ResMed S8 Escape - power when goinf camping

turtle9270 · Post by **turtle9270** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:24 am

Hey guys i know theres LOADS of threads out ther eon this but i do need help and dont understand electronics,

I got a ResMed S8 Escape

It has both an AC and DC power socekt on the back, i use a humidifier but wont be usign it on this trip,

I need a way to power the cpap machine when i'm goinf camping for 3 nights, i have access to a car during the day so it can be charged,

i dont understand all this converter and inverter stuff etc,

i'm looking for a cheap cost effective method,

i do have a battery pack in the hosue that has two cigarette sockets, this hopefull can be used, but again sdo i need to convert or invert etc

Thansk in advanced

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:06 am

^^ Bump^^

tashabear · Post by **tashabear** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:20 am

Too easy. Go get a Black & Decker Power Station jumpstarter at your local big box store. They run about $100. Plug it in during the day, and you should be fine. (Be sure to run the car for 10-20 minutes every day, though, to ensure you don't drain the car battery.)

I should add that this is precisely the machine and setup I used when I went camping in May.

Warbird · Post by **Warbird** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:40 am

In order to use 12 volt batteries, you have to purchase the Resmed DC-10 12 volt plug. For some reason, Resmed has reversed the polarity on the wires (center connection is negative). I have one and it works great on car batteries or battery packs. Figure on about 1 amp per hour and NEVER drain your 12 volt battery below half full (it will ruin it). Most deep cycle batteries are rated Amp Hours. So, using the Resmed for 8 hours will result in about 8 Amp Hours of use so the MINIMUM battery size should be 16 Amp Hours and charge it every day. Get a 35 amp hour battery and you should get two 8 hour nights then recharge, etc. Your heated humidifier will not work on 12 volts.

Inverters change 12 volt DC power to 120 volt AC (home type) power. But they use much more battery power going though the inverter than you would use at 12 volts with the DC-10.

Hope this helps.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:17 pm

how long does the black and decker power station take to recharge ( thinking of how long i need to leave the car running)

tashabear · Post by **tashabear** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:35 pm

Leave the jumpstarter plugged in all day (it won't overcharge), but the car need not be running. But because you're drawing power from the battery to charge it, you need to run the car separately for ten to twenty minutes to make sure the car battery does not die.

turtle9270 · Post by **turtle9270** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:53 pm

a rite i see, does anyone have a link to the Black and Decker thing also do i plug that into the cigarette lighter or attach it to the battery

what i need to make sure is that it defo wont decharge the car battery as i'm going camping and will be like 15 miles from the closest village so will be pretty screwed if that happens

tashabear · Post by **tashabear** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:43 pm

http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGu ... ctID=15591

I got mine at WalMart.

You plug it into the cigarette lighter to recharge. I can't guarantee that it won't completely discharge your car battery; read the instructions. However, that's why I've told you three times to be sure that you run the car for a little while every day to recharge the car's battery.