CPAP travel and batteries

[hazelinCalifornia]

Anybody out there who uses a REspironics M-series ever travel with a battery pack? Was it the Respironics battery pack or were you able to use a lithium battery which is A LOT lighter?

[snoreking]

I use a LI battery that I bought from batteryspace dot com. Light as a feather, and works like a champ.

[Balding_Eagle]

I use battery geek C-222. I take it camping on average once a month. Battery lasts me 4 nights. I only have to charge once on a week on summer camp trip. Battery works great, however the charge level meter is not accurate.

**Edit** I don't use the humidifier with the battery.

[bearded_two]

I used to use a Battery Geek battery with an M series (I now use it with an IntelliPAP). The Battery Geek battery comes with a DC cable and adapters that fit the Series M and other CPAPs. I really like the Battery Geek battery.

[Guest]

I use battery geek C-222. I take it camping on average once a month. Battery lasts me 4 nights. I only have to charge once on a week on summer camp trip. Battery works great, however the charge level meter is not accurate.

**Edit** I don't use the humidifier with the battery.

I don't understand how you get 4 nights on an 18.5 amp-hr battery. Even battery geek's site states that for pressures between 7-15 cm H2O you should get from 19 down to 11 hours at the higher pressures.

[Balding_Eagle]

All I can tell you is what I experienced. My first time using it at summer camp I wanted to see how long it would last. I arrived Sunday and the battery died halfway through Thursday night. Now when I camp for a week I charge Wednesday morning. Keep in mind I was only sleeping between 6 & 7 hours a night. My pressure is 11.

[Patrick A]

Anybody out there who uses a REspironics M-series ever travel with a battery pack? Was it the Respironics battery pack or were you able to use a lithium battery which is A LOT lighter?

I carry a https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... -pack.htmlbattery pack I got from Cpap.com. I have it with me so if the power goes out I have power whrn I am staying in a Motel or Hotel. I also keep it at my house.
Good Luck.

[2cv]

I use a Goodnight 420G for travel and am looking for a battery and charging system (it can be separately assembled parts) to possibly take to Haiti.

By the way I have seen other posts about CPAP and vibration, etc. I have used this unit for well over a year, possibly over two years and it stays in my bag, gets drug around airports, thrown into rental cars, etc. I do keep some T-shirts on all sides as padding, but it is tough.

[ycartf]

I have no type of battery backup (as far as the type you all are talking about). I did buy the adapter to hook onto a regular car/marine battery and adapt it into a cigarette lighter, and also the adapter to hook into the cigarette lighter to adapt it to power my M Series Auto. We seldom lose power for more than a few minutes in this area, but I know if I HAD to, I could pluck a battery out of one of our 4 vehicles for an absolute emergency (16 year fireman/paramedic/understand hazards/hydrogen/etc). I could also sleep upright in my recliner, which is what I had resorted to before getting on CPAP in September 2006.

What I would like to know is, if I decide to buy a pack to power my unit in the case of a power outage, and hardly ever used it, how long would it last? When we go somewhere on a trip, it has never been without an AC wall plug nearby, and we do have pretty infrequent/brief power losses here. I would hate to spend $300 or so on a power pack, and use it maybe once or twice before it started not "holding a charge" or something. I know that lithium ion batteries (researched it regarding cellphones) do not develop a memory and do not have to be completely discharged and all - but they also start to lose 10% of their capacity per year from the time that they are manufactured. I would be curious to know the longevity you all have experienced with battery packs for CPAP units.

Thanks so much,

Tracy

[billbolton]

If you don't need portability and will only use battery occasionally, either NiMH or Lead-Acid AGM battery technolgies (which only degrade slowly over time when not in use) are a much better choice than than LiOn technology.

LiOn has the highest energy density (therefore lowest weight/size) so is great for portable use, but it is not usually very cost effective for occasional use.

With Lead-Acid battery technology you should not discharge a "starter/cranking" battery below about 90% of its rated capacity, and a "deep cycle" battery below about 50% of its rated capacity if you expect to get a long service life from it.

Cheers,

Bill

[el_zorro]

I use a LI battery that I bought from batteryspace dot com. Light as a feather, and works like a champ.

Which model from batteryspace do you use ? It looks like my CPAP draws 5A at 12VDC.

[ycartf]

If you don't need portability and will only use battery occasionally, either NiMH or Lead-Acid AGM battery technolgies (which only degrade slowly over time when not in use) are a much better choice than than LiOn technology.

LiOn has the highest energy density (therefore lowest weight/size) so is great for portable use, but it is not usually very cost effective for occasional use.

With Lead-Acid battery technology you should not discharge a "starter/cranking" battery below about 90% of its rated capacity, and a "deep cycle" battery below about 50% of its rated capacity if you expect to get a long service life from it.

Cheers,

Bill

So are any of the longer-life options you mentioned available as a packaged unit for CPAP, or are you suggesting just using a traditional 12V battery (probably would go with deep cycle battery) if and when needed? I had always thought that if I had to have power in the middle of the night, I could just shoot to Wal-Mart and get a deep cycle battery then. Since they are open 24 hours and on a different power source for their electricity, I figured this way I wouldn't be paying for something I did not need (while it degraded) and would just get it when I needed it. I may need to check with a place called "Battery Source" around here that specializes in batteries for anything according to their ads.

Thanks.

Tracy

[billbolton]

So are any of the longer-life options you mentioned available as a packaged unit for CPAP

Well, there isn't much in the way of Lead-Acid battery solutions available specifically for CPAP, but there are various "jump start" type units (and similar things) which are readily available which some users report good results with. I use a basic jump start unit, in which I replaced the battery with a higher quality AGM gel cell type, as my at-home standby power source for my CPAP machine.

There are also various 12V DC NiMH battery packs that are typically used for portable Film/TV lighting purposes which are also useful for CPAP power, but you will have to hunt around for one of suitable capacity

In terms of your middle of the night strategy, whatever it is, you really need to have EVERYTHING fully worked through (and preferably occasionally rehearsed) if you want it to be effective. There's nothing quite like not being able to find things in the dark or realising you don't have the right gizmo while you are in the middle of a real and prolonged power outage!

Cheers,

Bill