Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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OkyDoky
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by OkyDoky » Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:22 pm

jagzoo wrote::( Well, I didn't even get to try it for the night.

I set my CPAP up as outlined: pressure 10-12, no humidify, no heat. I only have the heated hose but turned heat etc. off. Other settings were: A-Flex 3, System One Humidification Off, Humidifier 0, Ramp 0, Tubing type 15, System One Resistance 0.

As soon as I hit the start button everything started up and within a couple of seconds stopped. The voltage light on the battery pack was flashing (set on 12V). As there was an earlier report of this happening at pressures above 12.5 I wasn't expecting this complication at 10. I then tried turning the pressure setting down to 9-11 but still the same thing - immediately shut off. I tried it both with and without the (non operating) humidifier tank attached.

I was so hoping! Guess I'll send it back tomorrow and it will be too late to try another one. Guess I'll just go without for a couple of nights now and then.

Jagzoo
You might try the ramp as he stated he started the ramp at 8 to get to the higher pressure.
ResMed Aircurve 10 VAUTO EPAP 11 IPAP 15 / P10 pillows mask / Sleepyhead Software / Back up & travel machine Respironics 760

Sleeprider
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Sleeprider » Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:25 pm

It might be worth setting a 5 minute ramp from 7 cm. It sounds like these batteries are being rejected at about 50% rate for this application.

Anyway, that is why it was a good idea to do a real run, rather than find out after you left.

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jagzoo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by jagzoo » Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:28 pm

Thanks OkyDoky

but I forgot to say that I did try that. I set ramp for 10 min at 7 - it still powered up and immediately shut off with 12V light flashing on battery. 12v symbol resets after pulling the dc out cord out from the battery (already out of CPAP).

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Finster63
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Finster63 » Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:33 pm

That is the exact same results that I was getting at the higher pressures.

If you're bored, try setting the pressure at the lowest pressure you can, putting the mask under a pillow or on your face (to prevent freeflow) and see if it still shuts off...
Home: ResMed S8 Escape II
Backpacking: PR System One REMstar 60 Series Plus with the PowerAdd 32000mAh battery:http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=103170&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
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jagzoo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by jagzoo » Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:57 pm

Hi Finster63,

I did try it on a pressure of 5 but free flowing - same thing. I'm too discouraged to play with it anymore tonight. Will try again tomorrow am - I need to get it to UPS tomorrow if there is any hope of a replacement in time before we take off.

Will update after I try - but if it worked, what good would that do me? I feel like I am suffocating with a pressure much below 9 - would I use ramp and stick it under a pillow until it ramped up?

Anyway, thanks for everyone's help - I'll update tomorrow

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Finster63
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Finster63 » Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:15 pm

I would suggest setting the ramp to the lowest level.
Set the ramp escalation to the shortest time.
Either put the mask under a pillow or wear it before turning it on, and let it escalate to the desired pressure.

Just a thought.
Home: ResMed S8 Escape II
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jagzoo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by jagzoo » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:10 am

OK, here is this mornings update: Still

Re tried the battery with everything turned off (settings as explained earlier) except a 5 min ramp, ramp pressure setting 4,no tank attached and TapPap mask in place on my face. Soon as it turned on, the battery faulted and 12v started flashing.

Guess it's just a dud.

Will return it to Amazon today via UPS (thank goodness for Prime) and have already ordered a new one with 1 day shipping. That will give me one more chance to see if I just happened to get a dud (and their not practically all duds).

So watch for my update on the new one Friday or Saturday.

Continuing thanks to all you have joined this discussion: I wouldn't even try again if I didn't know that it is possible that this battery should work.

Jagzoo

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CapnLoki
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by CapnLoki » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:29 am

A few thoughts about this situation ...
rogerconnelly wrote:I don't think I'm doing anything "wrong" here - so I'm assuming I'm a victim of one of the bad batteries people have talked about here (
It occurred to me that perhaps the batteries are designed to shut off on loads over 2 Amps when set to 12 Volts, and the ones that seem to work are actually the defective units. or perhaps built with slightly different components. There is nothing in the literature to suggest that they are designed for any purpose other than charging cell phones, tablets, and small computers. I wondered how it would deal with larger laptops, which I know from experience can draw 4 Amps - then I read the comments on Amazon and it looks like many of the negative reviews refer to full size laptops, not cell phones.

I also wondered if the shutdown was thermal, and it would survive the startup if the temp was deflated to 50 degrees.
jagzoo wrote:We are leaving soon on a long camping trip that will entail some boon docking so I've been wanting to get a backup - but didn't want a huge battery....
I know I need to turn off humidity and tube temp, but is it alright to leave the humidifier chamber attached as it certainly dampens the CPAP noise (which bothers me when sleeping if the humidifier isn't attached)?
This confused me because the only reason to use the PowerAdd is to take advantage of the small weight advantage (about a pound) over better suited batteries, but then why waste almost two pounds by carrying an unused humidifier? I sympathize with jagzoo as I frequently use my travel 560 without the humidifier and am annoyed by the "Darth Vader" noise. However, the noise can be reduced from a "soft roar" to a "loud whisper" by putting a small filter inline:
https://www.cpap.com/cpap-filters/bacte ... covers.php

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Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
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Hark, how hard he fetches breath . . .  Act II, Scene IV, King Henry IV Part I, William Shakespeare
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jagzoo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by jagzoo » Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:32 pm

Good thoughts CapnLoki

Thanks for the hint on the inline filter. You may be right about the battery - I'll try the new one when it comes and if it behaves the same I'll return it and that will be that. Will just have to go with a larger, heavier battery, or without.

Oh, it's not so much the weight as the size of the battery that I was aiming for. Weight is not as much a consideration as the size as we won't be backpacking - just packing and finding the space for it!

I'll post what happens.

Thanks,
Jagzoo

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OkyDoky
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by OkyDoky » Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:39 pm

Once again, I'm encouraged. I received my Poweradd 3200 battery today. It had 65% charge and I charged it to 100%. Then I placed it on my PR 760 Bipap, without humidifier, starting at 4 ramp. While I was wearing it, it increased in pressure over 20 mins to my 15/11 settings and continued to run for another 5 mins. without problems. When I stopped it showed 98% charge. So, I'm hopeful I have a good battery. I'm charging it back to 100% and will wear it tonight.
ResMed Aircurve 10 VAUTO EPAP 11 IPAP 15 / P10 pillows mask / Sleepyhead Software / Back up & travel machine Respironics 760

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jagzoo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by jagzoo » Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:45 pm

Did get my 2nd one this afternoon but it's not up to 100% yet so will have to wait until tomorrow night to try again!

I'm hoping . . .

Good luck OkyDoky

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OkyDoky
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by OkyDoky » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:19 am

Last night I started my trial with my Poweradd 3200 battery at 100%. Used my PR760 without humidifier and started with a ramp set at 4 for 20 mins. It was off and running at 15/11 pressures. I remember waking up at 2:30AM and thinking my machine had stopped so I plugged the electric connector back in. When I really did wake up this morning, after 10 hrs of sleep, I found the battery was still connected and I had dreamed the other. I was so worried it wouldn't work.
The battery was still at 54% and I am going to try to get another (shorter) night of sleep tonight from it.
Last edited by OkyDoky on Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by Hosehead4ever » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:28 am

Hopefully I can piggyback off this post. My mother is completely off-grid with solar power. But she doesn't have enough battery capacity yet to run much power at night. I have successfully used my PRS1 cpap without draining the system but I have a Resmed that uses more current and have a possibly stupid question. Does anyone know how much extra current the heated hose draws and if not using it would make any appreciable difference to how much power the machine draws?

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CapnLoki
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by CapnLoki » Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:47 pm

KatyDidAgain wrote:Hopefully I can piggyback off this post. My mother is completely off-grid with solar power. But she doesn't have enough battery capacity yet to run much power at night. I have successfully used my PRS1 cpap without draining the system but I have a Resmed that uses more current and have a possibly stupid question. Does anyone know how much extra current the heated hose draws and if not using it would make any appreciable difference to how much power the machine draws?
I measured this situation using a PRS1 560 and found that the heated hose actually took a lot of power, especially given that it doesn't directly add humidity. Its action is to reduce condensation, which will be more of a problem if the room is colder. My conclusion was that in a power fail crises I would run with no humidity, or low humidity with no heated hose, depending on how long I anticipated the outage to be. My guess is that the Resmed will take roughly 20-30% more power, and of course much more if an inverter is used.
viewtopic.php?t=102179

You might consider getting a battery like the one I use for the tests - its small enough to carry a short distance (24 pounds) and big enough to run a full night with moderate humidity, or several nights if "dry."

_________________
Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: Quattro™ Air Full Face Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Pressure 9-20, average ~9.5; often use battery power while off-grid
Last edited by CapnLoki on Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hark, how hard he fetches breath . . .  Act II, Scene IV, King Henry IV Part I, William Shakespeare
Choosing a Battery thread: http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t1140 ... ttery.html

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jagzoo
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Re: Backpacking, Hiking and Camping - the PowerAdd Pilot Pro

Post by jagzoo » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:03 pm

Yeh OkyDoky!!! Great News.

I did a day-time trial run with the new (delivered yesterday) Pilot Pro and it passed running w settings of CPAP 10, no ramp, no humidification, no heated hose. So I am quite hopeful that it will work for the night. All set up for the trial run tonight.

Glad to hear that you had such a long night as I usually sleep a little less than 9 hrs. I also got the foldable solar panel for recharging but won't be able to try that until on our trip.

Will update tomorrow.

Jagzoo

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Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Heated Tubing; mask sometimes is TAP PAP mask; now P10 nasal pillows; use Sleepyhead software
APAP 9-12