Duracell Backup Power Generator

[VikingGnome]

I was wondering if this DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 would be sufficient to power VPAP with H5i in a power outage. The technical page says it can power a TV, refrigerator, freezer, electronics, fish tanks, etc. Can run "certain electronics" for up to 60 hours and keep a home office up and running for 10 hours. It is Sealed Lead Battery (I wish it was deep cycle battery). When it senses loss of power, it provides uninterrupted backup power with 1800 watts to 5 AC outlets. When power is restored, it automatically starts recharging. Has LED display that tells you how much power remains.

Here are Specifications: http://www.duracellpower.com/documents/ ... e-1800.pdf

What do think about the feasibility of using this for xPap along with charging cell phone, IPad and maybe a microwave oven to cook food in event of a power outage?

An OPTIMA BlueTop Deep Cycle battery by itself costs $291.99 from INTERSTATE BATTERY. You still need a charger, a power inverter, and UPS trigger to make it work and it only powers one item. So overall, I think the DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 is reasonably priced at $499 and you get a lot more power for your buck.

[icipher]

I am also curious. By the way, i found it for less here....

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/powersource ... &cp=1&lp=1

[VikingGnome]

I am also curious. By the way, i found it for less here....

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/powersource ... &cp=1&lp=1

But you still have to pay shipping/freight (Heavy Item) and it is not available in Best Buy Stores. I think it is available on a couple of sites with FREE SHIPPING so you wouldn't save anything.

[idamtnboy]

I was wondering if this DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 would be sufficient to power VPAP with H5i in a power outage. The technical page says it can power a TV, refrigerator, freezer, electronics, fish tanks, etc. Can run "certain electronics" for up to 60 hours and keep a home office up and running for 10 hours. It is Sealed Lead Battery (I wish it was deep cycle battery). When it senses loss of power, it provides uninterrupted backup power with 1800 watts to 5 AC outlets. When power is restored, it automatically starts recharging. Has LED display that tells you how much power remains.

Here are Specifications: http://www.duracellpower.com/documents/ ... e-1800.pdf

What do think about the feasibility of using this for xPap along with charging cell phone, IPad and maybe a microwave oven to cook food in event of a power outage?

An OPTIMA BlueTop Deep Cycle battery by itself costs $291.99 from INTERSTATE BATTERY. You still need a charger, a power inverter, and UPS trigger to make it work and it only powers one item. So overall, I think the DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 is reasonably priced at $499 and you get a lot more power for your buck.

I think you'd be better off to go the route of John Fisher's setup using a deep cycle battery. The Duracell unit is only 51 amp-hour capacity, about or less than half of a deep cycle from Costco or Sam's which only cost about $90. The battery in the Duracell most likely is a deep cycle. It does have the advantage, as you point out, of being ready made with all the extra bits included. I'd think twice about running a microwave with it. You'd eat up the capacity in fairly short order.

I disagree with your last comment. As I see it you'd get a lot less power for your buck.

[avi123]

Without looking into the details, yet, I see "Overload and over-temperature protection helps to ensure longer product life and the product carries a one year warranty" and wonder if there is a built- in fan to cool something inside which makes noise during power stoppage. Some of those new power jumpers for cars with inside inverters have fans that make noise. I gave one (Sears) away b/c of the noise.

[VikingGnome]

I think you'd be better off to go the route of John Fisher's setup using a deep cycle battery. The Duracell unit is only 51 amp-hour capacity, about or less than half of a deep cycle from Costco or Sam's which only cost about $90. The battery in the Duracell most likely is a deep cycle. It does have the advantage, as you point out, of being ready made with all the extra bits included. I'd think twice about running a microwave with it. You'd eat up the capacity in fairly short order.

I disagree with your last comment. As I see it you'd get a lot less power for your buck.

John Fisher's design is only a 55 amp-hour battery. And it does NOT automatically start on power loss. You have to plug in your CPAP. His total cost was $307 plus shipping of parts which could bring it up to $400. So $499 for UPS on your backup power supply or $400 without automatic switch on/off.

[zetasj55]

It does have the advantage, as you point out, of being ready made with all the extra bits included. I'd think twice about running a microwave with it. You'd eat up the capacity in fairly short order.

[CapnLoki]

I was wondering if this DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 would be sufficient to power VPAP with H5i in a power outage. The technical page says it can power a TV, refrigerator, freezer, electronics, fish tanks, etc. Can run "certain electronics" for up to 60 hours and keep a home office up and running for 10 hours. It is Sealed Lead Battery (I wish it was deep cycle battery). When it senses loss of power, it provides uninterrupted backup power with 1800 watts to 5 AC outlets. When power is restored, it automatically starts recharging. Has LED display that tells you how much power remains.

Here are Specifications: http://www.duracellpower.com/documents/ ... e-1800.pdf

What do think about the feasibility of using this for xPap along with charging cell phone, IPad and maybe a microwave oven to cook food in event of a power outage?

An OPTIMA BlueTop Deep Cycle battery by itself costs $291.99 from INTERSTATE BATTERY. You still need a charger, a power inverter, and UPS trigger to make it work and it only powers one item. So overall, I think the DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 is reasonably priced at $499 and you get a lot more power for your buck.

About the DuraCell - this is reasonable UPS, the Amazon Prime price is $400 which includes shipping. It is certainly a "Deep Cycle" battery, probably an AGM. At 51 AmpHours it will power most xPAPs for at least a night but it will depend on the settings - High pressure and humidity settings can drive the load over 6 Amps, which means 48 AmpHours in 8 hours. Remember that AGM (and most lead-acid batteries) are not very forgiving of 80%+ discharges and a few dozen hits can seriously damage them. At 50% discharge you can get hundreds of cycles.

This guide will show the loads - this is an "Inverter" situation. Its possible the inverter in the DuraCell is high efficiency at this load, but I wouldn't count on it.
http://www.resmed.com/assets/documents/ ... lo_eng.pdf

On my boat I run a microwave off a 450 AmpHour battery bank through a 2000 Watt inverter. Even so, I know I'm taxing the system, and we limit the use to a few minutes of heating leftovers. The Duracell could briefly power a small microwave but you won't want to cook a turkey with it. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if it popped the breaker running so close to its limits.

As for alternatives, you don't have to pay $300 for a good AGM battery - the equivalent of this would be around $100, and you could triple that for maybe $200. A Battery Tender is $50 including cables with a fuse, inverters start at $25 but if you can use the Resmed 12-24V converter it would be money well spent since it saves a fair amount of power. I'd advise a box to protect against shorting the terminals but that's under $10. The only downsides are the "homemade" appearance, and the lack of automatic switching. Actually you could run full time off the battery system but you'd probably want a larger charger. An advantage of the "homemade" approach is that adding capacity is easy - when hurricane season starts up you can get a second battery, charge it up (AGMs will hold a charge for extended periods) and put it in the corner as a reserve. Not for everyone, I admit.

[khauser]

I would look in to the following:

1) Battery type ... make sure it is a battery type meant for deep discharge and recharge. Also, its very common for UPS batteries to last about a year REGARDLESS of whether they are used, so check in to battery replacement cost.
2) Output type ... is it a full sine-wave? Modified sine-wave? I wouldn't use anything that isn't full sine-wave for the kind of ac adapter we all have.

Two additional comments:
1) JohnBFisher's design was I believe an always-on design. You don't have to wake up and plug it in ... it was always plugged in.
2) Due to the lack of an inverter it is significantly more efficient.

[CapnLoki]

I would look in to the following:

1) Battery type ... make sure it is a battery type meant for deep discharge and recharge. Also, its very common for UPS batteries to last about a year REGARDLESS of whether they are used, so check in to battery replacement cost.

The DuraCell batteries can be replaced (with AGM batteries) for about $100; for $150 you can add a bit of capacity. I'd be very disappointed if these batteries failed in less than 3 or 4 years of occasional use.

2) Output type ... is it a full sine-wave? Modified sine-wave? I wouldn't use anything that isn't full sine-wave for the kind of ac adapter we all have.

I've never had a problem using a modified sine wave inverter, but as I've said many times, the dc-dc converter is the way to go. The ResMed battery document indicate which devices should work OK with MSW.

Two additional comments:
1) JohnBFisher's design was I believe an always-on design. You don't have to wake up and plug it in ... it was always plugged in. ...

John's design (which I love) uses a Battery Tender Plus, a high quality trickle charger that puts out 1.25 Amps. If the xPap is modest pressure, no humidifier, this will work out OK. But higher pressure with a humidifier (as the OP requires) could draw up to 6 Amps, so the Battery Tender will be running flat out all day making up the deficit, and probably still falling behind. To run full time with a higher load setup you really need a charger that can carry the full load. I'm sure that some would question running electronics full time off of a battery charger, so you should choose a device thoughtfully.

[VikingGnome]

Ok, I see that this Generator WILL NOT work for me. I have a ResMed VPAP S with IPAP at 20. I definitely need H5i and Climate Control. According to the ResMed Battery tables, operating my VPAP at 20 with H5i and CC 86 degrees F would draw 6.1 amps per hour requiring 74 Amp-Hour battery for 8-hours use with 50% safety margin. My CC temp is at 71 degrees so I'll save some power there.

I want an AGM deep cycle battery because they can discharge down 80% without damage to the battery (hence the OPTIMA Blue Top) and will stay fully charged on the shelf for up to six months. You can charge with any normal car battery charger. The battery cannot leak and will not freeze in cold. I previously ran all my HAM radio equipment off a BLUE TOP and was very pleased with it.

[khauser]

I would look in to the following:

1) Battery type ... make sure it is a battery type meant for deep discharge and recharge. Also, its very common for UPS batteries to last about a year REGARDLESS of whether they are used, so check in to battery replacement cost.

The DuraCell batteries can be replaced (with AGM batteries) for about $100; for $150 you can add a bit of capacity. I'd be very disappointed if these batteries failed in less than 3 or 4 years of occasional use.

2) Output type ... is it a full sine-wave? Modified sine-wave? I wouldn't use anything that isn't full sine-wave for the kind of ac adapter we all have.

I've never had a problem using a modified sine wave inverter, but as I've said many times, the dc-dc converter is the way to go. The ResMed battery document indicate which devices should work OK with MSW.

Two additional comments:
1) JohnBFisher's design was I believe an always-on design. You don't have to wake up and plug it in ... it was always plugged in. ...

John's design (which I love) uses a Battery Tender Plus, a high quality trickle charger that puts out 1.25 Amps. If the xPap is modest pressure, no humidifier, this will work out OK. But higher pressure with a humidifier (as the OP requires) could draw up to 6 Amps, so the Battery Tender will be running flat out all day making up the deficit, and probably still falling behind. To run full time with a higher load setup you really need a charger that can carry the full load. I'm sure that some would question running electronics full time off of a battery charger, so you should choose a device thoughtfully.

OK ...

I might have thought another poster's design was John's, but someone had a design that employed a power supply that was capable of charging the batter, maintaining it, AND supplying the equipment.

On the power supply issue: Almost all power supplies for anything "computerish" are switch-mode power supplies. I have been taught that they are VERY sensitive to the input waveform. SOME might include filtering just in case, but I wouldn't take that risk. The thing is, they will appear to work fine, but in reality they are over-working, and the (separate) regulator circuit is what's making your equipment not get harmed. But as the PS over-works it also overheats, which degrades lifetime.

That's what I was taught, but in looking in to it for this post I find conflicting advice. Specifically, this site backs up your claim.

[CapnLoki]

Ok, I see that this Generator WILL NOT work for me. I have a ResMed VPAP S with IPAP at 20. I definitely need H5i and Climate Control. According to the ResMed Battery tables, operating my VPAP at 20 with H5i and CC 86 degrees F would draw 6.1 amps per hour requiring 74 Amp-Hour battery for 8-hours use with 50% safety margin. My CC temp is at 71 degrees so I'll save some power there.

Yes, I thought you would come to that conclusion when I noticed the pressure you use.

I want an AGM deep cycle battery because they can discharge down 80% without damage to the battery (hence the OPTIMA Blue Top) and will stay fully charged on the shelf for up to six months. You can charge with any normal car battery charger. The battery cannot leak and will not freeze in cold. I previously ran all my HAM radio equipment off a BLUE TOP and was very pleased with it.

Well, don't oversell it - you will get twice as many cycles if you only go to 50% compared to 80%, but if you're only deeply discharging occasionally it won't be a problem. And although the self-discharge rate is low, its probably down 20% or more in 6 months.

The biggest reason for AGM in this application is that its totally spill proof, and vents very little hydrogen (essentially none in normal use) making it much more usable both in the home and carrying around while car camping. (On my boat I use AGMs for starting because they're tucked away and hard to maintain, but my deep cycles are traditional flooded to save money. They are all located outside of the living space.)

[Sir NoddinOff]

Let's hope someone on the forum tries the DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 and does a 'boots on the ground' test/review.

Just an observation, but on Amazon, where they sell it, there are 27 user reviews. Almost two thirds of the reviews are three star (so-so) to one star (awful). While I realize that there are always going to be 'haters' on any internet review page - that two thirds ratio seems to warrant caution.

Later Note: I read all sixteen bad reviews for this unit on Amazon and they were literally some of the most hateful reviews I've every seen... on Amazon or anywhere else. Read all the reviews before you buy this item

[CapnLoki]

Let's hope someone on the forum tries the DURACELL POWERSOURCE 1800 and does a 'boots on the ground' test/review.

Just an observation, but on Amazon, where they sell it, there are 27 user reviews. Almost two thirds of the reviews are three star (so-so) to one star (awful). While I realize that there are always going to be 'haters' on any internet review page - that two thirds ratio seems to warrant caution.

Later Note: I read all sixteen bad reviews for this unit on Amazon and they were literally some of the most hateful reviews I've every seen... on Amazon or anywhere else. Read all the reviews before you buy this item

Wow, thanks for finding that.