Solar power for camping with cpap

Hi I am looking to get set up for camping with my cpap...Solar power is the only way for me to go. any suggestions?

What about the Goal Zero Yeti 400? I have no experience of it - only saw someone that was considering it for camping.

Stu 21 wrote:Hi I am looking to get set up for camping with my cpap...Solar power is the only way for me to go. any suggestions?

Camp in a spot with a lot of sun!

I live summers on a boat where most of the power comes from solar, so I have some experience with this. Unless you sleep during the day, you're actually powering the cpap with a battery, and unless you in a location with guaranteed sun, you'll want several days of battery power. So a starting point is setting up for battery power, and you can find lots of info on that in the link in my signature.

Solar is used for recharging, or extended the charge of the battery. There are a variety of options, starting with folding panels (really intended for cell phones) to larger panels you might mount on an RV or camper (or boat) roof.

To get more advise, it would help if you provided so info on you current equipment and the nature of you camping (hiking, car, RV, climate, duration, etc.).

I will be camping in tents in the mtns of colorado..lots of sun. I do realize that the solar panels are just for recharging. I guess that I am looking for someone who has used similar set ups. It can be cold here as well. I will be recharging during the day (while I am out hunting).

Forum member Raftergirl did some battery and solar charging and she documented some of it.
She hasn't been around lately but you might look at some of here posts and see what she says.
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=72868
click on the link where it says "search users posts" and start reading her past comments.

Stu 21 wrote:I will be camping in tents in the mtns of colorado..lots of sun. I do realize that the solar panels are just for recharging. I guess that I am looking for someone who has used similar set ups. It can be cold here as well. I will be recharging during the day (while I am out hunting).

Will you be near a vehicle or have access to one while camping?

xxyzx wrote:

Stu 21 wrote:Hi I am looking to get set up for camping with my cpap...Solar power is the only way for me to go. any suggestions?

doesnt work under trees
doesnt work if its raining or cloudy

suggestion: stay in a lodge not a tent
use the ac power in the lodge instead of lugging heavy batteries and iffy solar cells

lol, that's not how hunting works. espcially in colorado, you can hike through the mountains for quite a while, you have to be able to camp, but regardless there is usually plent of sun in Colorado, I'd still bring a couple back up batteries. .... I know that sounds expensive.

nicholasjh1 wrote:

xxyzx wrote:

Stu 21 wrote:Hi I am looking to get set up for camping with my cpap...Solar power is the only way for me to go. any suggestions?

doesnt work under trees
doesnt work if its raining or cloudy

suggestion: stay in a lodge not a tent
use the ac power in the lodge instead of lugging heavy batteries and iffy solar cells

lol, that's not how hunting works. espcially in colorado, you can hike through the mountains for quite a while, you have to be able to camp, but regardless there is usually plent of sun in Colorado, I'd still bring a couple back up batteries. .... I know that sounds expensive.

Sounds like instead of a guide, you will need porters. Jim

For what it's worth, I looked into it, too.
First thought I'd go with deepcycle batteries. Went into a shop to buy one. Tried lifting one. Went home without buying it. They are incredibly heavy, probably ok if you can transport them by car, or boat, but carrying them would be a huge PITA. Think 40lbs+ for 1-2 nights of sleep.
Luckily cpap.com has much lighter batteries, have a look there. I bought 2 "Freedom Travel Battery", which get 2 nights out of 1 battery charge (so 4 nights with 2 batteries, which you can hook up in parallel), they worked well at home, will test them for the first time outdoors next week.
About recharging them on the go, I haven't found anything suitable yet. Solar power doesn't seem to be there yet, you'd need perfect weather conditions (not a single cloud, not a single shadow, align the solar panels to the sun's position all day, hope that there's not too much dust, etc) and a huge surface to make it work.
As such conditions don't exist around here, I'll just try and find a few hours of power every 4 days
Good luck in any case!

Shnorky wrote:For what it's worth, I looked into it, too.
First thought I'd go with deepcycle batteries. Went into a shop to buy one. Tried lifting one. Went home without buying it. They are incredibly heavy, probably ok if you can transport them by car, or boat, but carrying them would be a huge PITA. Think 40lbs+ for 1-2 nights of sleep.

NONSENSE!!!

Yes, a standard "deep cycle battery" for boats and RVs will often be quite heavy, 45 to 60 pounds, but they provide 80 to 100 Amp-hours, enough to run a cpap for up to two weeks, not 1-2 nights! At better example: a 55 Amp-hour AGM weighs 38 pounds (cost $125), with a 20% margin that's 44 AH, which would power my pump for 11 nights.

These batteries are available in many sizes - 18 AH is 12 pounds, 35 AH is 25 pounds, etc. These batteries are certainly heavier than the lithium packs, but unless you have to carry them some distance, they are quite luggable. You can even get a 7 AH AGM that weighs under 5 pounds for under $20.

Shnorky wrote: Luckily cpap.com has much lighter batteries, have a look there. I bought 2 "Freedom Travel Battery", which get 2 nights out of 1 battery charge (so 4 nights with 2 batteries, which you can hook up in parallel), they worked well at home, will test them for the first time outdoors next week.

The Freedom batteries look like a good choice if you need a night or two while travelling or hiking or mountain climbing, but they cost $259 each ($518 a pair!) while the same power from AGM batteries costs about 10% as much. For those "car camping" it isn't asking too much to carry a 10 pound battery to the tent.

Freedom batteries are 98 Watt-hours, which translates to about 8 Amp-hours and weighs under 2 pounds. An equivalent AGM might be a 12 AH (which has a large safety margin) it weighs about 4 times as much (7.5 lbs) but cost only $26. So you pay 10 times as much for a quarter of the weight. If you need it, its worth it.

Shnorky wrote: About recharging them on the go, I haven't found anything suitable yet. Solar power doesn't seem to be there yet, you'd need perfect weather conditions (not a single cloud, not a single shadow, align the solar panels to the sun's position all day, hope that there's not too much dust, etc) and a huge surface to make it work.
As such conditions don't exist around here, I'll just try and find a few hours of power every 4 days
Good luck in any case!

I agree charging with solar can be challenging. Too often people don't realize they are camping under trees, or shadowed by hills, or they want to be active during the day when the panels need adjustment, or clouds cut the efficiency way down. On the other hand, if these issues are considered, solar can work- I get enough power during the summer for about 80% of my needs.

As for "doesn't seem to be there yet" the only major improvement I see in the near future is lower cost for lightweight flexible panels. When we can carry in a "picnic blanket" that provides 100 watts for $50, then solar will be more feasible for campers. Maybe something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/PowerFilm-Foldabl ... B01ENX81VE

The Yeti's are attractively on sale right now--see REI--and evidently go 3 nights or so for CPAP. They can be daisy-chained, so you can add more later. Check on the Goal Zero site for how much of a solar panel is needed, and how long it takes to charge. You'll want to be charging it whenever you're not using it.

Plenty of reviews on YouTube.

Shnorky wrote:For what it's worth, I looked into it, too.
First thought I'd go with deepcycle batteries. Went into a shop to buy one. Tried lifting one. Went home without buying it. They are incredibly heavy, probably ok if you can transport them by car, or boat, but carrying them would be a huge PITA. Think 40lbs+ for 1-2 nights of sleep.
Luckily cpap.com has much lighter batteries, have a look there. I bought 2 "Freedom Travel Battery", which get 2 nights out of 1 battery charge (so 4 nights with 2 batteries, which you can hook up in parallel), they worked well at home, will test them for the first time outdoors next week.
About recharging them on the go, I haven't found anything suitable yet. Solar power doesn't seem to be there yet, you'd need perfect weather conditions (not a single cloud, not a single shadow, align the solar panels to the sun's position all day, hope that there's not too much dust, etc) and a huge surface to make it work.
As such conditions don't exist around here, I'll just try and find a few hours of power every 4 days
Good luck in any case!

Rubbish.. I am a 75 year old lady and I lug around a 12 v deep cycle battery when I go camping. I can lug it back into the house, up stairs, back to be my bedroom to use in case of power outage. You must be a wimp Shnorky!

nanwilson wrote: Rubbish.. I am a 75 year old lady and I lug around a 12 v deep cycle battery when I go camping. I can lug it back into the house, up stairs, back to be my bedroom to use in case of power outage.
...

What size is this battery? How many Amp Hours? How many pounds does it weigh?

nanwilson wrote:

Shnorky wrote:. . .incredibly heavy . . .

Rubbish.. I am a 75 year old lady and I lug around a 12 v deep cycle battery when I go camping. I can lug it back into the house, up stairs, back to be my bedroom to use in case of power outage. You must be a wimp Shnorky!

I so love your generation. Thanks for the smile.