Deep Cycle Battery for Camping

[nachot]

I've read most of the posts the relate to camping with CPAP. As a ResMed S9 user, my thinking is to use the ResMed DC/DC Converter along with a 12v deep cycle battery to power a couple nights. The question comes down to what type/brand of battery. After reading the ResMed battery guide (http://goo.gl/G519P0), for my whole setup, S9 AutoSet + H5i + Climate control (EPR Setting 0, CC setting 27° C) and an average treatment pressure of 9, I'll need to have a battery that can support around 50 amp hours per night.

What I'm not sure of is the ResMed battery guide says they've built in a 50% safety margin I presume to keep the battery from going below 50% charge. Does that mean I could go two nights at 50ah with a 115ah battery?

I'm considering the EverStart 27DC Marine Battery at 115 amp hours. Any cautions with this choice, suggestions of other batteries with similar ah ratings?

Many thanks!

[Sir NoddinOff]

Here's two of the heavy hitters. I can't answer your question but you could PM John Fisher or Archangle:

viewtopic.php?t=49115

viewtopic.php?t=83597&p=758600

[Nozzelnut]

I think that's the same battery I chose. I've used it 3 nights with my PRS1 with humidifier and the PR DC power cable for it. I use the DC cables instead of an inverter because there's less power loss. No reason to go from DC to AC with inverter then back to DC for our machines.

[msla]

I would try it out at home on the battery to be assured that the trip is uneventful.

[JohnBFisher]

Resmed sells a battery converter (12v to 24v) that you can use instead of an inverter. You'll need less of a deep cycle battery using that converter. Check the Resmed battery guide for the exact amount. Also, my Battery Backup Design V2 should help up upscale the setup to make it fairly safe for a backup unit at home.

[chriscowles]

Old thread, new to me.

I read John FIsher's wiki on a battery backup system with interest. I have a camper and would like to stay in National Parks occasionally. That requires dry camping but I don't do it often enough to justify the expense. However, the description of a home backup system reminded me of a recent power outage of several hours, during which neither my wife nor I slept well. We both use CPAP. We're not as dependent on it for survival as some users are but we definitely miss the good nights sleep we lose without it.

Building a home battery backup system can help justify the expense of a pair of 6v batteries for my camper. As I only camp occasionally, I''ll just move the batteries from bedroom to camper. Also, keeping them in the bedroom will keep them charged. Combined with a small generator which I definitely need for extended power failures (we live in Florida) makes me independent of power when camping, and confident about being able to whether extended outages at home. I can use the generator to keep the refrigerator cold and recharge the batteries. For everything else there's propane and flashlights.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Chris

[CapnLoki]

Old thread, new to me.

I read John FIsher's wiki on a battery backup system with interest. I have a camper and would like to stay in National Parks occasionally. That requires dry camping but I don't do it often enough to justify the expense. However, the description of a home backup system reminded me of a recent power outage of several hours, during which neither my wife nor I slept well. We both use CPAP. We're not as dependent on it for survival as some users are but we definitely miss the good nights sleep we lose without it.

Building a home battery backup system can help justify the expense of a pair of 6v batteries for my camper. As I only camp occasionally, I''ll just move the batteries from bedroom to camper. Also, keeping them in the bedroom will keep them charged. Combined with a small generator which I definitely need for extended power failures (we live in Florida) makes me independent of power when camping, and confident about being able to whether extended outages at home. I can use the generator to keep the refrigerator cold and recharge the batteries. For everything else there's propane and flashlights.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Chris

I was impressed by John's backup system but thought it was overkill for my needs. I ended up putting together a smaller system based on a 35 AH AGM scooter battery and the same Battery Tender charger. The battery is safe for indoors (its built for mobility scooters), weighs 24 pounds, and can run my CPAP (without humidity) for 4-5 nights. It can be setup in "UPS" mode if you're worried about short term failures during the night.
last post in the thread: viewtopic.php?t=102775

[flyswatta]

What kind of camping? I've done weekend car camping monthly for the last 2 years using a Black & Decker Electromate 400 jump starter that I bought about 6 years ago. What's also nice is that it's self contained and has a handle. What sucks is that its 25 lbs - gets heavy carrying it to the tent if it's a ways away, up hill, and over rocks.

It has a built in inverter and the s9 didn't make it through one night.

I then bought the 24-12 volt converter. What I've figured out is that the s9 will use about 1ah. IIRC, the electromate is 22 ah, so I can go two nights, but I use a 20 watt solar panel and charge it during the day to keep it charged up. I think I paid around $100 for the electromate, $100 for the ac/dc converter and $60 for the solar panel.

Twice, I've been able to go for 5 nights of camping without an issue when charging by day.

This setup is pretty heavy (25 lbs) plus 2'x1' solar panel. I'm currently looking to lighten my setup so I can go backpacking.

[Krelvin]

When I get a chance, I will be getting what I call the CapnLoki collection. Pulled from posts he made a while back...

https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/batter ... collection

Don't plan on taking it camping, but for house use, but would work okay for car camping (not hiking) and then as a standby in case of a power failure.

[Too tall]

Get a solar charger so you could help top it off during the day. I've done the same calculation with my battery and figured I could make it one night. Not sure about two.

[dcell59]

I am lucky enough to not require the humidifier - I use it when I'm at home, but on the road it's no big deal. I use a ResMed S9 AutoSet with the 12v adapter and a 14.4v battery pack that weighs about 1.25 pounds. I can get 2 nights on a full charge. I just bought a second one of these from PowerStream. I've also used a Duracell battery pack (basically a car battery in a nice case with an inverter, light, and jumper cables), and I get about 3 nights from that. I sleep 6 hours a night pretty consistently.

I recently went on a 6-day jungle wilderness kayaking trip in Mexico and I took my CPAP kit with me. I had to take just the single small battery pack because I had to carry everything with me in the kayak except for food. I also took a small solar charger. Annoyingly, there were no opportunities to recharge the battery until the afternoon of the last day. I used the CPAP on nights 1 and 3 on the initial charge, and then on night 5 with the recharge, and I still had enough charge for another night.

Most of my multi-day boating trips are not in my kayak, so I can carry a larger battery if I need to, but I think that the pair of small battery packs and the solar charger should be fine for most trips that I do.