CPAP BATTERIES

[ChicagoGranny]

I would hardly refer to an admittedly "heavy and costly" battery for CPAP to be "totally fine".

[amenite]

I would hardly refer to an admittedly "heavy and costly" battery for CPAP to be "totally fine".

"admittedly"? As though someone were hiding the fact that the typical automotive battery is heavy? And AGM designs of such batteries are typically more costly? They are what they are. They exist. The battery shopper can make their choice based on their own preference, not yours or mine.

[palerider]

Car starting batteries are not good because they're NOT designed for long discharge...

Not exactly. There are "Car Starting batteries" that are just fine for this type of application. A typical flooded lead acid car starting battery is poor choice. An AGM car starting battery that is designed to handle 80% depth of discharge is a car starting battery that would be just fine. Costly and heavy but totally fine.

Please provide some *sources* for your allegation, since a few minutes of searching to see if you're right seems to suggest that you're not: https://lasmotorhomes.co.uk/case-studie ... e-battery/

[amenite]

Car starting batteries are not good because they're NOT designed for long discharge...

Not exactly. There are "Car Starting batteries" that are just fine for this type of application. A typical flooded lead acid car starting battery is poor choice. An AGM car starting battery that is designed to handle 80% depth of discharge is a car starting battery that would be just fine. Costly and heavy but totally fine.

Please provide some *sources* for your allegation, since a few minutes of searching to see if you're right seems to suggest that you're not: https://lasmotorhomes.co.uk/case-studie ... e-battery/

Searching "Mobility Scooter Battery" and what's the first link I see? Is that an AGM battery there?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/12V-35Ah-Whe ... aad234d8b7

Your RV guys link has a few deficiencies.
#1 They make this statement: "The deep cycle A.G.M. batteries can only be discharged to 50%, whereas the lead acid battery can be discharged to 80%." An AGM battery *is* a lead acid battery. Of a specific construction. And can be rated for 80% depth of discharge.
#2 They state that "A.G.M. batteries do not give off any gas (hydrogen) when being charged, so there is less concern about ventilation when charging them." They will off-gas hydrogen if they are overcharged, so can be a source of the explosive gas in some situations. It's a bit misleading.

[palerider]

Car starting batteries are not good because they're NOT designed for long discharge...

Not exactly. There are "Car Starting batteries" that are just fine for this type of application. A typical flooded lead acid car starting battery is poor choice. An AGM car starting battery that is designed to handle 80% depth of discharge is a car starting battery that would be just fine. Costly and heavy but totally fine.

Please provide some *sources* for your allegation, since a few minutes of searching to see if you're right seems to suggest that you're not: https://lasmotorhomes.co.uk/case-studie ... e-battery/

Searching "Mobility Scooter Battery" and what's the first link I see? Is that an AGM battery there?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/12V-35Ah-Whe ... aad234d8b7

Since your baseless, unsubstantiated allegation was that an automotive STARTING battery could be designed to handle 80% discharge, your pointing out a mobility scooter battery is superflous.

mobility scooter batteries are what are normally recommended here for cpap use, ie, the comment that you started blabbering about:

What you want is a mobility scooter deep cycle battery, not a 'marine' deep cycle battery.

Your RV guys link has a few deficiencies.
#1 They make this statement: "The deep cycle A.G.M. batteries can only be discharged to 50%, whereas the lead acid battery can be discharged to 80%." An AGM battery *is* a lead acid battery. Of a specific construction. And can be rated for 80% depth of discharge.
#2 They state that "A.G.M. batteries do not give off any gas (hydrogen) when being charged, so there is less concern about ventilation when charging them." They will off-gas hydrogen if they are overcharged, so can be a source of the explosive gas in some situations. It's a bit misleading.

You haven't posted *ANY* supporting information to your allegations, as was requested.

[Caren]

I’m a little late to the discussion, but I did travel in east Africa with a CPAP in July. I used the Resmed Air Mini with a Medistrom battery, which was a reasonably lightweight setup that didn’t eat too much into my 35-pound baggage weight limit.

I had two issues. The first was keeping the battery charged. This wasn’t a problem in camps that had generator power, but a couple of the more primitive camps in Tanzania had a couple of solar panels powering a single power strip as the only way to recharge anything. This setup was enough to recharge phones and such, but didn’t do well with my battery—I ran out of power in the wee hours one night. Theoretically I could have recharged the battery in the safari Jeep, but that didn’t actually work.

My other issue was with the CPAP. My prescription is for 8 to 12 auto sensing. My Respironics machine at home sticks pretty close to 8, bumping up near 12 only a couple of times during the night. The Resmed Air Mini, on the other hand, keeps the pressure at or near 12 most of the time, which is a bit uncomfortable and results in chipmunk cheeks.

Also sleep related, but not CPAP related, keep in mind that it gets pretty cold in east Africa at night, so plan for some warm sweats to sleep in.

[amenite]

Let's be clear on my original comment that did not metion "Marine" batteries at all, in order to avoid muddying the waters on said original comment:

Car starting batteries are not good because they're NOT designed for long discharge...

Not exactly. There are "Car Starting batteries" that are just fine for this type of application. A typical flooded lead acid car starting battery is poor choice. An AGM car starting battery that is designed to handle 80% depth of discharge is a car starting battery that would be just fine. Costly and heavy but totally fine.

There are many Automotive "starting" batteries that are fine for deep cycle applications. Some Marine batteries too, but I didn't mention those. Their chemistry is lead acid. Their construction is AGM. If overcharged they can and will emit hydrogen gas which is explosive. I recently took an AGM starting battery out of service in one of my vehicles. It was used as a starting battery for 10 years in all types of weather.

FYI - Google will return a whole lot of results on this. Let me give you one such example here to make it very easy to confirm my "baseless, unsubstantiated allegation".

I hereby present exhibit A - an automotive starting battery rated for 400 cycles at 80% depth of discharge (you would have to open up the specification sheet to see that detail). Of course it will last longer if you go easy on it, but nonetheless:

https://www.odysseybattery.com/products ... y-24m-725/

And here's a bit more on the general design in case anyone is still reading:

https://www.odysseybattery.com/design-a ... batteries/

[babydinosnoreless]

Wait so I could power my bilevel with my husbands mobility scooter batteries if I had too ? I never thought of that, been looking at all kinds of expensive ways to have a back up and I may already have a solution ? Would I just need an adapter ?

[loggerhead12]

Wait so I could power my bilevel with my husbands mobility scooter batteries if I had too ? I never thought of that, been looking at all kinds of expensive ways to have a back up and I may already have a solution ? Would I just need an adapter ?

Yes. Four or five nights of backup for $200-ish using simple plug-n-play components.

[ChicagoGranny]

Wait so I could power my bilevel with my husbands mobility scooter batteries if I had too ? I never thought of that, been looking at all kinds of expensive ways to have a back up and I may already have a solution ? Would I just need an adapter ?

If you are still using the ResMed machine in your profile, all you need is a DC converter - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... 0-machines

Make sure to get the one for your machine model (see link above).

[ChicagoGranny]

$200-ish

She already has the battery and likely a charger.

[babydinosnoreless]

Wait so I could power my bilevel with my husbands mobility scooter batteries if I had too ? I never thought of that, been looking at all kinds of expensive ways to have a back up and I may already have a solution ? Would I just need an adapter ?

Cool. Thanks!

[SleepGeek]

If you are still using the ResMed machine in your profile, all you need is a DC converter

Me thinks one of the biggest problem with cpap users is not everyone is or feels comfortable connecting wiring to make a battery usable for a cpap. While I am and PR is - not everyone else is.

IMO we should use what we have on hand - if you have a car battery and feel comfy using it then use it. PR has a scooter so has access to scooter batteries - that in itself doesn't make it right or mandatory for everyone else who uses a cpap.

Using what you already have certainly cuts your expenses and makes this item more valuable if you can use it for other things besides a cpap.

I have and use a car jump starter battery and while I am perfectly comfy wiring up a battery I think it is the easiest way to power a cpap that I have found. And I have built other battery boxes from much larger to much smaller batteries for cpap and other uses.

The biggest thing is getting the correct DC power cord for your cpap.
https://www.cpap.com/plp/cpap-dc-cables/ZT0zMTI

https://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=64943

So the bottom line is you can power your cpap from almost any battery IF you know what you are doing. The easiest way is to buy something already made - already put together and a jump starter battery fits into that category.

You also want to charge any battery before use as you don't have any idea how long it has been sitting on the shelf.

So buy it, charge it, then use it BEFORE you need it so you know how long it will last you - then charge it again.

You don't want to completely drain any battery. To extend the life and time available on your battery you should turn off the humidifier and heated hose.

IF you are going out into a jungle on the other side of the globe, going camping or whatever, you should be trying things out here at home first.

IF you need solar panels to re-charge the battery that is even more planning and work.

[Ray4852]

using a cpap on the road or taking it camping is pretty easy to figure it out. we have plenty of good battery options to choose from. my setup is not cheap but its probably the best way to go if you camp in an RV. I use a 100 amp battle born lithium battery. I monitored how many amps I take out of my battery with a Victron smart shunt. I use this battery for other things too. I keep my battery topped of with a victron blue smart 20 amp battery charger. I also use a 100 amp solar panel. I keep my state of charge up in the upper part of battery. I never let it go past 50 percent. my cpap runs on air only. no humidity or heated hose. I use the slimline hose. AGM batteries will do the job too. what I don't like about AGM is they are too heavy and you have to watch your state of charge. Victron battery monitored will do it just fine. we have cheaper batteries too. auto store and Walmart batteries. they work but you need to watch the state of charge on these batteries with a Victron. then we have those little small back pack batteries. I think these batteries are the most expensive way to go. best value for you dollar today. is lithium. if you take care of it they will out last anything they build today.

[kkb]

If you are still using the ResMed machine in your profile, all you need is a DC converter

Me thinks one of the biggest problem with cpap users is not everyone is or feels comfortable connecting wiring to make a battery usable for a cpap. While I am and PR is - not everyone else is.

Yes! This is me. I am 100% NOT comfortable connecting wiring to make a battery usable for a CPAP.

Can someone recommend a simple, yet effective solution for a backup battery that I just have to charge and then plug in if there is a power outage? Simple. Simple. Simple. That's what I want. I have the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset for her.