Respironics battery works!!

[Hawthorne]

I ma no expert on batteries but I bough this one maybe 2 years ago. I have not used it but, periodically, I top off the charge.

Last night, before I even got to sleep, we had a power outage. That one lasted just seconds and the power came back on. I lay there wondering what would happen and then the power went out again. It did not come right back on.

I have my battery pack right by my machine so I got up, unplugged the cord from the back of my machine (I use passover humidity right now so just left my stand along humidifier alone). I plugged the DC adapter cord into the battery and into the back of the machine. It came on!

I got back into bed an put on the mask. My machine came on automatically, as usual. I was lying there wondering how long the battery might work. It was recently recharge and I used it for a nap just to see how it went but that was less than an hour.

I fell asleep while lying there wondering and the next thing I knew it was morning! I had slept through the night with the battery running my machine! The power came on sometime in the night but I was, of course, unaware of that. It appears that the power was off for maybe 2 hours.

The documentation with my battery showed that it would run the machine at my pressure (90% -12) for 26 hours. I wouldn't want to push that so will top off the charge again today.

We have been having very brief power outages for about a week now during the day. This was the first night one.

I post this, in detail, so that others who may not have battery backup will know of one, anyway, that will really work well. Cpap.com has them!

[Georgio]

Good thing you had your battery Hawthone! I have the Resperonics battery from cpap.com also. I have used it several times on camping trips and it easily has enough power between charges to last 3 nights. I keep it next to my nightstand also.

Georgio

[Babette]

Man, I am SO GLAD you mentioned keeping it on your nightstand. I would probably have packed it away in my "cpap box" on the top shelf of the bedroom closet and then been fumbling for it in the dark at 3 am!!!

Seriously, it's little things like this that make my life easier!! Now to just go buy the darned thing, instead of thinking about it!

Great story!
B.

[AuntieNae]

Thank you for your post.
We have a family camping trip planned for the second week of May and I am considering my options with batteries. I will not have the opportunity to recharge it and would need it to last 2 nights. My pressure range on the Auto is 11-13.5. I am debating between the CPAP.com battery or the Respironics.

[DoriC]

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/po ... 90966.html

This little alarm worked great the other night and woke me up during a brief power failure but not my husband, he's deaf in one ear and sleeps on that side. Didn't wait to find out how long it would take him to wake up gasping, I just unhooked him. Thankfully the power came on after about 15mins and he slightly awoke while I set him up again. While the alarm gives me peace of mind in that it will wake me, if the power had remained off for much longer, we'd be in a pickle without a battery backup although we don't get power outages too often and not for long. I'm convincing myself that we need this.

[araminta]

Good thing you had your battery Hawthone! I have the Resperonics battery from cpap.com also. I have used it several times on camping trips and it easily has enough power between charges to last 3 nights. I keep it next to my nightstand also.

Georgio

thanks for the post. as camping season is about to begin, i was starting to wonder about battery options.

[Hawthorne]

Babette - I had mine packed away in the hall closet for quite a while before I took time to think about it and realize that it would be a real pain getting it from there in the middle of the night.

In the closet, I would never think to keep it charged up either! . This way it is right there in the bedroom.

Thanks to Builta suggestion, I have decided I will top off the charge every month, when I change my fine filters.

Of coourse if I use it for any lenght of time, I will be charging it right after I use it.

I think the alarm idea as well as the battery may be a good idea for Mike, DoriC. The alarm will wake you and you can hook up the battery in case the power outage turns out to be a longer on.


I woke up instantly when the power went off - couldn't get air I may get the alarm as well just in case I am in a deeper sleep.


We are not prone to power outages but in the last couple of weeks we have had several small ones in the daytime. That one last night was longer. I don't know how long since I was peacefully sleeping away with my battery plugged into my machine.

[yardbird]

I have a 6,000 watt generator

Not in my room though. I would still have to get up and go set it in place and start it. So it's a lot more of a pain in the pratt than a battery. A battery might be a nice stand-by. But then... I might also stub my toe on it. And... the battery won't keep my furnace running ... heheheh.... wait.... unless I get a really BIG battery... or a BUNCH of batteries... hmmmmmmm

[Guest]

I guess I don't see the excitement about the respironics battery pack. It's rather high priced for 14 amp-hour battery. The Duracell Powerpack 600 has twice the capacity (28 amp-hours) at less than half the price. I haven't purchased one yet but plan to prior to a camping trip this summer.

[builta]

I guess I don't see the excitement about the respironics battery pack. It's rather high priced for 14 amp-hour battery. The Duracell Powerpack 600 has twice the capacity (28 amp-hours) at less than half the price. I haven't purchased one yet but plan to prior to a camping trip this summer.

Hi,

I guess that it all depends on what your needs are.

The Respironics and CPAP.com battery packs are good for travel (especially over night air travel) and for sporadic short term use (two nights or less usage between recharging). They are also user friendly.

Larger batteries provide longer run time between charges but, unless you really go big (e.g.: a greater then 75 AHr battery Marine/Deep Discharge type) the use of a heated humidifier would not be recommended. If you will be unable to recharge the battery every day or two, then the bigger battery type is also necessary. The down side is that they are heavy, bulky, less user friendly and probably couldn't be taken on an airplane. Recharging and moving these batteries and chargers are specifically less user friendly.

The Powerpack 600 looks, at least on the surface, like a pretty user friendly and more versatile battery pack. But, I don't think that you could board a plane with it. Also, the user rating at various web sites give mixed reviews on its durability. So, please let us know how it works out for you and your camping trips.

Also note that most heated humidifiers and some XPAP units need "Pure Sine wave" AC power and then a special (read that as expensive) DC to AC power inverter. So, a battery pack may not be sufficient for some people. Search on this site for more detailed information.

[builta]

Thanks to Builta suggestion, I have decided I will top off the charge every month, when I change my fine filters.

Of coourse if I use it for any lenght of time, I will be charging it right after I use it.

Hi Hawthorne,

Glad to hear that I helped.

[Hawthorne]

You sure did help Builta! I had it all charged up, and, thanks to you, was confident to just plug it into the machine and go off to sleep saying, "Thanks Builta!"

[DoriC]

While we're on this subject, I'm still shocked at how little doctors know about OSA therapy. My asthma was acting up so I made an appt today with a very reputable pulmonologist in this area who has been treating my complicated medical issues for years with good success and he gave me a very good exam and treatment plan. So I brought some of my husband's reports with me . He was impressed, keep up the good work, blah,blah, no questions or recommendations. Then I asked him if I should be concerned about power outages, and he said......."don't worry, patients can get enough air and are able to breathe no matter how long the power is out". I wanted him to repeat that in case I misunderstood, so I asked him what about FF masks and he said "same thing, no problem". He also said if it seems like the bad weather is going to continue for a day or two, it's OK if he doesn't sleep with cpap. Without being dramatic, this is the same doctor who saved my life in the ER a few years ago when I had a severe allergic asthma attack. Vent is over!

[AuntieNae]

For the price of the respironics battery, I could buy 2 of the Duracell ones ..
Anyone on the forums have experience with it? I need something for 3 nights ..