Battery operated cpap device?

I had my sleep study and the technician told me that I have an abundance of symptoms for OSA. He said I would need the official discussion and diagnosis from my doctor. He said they will schedule me for another overnight test to determine the most appropriate device/mask for me. We do a lot of doondock camping without hookups. I want to be informed and to be able to help select a device that will run off of batteries. Our popup has a 12V deep cycle batt. Is it as simple as 12V batt + inverter + cpap device = good to go? Any guesstimate as to run time for a device on a 12V? I know any answer starts with “Well it depends.” Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks. zrons

Hi there
I run mine off of a 12v deep cycle marine battery and an inverter. Spent this past weekend in my motorhome with no power and no problems. Your hook up will depend on which machine you get, and do not use your humidifier while on battery as it takes too much power. I emailed the maker of my cpap, F&P, and asked what was best, they got back to me with an answer within an hour, also the techie guys on the forum helped me out immensely.
Good luck and happy camping
Nan

Many machines will run on 12 V DC without the need for an inverter. It is extremely important to keep the polarity correct and fuse the connection properly. ResMed sells a DC adapter that is designed to protect the xPAP from damage.

“Well it depends.”
On what your pressure needs are. Everest makes a battery operated cpap but has some limitations like no exhale relief and I don't think it has data either. Check cpap.com for specs. n prices.

Most other cpaps can be run directly off the battery which is more efficient than using a converter.

If you know how to use the Advanced Search Feature located at the top of each forum page you can find hours & hours of discussions.

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zrons wrote:I had my sleep study and the technician told me that I have an abundance of symptoms for OSA. He said I would need the official discussion and diagnosis from my doctor. He said they will schedule me for another overnight test to determine the most appropriate device/mask for me. We do a lot of doondock camping without hookups. I want to be informed and to be able to help select a device that will run off of batteries. Our popup has a 12V deep cycle batt. Is it as simple as 12V batt + inverter + cpap device = good to go? Any guesstimate as to run time for a device on a 12V? I know any answer starts with “Well it depends.” Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks. zrons

I do it all the time in my RV I would suggest you look here to startviewtopic.php?f=1&t=38763&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... g&start=15 Then I would suggest you do a search here http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea ... rum/35.cfm You might find a little info .
good luck

Most CPAP's will run off of DC power, and they should be run that way, without an inverter. Different classes of machines consume different amounts of power. A simple CPAP will generally use the least power, and it will be easier to predict power usage. It gets more complex with autoadjusting machines, bilevel machines, servo ventilators, etc., all of which use widely varying amounts of power. I bet though, that because they were unable to do a split-night study on you that you have a fairly mild case of OSA, and will only need a basic CPAP or APAP.

Do not use a heated humidifier unless you absolutely have to. They will easily use 2-3 times the amount of power the machine uses, and require an inverter, with its attendant efficiency losses.

I am going to make a shameless plug for the DeVilbiss IntelliPAP Autoadjust machine. It is a great machine for battery operation, yet is an autoadjusting CPAP. Its current consumption is reasonable, especially at lower pressures, and has a humidifier that works well in passover mode. It is designed to work over the automotive range of supply voltages (10-16 volts) and does not require external power conditioning. Despite having the BiPAP ASV machine for home and hotel travel, I use my old IntelliPAP when camping due to its simplicity and reasonable effectiveness.

I wrote an extensive article on DC powering of CPAP equipment on the CPAP Wiki (the light bulb at the top of the page).

timbalionguy wrote:

Do not use a heated humidifier unless you absolutely have to. They will easily use 2-3 times the amount of power the machine uses, and require an inverter, with its attendant efficiency losses.

It really depends on the machine and the 12V system. I use a Respironics M series and the heated humidifier and it runs off batteries only in my RV every night(full timer). I have a larger loss of battery power with the inverter than by running direct off the batteries through a dedicated 12V/25a power point. Our solar panels will fully recharge the batteries during the day, so all is well with my use of a heated humidifier on 12V only.

The current draw for the M series auto and IntelliPAP (both regular and auto) at 11 cmh2o is right at 1 amp. Less than 10 cmh2o will be a bit less and above 11 cmh2o will be more than 1 amp. Of course this is directly powering the CPAP from 12 volts and without humidifier.

The Texan wrote: It really depends on the machine and the 12V system. I use a Respironics M series and the heated humidifier and it runs off batteries only in my RV every night(full timer). I have a larger loss of battery power with the inverter than by running direct off the batteries through a dedicated 12V/25a power point. Our solar panels will fully recharge the batteries during the day, so all is well with my use of a heated humidifier on 12V only.

To be clear - this is a heated humidifier which works directly off 12v DC - no inverter. I do believe that Respironics is the only one so far to make a 12v humidifier. I only hope that it carried over to the PRS1.