Is a Jackery 240 or a deep cycle scooter battery better for emergency backup?

I know, very broad question, but I've got a lot to consider. I think the biggest consideration is shelf life, since going on 8 years of having a CPAP, there has only been 1 night I had to go the entire time w/out breathing. (But the way things are going, I'm sure there'll be more and they'll be more frequent.)

All prices in CAD.

• Jackery: 260$, no shipping, or duty, no surprises, but probably tax
• Deep cycle scooter battery and on top of that, I'd have to buy a DC-DC converter: 132$ (battery) + 130$ = 262 + shipping + duties + taxes + surprises...

So there are some pretty good reasons for going w/the Jackery:

• Low and predictable up-front cost
• Can easily keep up with the power demand
• Can be used for a lot of things other than the CPAP
• Designed for this sort of purpose vs the MacGyvering I'd have to do w/the scooter battery

But what kind of shelf life can I expect from the 28 Li ion batteries it takes and how would that compare to the kind of scooter deep cycle battery I posted above?

DepartmentOfMeteors wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:18 pm

I know, very broad question, but I've got a lot to consider. I think the biggest consideration is shelf life, since going on 8 years of having a CPAP, there has only been 1 night I had to go the entire time w/out breathing. (But the way things are going, I'm sure there'll be more and they'll be more frequent.)

All prices in CAD.

• Jackery: 260$, no shipping, or duty, no surprises, but probably tax
• Deep cycle scooter battery and on top of that, I'd have to buy a DC-DC converter: 132$ (battery) + 130$ = 262 + shipping + duties + taxes + surprises...

So there are some pretty good reasons for going w/the Jackery:

• Low and predictable up-front cost
• Can easily keep up with the power demand
• Can be used for a lot of things other than the CPAP
• Designed for this sort of purpose vs the MacGyvering I'd have to do w/the scooter battery

But what kind of shelf life can I expect from the 28 Li ion batteries it takes and how would that compare to the kind of scooter deep cycle battery I posted above?

You can get a similar battery for half that cost from Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/Weize-Recharge ... deae8f9840

You have to compare WattHours for a fair comparison, a 35ah battery has around 440wh, while the jackery has 240, so it's going to cost you a good bit more, for just over half the capacity.

I’ve been looking at lithium iron phosphate batteries and having the same quandras you. It seems most of the ready made backups are lithium ion or other types ie lead.

LiFePO4 can be used down to about 10% charge, capable of fast charging and last around 3000-5000 charges. This tops the other types according to my research.

I have been eyeing this and considering an appropriate LiFePO4 battery from another source. Then I want to get solar panels. All a part of my wish list but pricy. But they weigh less and are more environmentally friendly. https://cuttingedgepower.com/products/5 ... 4092085748

I know that maybe isn’t super helpful but maybe something there draws you. hth

Edit: I also like that this is expandable if I want to link in addition batteries. AGM can only run down to half charge before you run risk of damage to the battery.

Okay here's the skinny on battery backup for the purpose you want which is a very very occasional night of power failure.

Lithium ion batteries can do many more cycles before they die and lithium iron phosphate can do virtually infinite cycles. But having a battery that will last 3000 cycles is pointless for your usage because at one outage per eight years you'd be looking at several thousand years before the battery ran down and I suspect you would run down before that!

I'd recommend just getting a 35 amp hour AGM lead acid battery. If you're confident that you're just facing a single night of outage, you could get by with half the size of your battery. I built myself a battery backup system a few years ago because we were having a lot of outages due to fires. The cost was not very much. The battery on US amazon is about $75. A 20AH battery is about $45. There's a non OEM adapter for $31, I have one and it works great.

Do remember that typically you will get far less battery backup if you use your humidifier. But if you have enough battery you can use the humidifier at least for one night.

Here are some threads I posted. If you PM me I have a document with all the links to products.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=180437&p=1366945#p1366945
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=180059&p=1363433#p1363433

The total parts list is: (prices may have changed)

Battery: Weize 12V 35AH Battery Rechargeable SLA Deep Cycle AGM $65

Battery Box: NOCO HM082BKS Group U1 Snap-Top Battery Box For Mobility And Lawn and Garden Batteries $11.36

Charger: NOCO GENIUS5, 5-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V And 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, And Battery Desulfator With Temperature Compensation $55 on sale

Alligator to 12 volt accessory jack: NOCO GC017 12-Volt Adapter Plug Socket With Battery Clamps $9.94 This is fused.

Adapter for 12 volt to 24 volt for Resmed S9: KFD in Car Charger DC Adapter 3 Pin Jack for 90W Resmed S9 Series $33

Do you have a 12 volt or 24 volt machine?

But what kind of shelf life can I expect from the 28 Li ion batteries it takes and how would that compare to the kind of scooter deep cycle battery I posted above?
[/quote]

Lithium ion 12 volt batteries are available now in high Amp Hour capacity for less than they were a year ago. Many brands with good reviews are available online. They are safe, last many years, and some come with built in metering devices. Most come with a charger.

Some also come in a kit type device that includes a DC to AC converter with outlet. Sometimes those are referred to as generators, but they are not generators. They are 12 volt batteries with AC outlets.

For a cpap back up we need to take into consideration how long you want it to run the machine. That would be done by a calculation of how much electricity your machine draws in wattage or amps and how much time you want it to run. The battery you choose will have to have enough Amp Hours rating to supply enough electricity to get the job done.

My ResMed Air sense draws 3.75 amps so to run it for 24 hours I would need a 100 amp hour battery and converter. Last year, 100 amp hour batteries were running from $600 - $1,000. And, you will need a DC/AC converter. Most batteries come with a charger. Some batteries now come with built in metering, which is very nice to have. It is like having a fuel gauge for the battery. Out of six brands of 100 amp hour batteries I've seen, most of them get good reviews and are available online.

The battery will weigh around 25lbs., and be the size of a car battery. If you need less than 24 hours of operation, say 10 hours, a 50 amp battery would do. The price and size/weight of that battery will be much less.

Hope this helps.

I'm on the edge of buying an AGM battery but I need some straight answers about charging them. I've been told that car chargers will ruin the ML35-12 - 12 Volt 35AH SLA AGM MighyMax, but I've also been told that my battery maintainer (750mA) is safe to use. But I also have a quick charger that can produce 2A, 4A or 6A. What's the danger of using a quick charger? Is it the current? Because I've been recommended to use a NOCO genius5 5A charger for this particular battery. If I can use this 5A charger, what's the problem w/using another charger in 4A mode?

* bump *
It'd be great if I knew that I didn't have to buy hardware that I already have. Specifically the NOCO genius5 when I already have a maintainer and a 2A, 4A, or 6A car charger.

DepartmentOfMeteors wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:18 pm

. . . MacGyvering . . .

Two nuts. Two bolts.

The rest is easier than Christmas tree lights.

DepartmentOfMeteors wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:15 am

I'm on the edge of buying an AGM battery but I need some straight answers about charging them. I've been told that car chargers will ruin the ML35-12 - 12 Volt 35AH SLA AGM MighyMax, but I've also been told that my battery maintainer (750mA) is safe to use. But I also have a quick charger that can produce 2A, 4A or 6A. What's the danger of using a quick charger? Is it the current? Because I've been recommended to use a NOCO genius5 5A charger for this particular battery. If I can use this 5A charger, what's the problem w/using another charger in 4A mode?

The danger of using an old school battery charger not designed for AGM is that you can pretty easily overcharge it, potentially cause off-gassing of hydrogen, and ruin your battery. An electronically controlled bulk charger in the approximate range for your AGM battery will prevent that. And a battery maintainer that handles AGM will be fine too. It's how I store mine - on a small battery tender all the time. And i have higher capacity modern AGM compatible chargers for when I need to bulk up quickly.

I got the equipment and performed an overnight test and thought you might be interested in the result: it worked, but was not w/out its problems. I'd like to thank remstarcpap for helping me pick out the equipment.
The first time I tried to perform the test, I hooked everything up but when I plugged in the CPAP, the LED on the power button just blinked and then nothing. I didn't do an exhaustive test, but I tested the battery voltage and everything I was willing to test looked good at that point. So I tried the adapter in a car cigarette lighter (which it's designed for) and it worked fine. Then I returned it to the battery backup and it worked this time. I thought maybe it was because I had the hose disconnected this time, and when it's connected it causes a load on the system during startup, protection circuits kick in... 'doesn't make a lot of sense. Well, I tried the test again the next night, I plugged in the battery w/the hose still connected and it started up properly. So I don't know why my first test failed, which means it could happen again when I need it!
So the next night, I tried again:

• Turned off the humidifier
• Turned off the hose
• Turned on the airplane mode

And I got rather a good night's sleep. The voltage on the AGM battery went down from 12.8V to around 12.5-12.6V (the 0.1V being the doubtful digit on that multitester), which I think means a 90% charge. Then I hooked it up to a NOCO Genius5 charger and what seemed like an hour later, the battery was fully charged. If long-term power outages happen the same way they did here in May (where community centres open up so folk can charge their stuff) then I guess I won't have a problem. Unfortunately, the charger's instructions are not very consistent on how it indicates 100% charge, but since I left it for a few hours, I think it's at full charge.

So I'd say the test was mostly successful. But, again, I did have that hiccup the first time I tried to test it and I never found out why, so it could happen again.
Now I suppose I should work out storage and a maintenance regime:

1. I've stored it in my utility room. The furnace will raise the temperature in there, but it's a pretty big room, so probably not by much, and the battery is on the floor.
2. Plug the charger in (which has a maintenance mode) every... 6 months
3. Maybe test the apparatus once a year