Resmed DC-DC converter questions

I'm trying to get organized to use my ResMed Airsense 10 on the road. I have two types of trips in mind. One is overnight or weekend, sleeping in the minivan or perhaps camping, for dog events. I've moved farther away from most of the events, so trips that previously just meant getting up early and I'd consider driving each day don't make sense to to that way. The other type may be a one off, or at least relatively rare, longer road trip - the most immediate being a round trip from West Coast to Pennsylvania to pick up a puppy. The reason for the distinction should become apparent with the third question.

I looked at portable power stations like the Jackery some time ago. But the cost seems pretty high - especially because I want to use the humidifier capability. I have a couple of car batteries already, and buying a new one if necessary didn't seem crazy. I might change my mind on this at some point, but I'm in the count-down for the puppy and it seemed like I needed quite a bit of research.

I took what seemed to be the easiest way out and bought a ResMed DC/DC converter. I have several inverters (different capacities and types), but they have been mislaid since the move. plus there's the point about converters being more efficient than inverters.

Question 1. Where is the fuse that ResMed's documentation mentions? And how is it accessed? I think every fused thing I've ever had that plugs into a cigarette lighter had a fuse in the spring-loaded unscrewable metal end of the plug, This one isn't like that. I'm guessing that it's inside the plastic housing of the connector,held together by the Torx screw, but I haven't been able to get the connector apart.

Q1 might have just been a curiosity (haven't had much trouble with fuses of things plugged in to cars), but I obviously wasn't careful after last night's test and the center pin of the connector to the ResMed 10 itself got bent. I straightened it out, but Question 2 is what type of connector is this? I'm a little nervous about breaking the plug on a trip so it would be nice to carry a replacement.

Question 3 is probably more important for me than for people who don't want to use the humidifier, or who aren't going to be away many nights, or who have access to mains power for reasonably long periods during their trips. I've seen plenty of discussions around how many hours a CPAP will run from a specific source (battery etc.). But what do people do to recharge the battery? And how many AmpHours would be reasonable to expect for a night's sleep? The current drawn by the ResMed seems pretty variable. Then I ran some tests with a small, smartish (not designed for deep cycle) battery charger. The main conclusions I reached were that the deep cycle battery might be at the end of its life - judging by the voltage left after the charger indicated completion - and that it might be good to test with a fixed load (100W bulb connected to the battery via an inverter, or a 12V car bulb directly connect). Then I'd plot the voltage to see when I could predict it falling below the 12.0 V specified as minimum. The charger appears to take less current than the 10A that the car can supply through the cigarette lighter, and I should be able to charge for 8-10 hours of driving

All of question 3 seems more complicated than I should need, or something that's been thoroughly documented by others. Or can I just make inferences from the Resmed converter instructions?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

KirklandMike wrote: ↑

Sat May 22, 2021 4:51 pm

Mike

Have you read the ResMed Battery Guide? https://document.resmed.com/en-us/docum ... lo_eng.pdf

I see from some discussion that the converter contains a fuse. Will try to confirm.

Thanks ChicagoGranny

Have you read the ResMed Battery Guide? https://document.resmed.com/en-us/docum ... lo_eng.pdf

I read a distillation on the Cpap.com site before buying, and then the article. It's a bit vague in some parts "will you be able to recharge the battery daily after use?" but helpful with the current draws with and without humidifier.

For weekend trips, I think I'd probably be OK with the equipment I have already, and if I need a new battery perhaps I'll bump up to the next battery group. Previous batteries have been capable of doing double duty with car and dog racing equipment, and now triple with the CPAP. It's different on a long trip. The car may be the only source for recharging other than a hotel, or perhaps solar can help. And there are other possibilities for car equipment.

Mike

Here is THE battery thread - http://cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t114012/C ... ttery.html