his backup system for complete power that lasts all night.
Since you just have hiccups, its probably over kill.
However here is a link:

viewtopic/t49115/viewtopic.php?p=449334#p449334

[Goofproof]

You may have a different problem, some machines can be set to auto turn off, that's not a smart feature to enable. The machine will detect shallow breathing and think the mask is off, and shut down, then it will restart from the auto start cycle. If you do have a short time power problem, (I do here in my computer cave, 20 secs at a time 4 times daily) UPS is a good answer. If I used one for XPAP I'd get the largest one I could afford and put in in another room and use a heavy extention cord to feed the XPAP, then the alarm wouldn't wake me. Jim

[GumbyCT]

If I used one for XPAP I'd get the largest one I could afford and put in in another room and use a heavy extention cord to feed the XPAP, then the alarm wouldn't wake me. Jim

Come on Jim, you know that a battery would be a much better and more affordable way to go. Plus you could sleep right thru any power bumps so won't need an alarm.

JBF's battery plan is an excellent design but if you are NOT the techy type you would be better off to hire someone to do it for you.

Good Luck

[Goofproof]

If I used one for XPAP I'd get the largest one I could afford and put in in another room and use a heavy extention cord to feed the XPAP, then the alarm wouldn't wake me. Jim

Come on Jim, you know that a battery would be a much better and more affordable way to go. Plus you could sleep right thru any power bumps so won't need an alarm.

JBF's battery plan is an excellent design but if you are NOT the techy type you would be better off to hire someone to do it for you.

Good Luck

You are correct for my use, as a total power outage is my only concern. I haven't put a D/C battery unit in YET as the need doesn't weigh higher than the problem. Worst , I spend the night in my truck, with the XPAP on and my cd playing. After one night's outage i'd build a battery system. The UPS is only good for SHORT power outages, it solves my computer power line outage fine as it's so short of a time you can't troubleshoot it. (Need to run a bunch of new circuits) Not overloaded just CRAPPY wiring, the bad thing it's all enclosed, so it's probably not going to happen. Jim

I have a heave APC unit on the computers, too bad it doesn't have a input for D/C on the back so I could plug in a Deep Cycle battery to help power it to extend it's run time. if it did I'd do that and run a line to the bedroom with 12 Volts D/C for the XPAP. (The computer Cave is under the Bedroom) Jim

[GumbyCT]

On 2nd thought if you are technically challenged it would be easier to buy a car Jump Starter to power your cpap. Then you would just need to buy (or make) a cable to connect to your cpap model.

The larger the amp hours on the jump starter battery the longer it should be able to power the cpap.

I found a Sears model that has a replaceable battery.

Edit: viewtopic/p597062/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4 ... rs#p434501

Use the cpap on DC each nite and just remember to charge the starter each morning. Problem solved.

[quietmorning]

I read on one of the posts here that you can't run the humidifier with the cpap if it's on a secondary back up?

[physicsbob]

Your System one will power the humidifier off of 12 Volts, some of the other machines do not do this but yours does. I ran my RemStar Mseries for 1 1/2 years off a 12volt marine Deep discharge battery with no problems. The battery now serves as back up to my IntelliPaP auto. We get a lot of power outages here, like last night, it makes for a lot more restful sleep if I can just sleep through them.

[GumbyCT]

Absolutely, any System One HH will run on 12Vdc as will 1 of the 3 humidifiers that fit an M series cpap. However, it should be noted that using any humidifier during an extended power outage will use up the battery power much faster than if one were to simply use passover mode.

You could use it nitely to see just how long your battery will go. BUT, I would just use passover if I didn't know how long the power will be out.

HTH