Anyone use the CPAP.com Battery Pack ? Power out possibility

[mrammell]

Just curious, as to the discussion of battery packs, power outages, etc. If anyone has used the CPAP.com Battery Pack that this site sells for $269.00. Curious if it really does what is advertised. Looks small and handy, might be the answer for some. Mark

[Titrator]

I did the product testing on the CPAP.com lithium ion battery pack when we were in devolopment, and I found it to be very small, the size of a small digital camera case, and lighytweight.

The Lithium Ion battery is a huge step forward from the larger, lead acid batteries on the market. On one charge, you only get a single nights use This is perfect for camping or when the power goes out.

Though I work for CPAP.com, I am extremely impressed by how easy it is to use this battery pack.

Once you have a battery pack you will not want to be without it.

Titrator Ted

[sleepingBear]

Has anyone else used this Battery Pack?

An Alernative I'm looking at is an N-Charge battery pack from http://www.valence.com/ncharge2.asp

As described in this article http://www.episteme-software.com/cpap.html

Both look promising,

I was wonder if anyone has experience with either solution.

For Home backup power I'll use a Deep Cycle Optima battery, but would like something I can take on the road that is lighter since I travel 10-12 day's a month usually.

I know my equipment is not listed, the DME is "supposed" to set me up on Tuesday with an M-Series Auto, when shall see how that goes

[Guest]

You need to be carefull about what you choose. The smaller unit 65 WH may not have capacity for your unit. Something that is missing is how much energy a unit takes to run on DC power. CPAP.COM has some stuff on the web site that gives expected hours of usage for units based on pressure selected, but I have not seen any hard data for units. With LI batteries, you have to be carefull. How many notebook baterries last as long as the man. claim.

Once I get my unit I plan to actually do some current measurements. I am looking into a custom battery pack uning NImH batteries. The weight should be between Lead and LI batteries, with non of the issues of either. Cost should also be cheaper than LI, but more than Lead.

[HP]

Most CPAP's that allow use of a 12vdc input should be able to operate one night using a 20 ampere-hour battery and still have enough reserve so that you don't discharge the battery too much during that night. Then recharge it the next day. Lead acid batteries don't like to be deeply discharged.

A Remstar Auto set for APAP and 8-10 cm-h20 will draw a fairly steady 1.5 amps. My initial tests with a 9 ampere-hour sealed lead acid battery resulted in the Remstar shutting itself down (due to battery discharge) at nearly six hours. The 20 ampere-hour rating does not result in excessive discharge for one night's use. If you want two night's use, a 40 ampere-hour battery should work.

My only problem with the cpap.com battery is it's quite expensive. You are paying for the convenience of ordering a battery from a reliable source, a battery that likely will perform for more than one night, and a battery that may be more convenient from a portability standpoint. It appears to be technology borrowed from the BreatheX cpap design repackaged as a separate aftermarket item. One can find a 20 ampere-hour battery and recharging unit together for much less than the cpap.com battery. But you will have to do some searching and you will have to realize that you might need technical help putting an alternative package together.

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