Greetings from New Mexico!

[ZuniWolf]

Greetings, all...

I am new to CPAP, and have only used it for a week. Naturally, after a couple of decades of apnea, I was expecting a miracle. It didn't happen.

However, thanks to the files and FAQ on this forum, I've discovered that it may take several months and several variables to see improvement.

I am lucky that I can tolerate the full face mask. Unfortunately, I live "off the grid" and may not be able to use the humidifier when I have to go to 12v battery use. (I've been staying at a friend's house who has power.)

I hope I can learn how to download/read the smart card on my CPAP so I can get the best use out of it.

Jayne

[IBTeri]

Welcome to the forum!!!!! I hope you get a chance to come join us in chatroom sometime. We talk about everything and anything.

[Jaxdad]

Just click the light bulb and get answers to many questions you may have. Also, as Teri said, join in the chat room whenever you pop in.

[rustynail]

Hi Jayne!

Welcome! You are lucky and have found the best forum there is. How is it working out for you so far....? Which xpap do you use, and what, if any difficulties are you having (aside from being off grid)?

Hope to see you sometime in the chat room, take care.
Tricia

[ZuniWolf]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! I will try to run the cpap for the first time off the small inverter tonight. I tested it and know it will run, but I don't know for how long. I know I don't have enough power to run the humidifier, too..It will be an interesting evening.

Jayne

[Mile High Sleeper]

Welcome, ZuniWolf.

If you find that you really need heated humidification, to my knowledge, this is the only machine that will run a heated humidifier from its integrated battery:
https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle ... undle.html

I haven't used it enough yet to learn how many nights it will run from the battery with the hh.

Do you go somewhere during the day where you could plug in and recharge?

There are several posts on batteries and cables. They say that running on DC directly from the battery, rather than the inverter, is more efficient. And that a hh can't be run on an inverter.

Sounds like you live in a beautiful place!

[ZuniWolf]

Mile High,

I don't believe my pap has an internal battery. There is a plug in for a 12v adapter. The VA got me an adapter that is a female 12v receptacle that is wired to battery clips. However, they forgot the cord to go from the pap to the adapter.

I am the first person they had who lives off the grid. I'll be getting back to them about the missing cord. The pap ran fine all night off the inverter. at only 2 amps, it's like leaving an RV porch light on all night. I use the smallest inverter I can so I don't waste juice. Because I recharge my house batteries every day with solar, I should have no problem keeping the power up. I wasn't really dried out this am, so I may not need the humidifier.

Do you live a mile high? I been wondering if the pressure rate I was given at 5000 ft is the right one for where I live at 7500 feet. I guess I'll peruse the archives here about this.

Yes, I live in a beautiful place - pinyon pines; twisted ancient junipers; lots of cool sandstone rock formations.

[yardbird]

most heating elements in the heated humidifiers would be damaged by the inverter output. Although as has been said there is a t least one that appears to be set up to run direct off its own battery.

HOWEVER... (there's always a "however" isn't there?) Nothing says you can't put water in the humidifier and use it as a passive one. It won't be AS humid as a heated one, but if you don't need a lot of moisture it may be fine.

Careful though... if the air is really dry where you are, the passive humidifier might start acting like a swamp cooler.

[Mile High Sleeper]

Zuni, yes, I live a mile high! Most modern machine adjust for altitude automatically. A few have manual adjustments. I got my best results when I was camping at about 7500 feet. My pulmonologist confirmed that higher elevation is better (up to a point, can't give you reasons or details). Seems I read somewhere that the machines don't adjust beyond 8000 feet. Maybe some other posters have more information on altitude, or your DME or the machine manufacturer or cpap.com.

[ZuniWolf]

Thanks, gang, for your responses. I don't really have to have the heated humidifier, so I just put water in the reservoir and let the output air stream across it into the hose to the mask

So far the actual xpap works fine on the small inverter. I kinda expected it to, because ithe xpap is just a small fan wrapped in a lot of technology.

Jayne