Europe traveling - what should I get?

I've been a 'low pressure' CPAP user for several years but my traveling has been in a little motor-home, ergo, line voltage and no baggage to worry about. Now my wife and I are off to Europe for about three weeks - - - I really don't want to lug my big FP or ResMed units along - - - what should I get? Looked at the XT Fit Travel unit: cheap and looks big; no battery? Hummm - - do I need a battery? - - Z1 Travel machine is nice an small and folks seem to like it. What else? Thanks for your advice - - - TJ

- - - also considering the Philips Dreamstation and the Resmed Airsense 10 - - any comments?

The travel machines don't have all the features that your regular CPAP has, so make sure that you're OK with that. If you need humidification, you won't find one much smaller unless you're really using a dinosaur.

Also, note that household (or hotel) electricity in Europe is supplied at 220 volts/50 hz. By contrast, household electricity In the U.S, Canada, and throughout most of the Americas is supplied at 110 volts/60 hz. Most CPAPs - especially those sold for "travel" - will not have a problem adapting; though you have to verify this on the machine you're taking. A bigger issue is the shape of the plug. Most electrical sockets on the European mainland accommodate plugs with two round pins, spaced a bit farther apart than U.S. plugs. Electrical sockets in the U.K. and Ireland accommodate plugs with two co-linear flat pins that are larger and further apart than the U.S. pins and a mandatory ground pin, perpendicular to the other pins and even larger and longer. By mandatory I mean if your plug doesn't go into the grounding socket, the socket will not work. You will need to pack an adapter. Some adapters have a plastic pin for the ground pin; that seems to work. Since you might not find a socket near the bed in Europe, you're also need to pack extension cords. Pack a few shorter ones (6 to 8 ft.) instead of one long one.

The diagram below shows the U.K. socket as type G. The sockets you're find on the European mainland are C, E, F, J, K, or L. A standard two pin adapter will fit all the European mainland socket types.

I've been to Europe several times in the little over a year I've had my ResMed machine and I've taken it with me every time. It has a carry case that doesn't count as a carry-on and it's been easy to lug it along. I bought an inexpensive electric adapter and it's perfect. It's difficult to find distilled water in lots of places so last month in France I used tap water and then cleaned everything really well when I returned home with no ill effects.

One other thing. when I say to bring an extension cord, don't bring a "power strip." Many of those are only compatible with American voltage. A plain old extension cord is simply a "pass-through" and won't cause an issue.

Don't worry too much about distilled water. You can always clean your tank - if it needs it at all = when you get back. It's not going to hurt you unless you're there a long time. Also remember that you can take your Cpap etc. in a separate carryon to your usual one, and it's free and allowed by almost all airlines. Don't ever. ever check your equipment!

With the state of the world, i'd take body armor. Jim

- - - and one more thing - - how big is the 'brick' that your machine requires for power?

tj

I forgot to mention. Don't forget to have a permanent packing list, especially you end up taking your "regular" CPAP. Keep a copy of that list in your CPAP bag at all times. You would not want to forget the power cord, the mask, the hose or any other component. Also, you need that list in case of an emergency hospitalization where somebody else needs to pack your CPAP bag.

With respect to power adaptors, we just ask for a couple at the front desk of whatever hotel we are staying.

With respect to distilled water, I think, the concern is not of the machine, but of organisms in tap water that can enter the brain via the nasal cavity. Neti pots, etc also recommend using distilled water. It's a rare occurrence but does happen. Stomach acids will kill such organisms when drinking water so water that is harmless to drink can be harmful or deadly through the nose.

If you can't find distilled water in Europe, water should be boiled 3-5 minutes. If you're room doesn't come with a kettle, the front desk will probably be able to supply one.

Also, you should be able to bring some distilled water with your xpap gear.

Have a good time in Europe.

When we went to Ireland, Wales, and the Netherlands a couple of years ago, I took the backup cpap that I have with me. Got the backup cpap from secondwindcpap as a "gently used" one some time ago, the same cpap that I'm using at home, an S9 Autoset. I used tap water in it while we were traveling, then cleaned the tank out when we got home. After only 3 weeks or so of traveling in Europe, it didn't really need to be cleaned, but since I was using tap water, I decided to clean out the tank anyways.

I didn't find it too hard to "haul it around" or to set up and take down the cpap as we moved around in Europe. Worked fine for me, the ResMed power brick works fine in Europe. I did take a "universal" power strip with me that I used to get extra outlets for the cpap and the various chargers for our mobile devices (couple of phones, couple of tablets). The reason that I took the power strip was to get some surge protection for the cpap and the chargers, in addition to the handy extra outlets. I did have AC outlet adapters for the various countries that we visited that I got on Amazon for the power strip, but as has been noted you can most likely get those from the places where you stay as well. I didn't rely on that because we were planning to stay at B&B's much of the time, and you never know what the situation will be there (as opposed to a hotel).

Anyways, a little planning ahead of time makes it really easy.

Probably the hotel would have extension cords and adapters. However, I would not count on it; what if they don't have any or all the ones they have are already in use?

Note that a hotel I once stayed at in Hong Kong (which uses UK-type power sockets), would have sold me an adapter for approx US$7 if I had not packed my own! Probably, I would also have had to pay for an extension cord if I had not packed that (the socket was far from the bed).

This year I've traveled to both Germany and Singapore with my ancient ResMed M-Series. I just throw everything into my carry on rollerboard and it travels fine. Regarding power, I believe every modern electronic device now comes standard with a "power brick" that is rated for both 120 and 240. But you should examine your power adapters to be sure. My HP and Apple computers both have power bricks rated for 120-240 as does my ancient ResMed. So all I needed for those is a "plug adapter" to fit the different wall outlets. The Marriott in Singapore even had adaptable plug outlets right next to the bed (and USB charging ports) so I didn't really even need my adapter their.

One word of caution: This is only true for electronics... things like hair driers that use heating elements are NOT (typically) rated for 240 and will fry overseas, so be sure to check and have fun!

One more thought... the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong is 14.5 hours but every row in coach and each seat in Polaris Business Class has a 120v outlet. So I reclined my seat, pulled out my ResMed and got a good 6 hours of sleep!

Be Well.

Cpap uses less space than that 4th pair of shoes.
You can buy shoes. Take the good cpap.
No reason to make your trip harder by trying to use a different machine.

I just returned from traveling for 2+ weeks through the UK and bought the Resmed Air Mini for the trip and couldn't be happier with the unit. With the power cord, It packs up smaller than a pair of shoes (my shoes at least, size 12), and with the built-in heat-moisture-exchanger, I didn't need a humidifier. If you're traveling to a very dry climate, the HME won't work as well, but there was plenty of humidity in the UK for it to work nicely.

The biggest complaint about the Air Mini is the noise from the HME since it's located so closely to your face. I wear earplugs to sleep however, so this didn't bother me at all. If you're a sensitive sleeper, or are easily affected by noise, then it might not work for you.

Mark