Left Power Supply Behind

[unityco]

Hi all,

I’m away from home in a somewhat remote setting (no CPAP suppliers or fast shipping options) and I left the power brick for my REMstar at home and can’t get it for 6 weeks. >.<

Can I just use a universal laptop power supply (which I can buy today, assuming it has the appropriate options?) Any other ideas?

Thank you!

[Pugsy]

Which Remstar model machine?

You will need some specific power brick requirements as well as specific adapter plug in thing to attach to your Remstar.
Maybe take your machine with you to make sure it works????

[unityco]

These are the details (in the photo...)

51792B73-C65F-481E-A34F-EAFF5C58D811.jpeg (882.39 KiB) Viewed 1203 times

seems it would be within the requirements of many computer power supplies?

[Pugsy]

It's a PR System One 50 series machine and the plug in for it is different than the same model but in the 60 series model line.

I think it probably is a 60 watt brick (100 to 240 volt & 50 to 60 HZ) but I no longer have a System One 50 series brick but I do know that at the machine itself the connectors differed where the cords actually plugged into the machine. When I went from the 50 series to the 60 series nothing was interchangeable except the cheap little power cord from the brick to the wall outlet.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... upply.html
The 50 series (the 551) tells me that you have the first System One model series which was the 50 series...the 60 series came later.

https://www.directhomemedical.com/power ... -cpap.html

The power cord from the brick to the electric source at the wall...those are easy to find. It's the brick itself and the connecting part that plugs into the machine that is the hard part.

[prodigyplace]

It's a PR System One 50 series machine and the plug in for it is different than the same model but in the 60 series model line.

I think it probably is a 60 watt brick (100 to 240 volt & 50 to 60 HZ) but I no longer have a System One 50 series brick but I do know that at the machine itself the connectors differed where the cords actually plugged into the machine. When I went from the 50 series to the 60 series nothing was interchangeable except the cheap little power cord from the brick to the wall outlet.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... upply.html
The 50 series (the 551) tells me that you have the first System One model series which was the 50 series...the 60 series came later.

https://www.directhomemedical.com/power ... -cpap.html

The power cord from the brick to the electric source at the wall...those are easy to find. It's the brick itself and the connecting part that plugs into the machine that is the hard part.

Even if the connector fits, you need to be sure the DC polarity is correct. At best, the CPAP would not work. At worst, it could damage the CPAP machine.

[Pugsy]

Even if the connector fits, you need to be sure the DC polarity is correct. At best, the CPAP would not work. At worst, it could damage the CPAP machine.

Yep, which is why I said take the machine with them and see if it works at all...and was silently saying "cross your fingers that you don't smoke the machine".
I don't have a laptop that has a brick powerful enough to power up a cpap machine. Maybe they are out there...I haven't looked so I can't say that they don't exist.

Now if the OP was using a 60 series machine...I actually have a spare brick for it but it won't hook up with the 50 machine at the machine level. The little tiny pin things are different sizes.

[TheDuke]

The post regarding left behind power brick revives one of my major gripes' There is absolutely no reason for CPAP manufacturers to use an external power brick; it is simply a nuisance. My last two machines have been from DeVilbiss precisely because I wanted the freedom to never bother to be sure to pack a power brick. I had that same experience of leaving an external brick at home quite a few years back when were traveling to a rather remote area in Northern New Mexico for a somewhat extended vacation. And don't bother to say that the machine will overheat if there is no external power supply-my machine stays cool as the proverbial cucumber.

TheDuke

[unityco]

Thanks for the help, all! As it turns out, where I’m at DOES have a CPAP supply place, and they had a used brick for $20! Crisis averted!

Oh, and I agree with you, TheDuke! My previous machine was a ResMed and had a standard 2-prong power cable, no brick. Easy to replace if forgotten (sometimes just by canabalizing stuff we already had in hand!)

[Pugsy]

$20 bucks...the best 20 dollars you have spent in a long time.

I once made a trip to Las Vegas...holiday weekend...arrived on Friday night and at 11 PM realized I had forgot the long hose (thought I had the spare hose in the travel bag with back up machine but I had forgotten that I had removed it and didn't check the back since normally I keep the travel back up machine ready to go).
So lots of cpap supply places in Las Vegas but none open on a Sat the Fourth of July....finally found one medical supply place that was open and they sold all sorts of cpap stuff along with all sorts of medical supply stuff...and I paid $30 for a cheap generic hose that is $6 online and delivered and it was the best 30 bucks I have ever spent. I had one night without cpap...didn't want any more. I would have paid twice that for it.

Glad your crisis was averted and you don't have to risk blowing up your machine trying something that wasn't designed for your machine.

[palerider]

There is absolutely no reason for CPAP manufacturers to use an external power brick;

Valid reasons for an external power brick:

• Smaller footprint on the bedside table, look how big the power brick is, try and cram that inside an air10.
• Less heat in the unit itself, possibly longer life for the cpap.
• Power supply dies, plug in a spare one, verses a dead cpap and having to get a new one of those.

You could make the "absolutely no reason" statement for a laptop computer.. but when was the last time you saw one of those with a built in power supply?

[Goofproof]

The post regarding left behind power brick revives one of my major gripes' There is absolutely no reason for CPAP manufacturers to use an external power brick; it is simply a nuisance. My last two machines have been from DeVilbiss precisely because I wanted the freedom to never bother to be sure to pack a power brick. I had that same experience of leaving an external brick at home quite a few years back when were traveling to a rather remote area in Northern New Mexico for a somewhat extended vacation. And don't bother to say that the machine will overheat if there is no external power supply-my machine stays cool as the proverbial cucumber.

TheDuke

If you don't remove the cords and power brick from the machine, it will be in the bag with the machine. Best to have a second machine set up in your GO Bag with parts needed ready to go for traveling. Jim

[zoocrewphoto]

Before I got a backup/travel machine, the biggest problem with cpap and traveling was getting home and being too tired to set up the machine. The problem is t hat my outlet isn't easy to get to, so plugging in that cord was a problem. Then I realized that the cord from the wall to the transformer was a very standard cord. So, I got an extra one and left that always plugged in. I kept another one in the bag to travel.

Now that I have a second machine, I have a full setup with extra power cord, extra mask, etc. So, it is complete. I leave the whole setup in my luggage so that it is there when it is time to pack.

[palerider]

Then I realized that the cord from the wall to the transformer was a very standard cord. So, I got an extra one and left that always plugged in. I kept another one in the bag to travel.

Clever.

[zoocrewphoto]

Then I realized that the cord from the wall to the transformer was a very standard cord. So, I got an extra one and left that always plugged in. I kept another one in the bag to travel.

Clever.

There was also one time, before the backup/travel machine when I forgot that part of the cord. I happen to travel with a canon printer, and it uses the same type of cord. I had to keep a note on my cat carrier to remind me to take the cord back and forth so that I could use the cpap in the hotel and the printer at the cat show.

There have also been times when somebody has been able to borrow a spare power cord. I know I loaned one once to somebody who was in my area for a week. I think I have seen other times where somebody posted their need, and somebody was nearby and able to loan them the needed cord or part. It doesn't hurt to ask.

[prodigyplace]

There is absolutely no reason for CPAP manufacturers to use an external power brick;

Valid reasons for an external power brick:

• Smaller footprint on the bedside table, look how big the power brick is, try and cram that inside an air10.
• Less heat in the unit itself, possibly longer life for the cpap.
• Power supply dies, plug in a spare one, verses a dead cpap and having to get a new one of those.

You could make the "absolutely no reason" statement for a laptop computer.. but when was the last time you saw one of those with a built in power supply?

One more:
Easier to adapt to a DC power source. Just use a different brick.