are trucking companys required to furnish a converter for cp

[lyion]

hello,i was talking to a driver yesterday that said trucking companys are required to furnish all truck drivers a 12 hundred watt covertor for driver who have to use a cpap machine in there truck .any one no of this .i use a small convertor that plugs in to cig. outlet i think i need a stronger unit .let me no if you no about this.lyion

[chunkyfrog]

One would hope!

[Janknitz]

There's a good argument for considering it a "reasonable accommodation" under the Americans with Disabilities act. Try googling ADA CPAP converter truckers and see what pops up.

[lyion]

thanks for your comints,ill try to see what comes up there.im in a new truck that has optimize idle .the truck wont run about 20 mins. then cuts off then a nother 20 mins it turns off all outlets on truck to conserve batery but turns off my cpap machine .i have to get up and crank truck back up makes me mad as hell.i cant get good sleep this way.when i get back to company yard im telling shop to turn off optimize idle are ill need a truck that doesnt have it on the truck or ill be leaving company!''lyion

[Tatooed Lady]

Ok...you're confusing me and yourself. Settle down. I have opti-idle on my truck. That's the system that will start the truck to recharge the batteries. This is a GOOD thing. Some trucks have an apu. Mine doesnt. Some will continue to idle, if the outside temp is outside a certain range.
Next: why do you feel that you need a 1200 watt inverter to power a cpap? ? Dude...I can power a coffee maker, or microwave oven or my frigging NINJA on that much power. And I do.
If you plug into an outlet that goes dead, TRY A DIFFERENT ONE before making irrational demands on the company. About half of the outlets in my truck go dead when power is low. But some dont. Figure it out. Ask your maintenance dept. Or your fleet manger. Whoever has answers....maybe the safety dept.

Ps: the guy who said companies are required to furnish 1200 watt inverters is WRONG.

[palerider]

hello,i was talking to a driver yesterday that said trucking companys are required to furnish all truck drivers a 12 hundred watt covertor for driver who have to use a cpap machine in there truck .any one no of this .i use a small convertor that plugs in to cig. outlet i think i need a stronger unit .let me no if you no about this.lyion

it'd be better to get a 12v cord, all the major players make 12v cords for their machines.

wow, I haven't noticed the 'misspelled word' red wavey underlines before... until I looked at the message I'm quoting, are they new? also, someone should add "cpap" to the dictionary.

[archangle]

Most CPAP machines are 90 watts or less. A 200 watt inverter should do the job.

wow, I haven't noticed the 'misspelled word' red wavey underlines before... until I looked at the message I'm quoting, are they new? also, someone should add "cpap" to the dictionary.

Those are probably in your web browser. What browser are you using? Right click on a wavy line word and see if you have an add to dictionary option.

[palerider]

Most CPAP machines are 90 watts or less. A 200 watt inverter should do the job.

wow, I haven't noticed the 'misspelled word' red wavy underlines before... until I looked at the message I'm quoting, are they new? also, someone should add "cpap" to the dictionary.

Those are probably in your web browser. What browser are you using? Right click on a wavy line word and see if you have an add to dictionary option.

ff34... wonder when they added that niftyness.

[js12278]

They are not required. However it would be better if you got the adapter for the 12 volt power outlet that should be available for your machine. They also have an adapter that has heavy gauge clips that can clamp to the battery directly if needed. I have all three of them.110v, 12v outlet and the clip on for my S9.

You could also get away with any of the 300 watt inverters that are available. Get one that plugs into the 12 volt outlet in the sleeper area.

[archangle]

ff34... wonder when they added that niftyness.

Been there a LONG time in FireFox. Yours must have been turned off or something and recent updates turned it on.

There's something weird about where and when it works. Seems like I have to turn it on manually on some web sites and certain parts of certain web sites. It's probably a side effect of big brother and the space aliens hacking into my computer.

[Tatooed Lady]

They are not required. However it would be better if you got the adapter for the 12 volt power outlet that should be available for your machine. They also have an adapter that has heavy gauge clips that can clamp to the battery directly if needed. I have all three of them.110v, 12v outlet and the clip on for my S9.

You could also get away with any of the 300 watt inverters that are available. Get one that plugs into the 12 volt outlet in the sleeper area.

Don't clip ANYTHING to the truck's batteries without talking to your company first. With my company, if a mechanic found that, I'd be looking for a new job. You can get a 400 watt inverter, but the outlet only provides like 300 watts. Still plenty to run a cpap. Better bet is to get a dc cord meant for your machine and use it. ASK the safety department to have maintenance make an always on lighter outlet in the bunk area, if there's not already one there. Or see if you can buy and have them install a large inverter to power stuff. But be aware, SOME companies (like mine) require you to buy one from them, AND have the company mechanics install. This can be expensive (cost me around $350 for 1200 watt) AND as an added bonus, some inverters only run for 2 hours before shutting themselves down for 10.
And SOME companies do NOT allow anything to be wired to the batteries AT ALL. In which case you're stuck with whatever can plug into cigarette lighter outlets.

[herefishy]

I've run my cpap successfully off of a cigarette lighter outlet with a 12v cord, but I understand not every machine will run off of 12v?

[chunkyfrog]

You are mostly correct. Respironics and Devillbiss will plug into 12VDC directly.
Most of the others require proprietary convertors or will plug into an AC inverter.

[Drowsy Dancer]

And SOME companies do NOT allow anything to be wired to the batteries AT ALL. In which case you're stuck with whatever can plug into cigarette lighter outlets.

Wouldn't there be room for something like this? Pretty spendy, but better than doing without CPAP.

http://www.goalzero.com/p/165/goal-zero ... ator/43:4/

[Tatooed Lady]

And SOME companies do NOT allow anything to be wired to the batteries AT ALL. In which case you're stuck with whatever can plug into cigarette lighter outlets.

Wouldn't there be room for something like this? Pretty spendy, but better than doing without CPAP.

http://www.goalzero.com/p/165/goal-zero ... ator/43:4/

Some trucks have enough room for a driver's "stuff" (see also: CRAP), some drivers overpack, some trucks are limited on space. I think the problem is that the OP (who hasn't posted in the past couple days) was given bad info on what trucking companies are "required" to supply.
I like the solar generator...but wouldn't have one due to space limitations and trying to angle the panel to capture enough sunlight to charge the unit during the daylight hours when I'm driving.

Worst case scenario, the OP could go on craigslist and buy a used unit that allows DC plugin option, and have the company do an always live plug outlet. Problem solved. OR s/he could check with the company to ask THEM to supply an appropriate machine that works in the truck.