Ice!

tuna · Post by **tuna** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:29 am

Well it is day 4 and still no power at house and I am missirable at hell! I miss my CPAP!!

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:43 am

I usually just scan the posts about battery powered backup - may need to rethink that.

Been watching the news out of your area (got family in Moore, OK) - sorry to hear of your plight.

Kathy

tuna · Post by **tuna** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:52 am

I have lived here all my life and this is the first time we lost power due to weather!

I think I am getting a backup system now, or at least when inverters are available as they are all sold out!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:15 am

Hey you Okies, I send you the same offer I sent Jules - if you can get to me, you can stay with me!

Sorry it's so nasty out there! I hear SleepyCarol is responsible for sending Missouri's ice to you.

I predict a nasty winter all around. It's snowed twice here in the past two weeks, and that's a HUGE anomaly for our area! I'm hoping we don't repeat last year's ice storms that shut my school district down for some record "snow days". The downside is MY OFFICE WORKS when the rest of the district gets a day off, AND I live within walking distance, so I have no excuses about "I don't like to drive on the ice".

So, after working through several snow days, one day I was DONE. I was caught up, and I announced that I was NOT COMING BACK AFTER LUNCH and was taking a Snow Day and SO THERE!!!! My boss laughed, I had a mini-vacation, and all was well.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU IN THE ICE STORM! DON'T DRIVE!
Babs

6PtStar · Post by **6PtStar** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:39 am

Dang Babs you take your life in your hands and walk on ice to get to work

Jerry

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:42 am

Hey Tuna......how are you accessing the Internet with the power out?

Den

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:47 am

We were out of power 8 days in 2000. Tuna, you know this is Oklahoma....get some backup power! We went to a motel for eight days.

I always have a fully charged car battery, and a couple of month ago bought the 12v adapter for my M series.

Hope it comes back on soon, but there are still about a quarter million houses without power in the Oklahoma City area. Good luck.

JeffH (50 miles south of Tuna)

6PtStar · Post by **6PtStar** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:30 am

Went out and got my generator and started it to make sure it ran. Been a while since I needed it.

Jerry

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:53 am

JeffH, thankfully you are only SOUTH of Tuna and not DOWNWIND of Tuna!

Hey, you started it...

Now I want to buy a battery backup for Xmas... Maybe I don't actually need new tires just yet... I've got AWD, what the heck...

LOL,
Babs

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:33 pm

Anonymous wrote:JeffH, thankfully you are only SOUTH of Tuna and not DOWNWIND of Tuna!

Hey, you started it...

Now I want to buy a battery backup for Xmas... Maybe I don't actually need new tires just yet... I've got AWD, what the heck...

LOL,
Babs

After four days, I bet he's a little ripe...LOL.

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:40 pm

Pic from a friend in Oklahoma City. It's pretty thick.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:45 pm

Hey, I didn't send them the ice -- they sent it to us!!!

NO FAIR -- I am going to whine a while -- I HATE ICE!!!

Sleepycarol

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:20 pm

Think I should get the 400 Xantrex or 600 Xantrex? I'm 99% sure I want the Xantrex from posts here.

600
amazon.com/Xantrex-Powerpack-Jumpstarter-Inverter-Backup/dp/B000E6LEIC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1197573598&sr=8-1

400
amazon.com/Xantrex-XPower-Powerpack-Portable-Backup/dp/B000157TP8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1197573598&sr=8-2

Cheers,
Babs

WNJ · Post by **WNJ** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:29 pm

tuna wrote:. . . I think I am getting a backup system now, or at least when inverters are available as they are all sold out!

I recommend against an inverter. It is very inefficient to convert 12 VDC to 120 VAC and then have your CPAP convert it back to the 12 VDC your CPAP runs on. Ever notice the cooling fins on an inverter? They are there to dissipate the heat made in the process of converting 12 VDC to 120 VAC. This heat is a waste of your battery’s capacity.

Buy a Respironics DC cord from cpap.com for about $25, plus a cigarette plug to battery clips adapter at Radio Shack for about $8, a genuine deep cell battery for about $50, and a trickle charger to keep the battery in good shape for about $20. You’re good to go.

I use this setup for camping. Without recharging, I can get at least 5 nights from a $45 group 24 deep cell battery rated at 80 amp-hours with my REMstar Auto while only discharging the battery about 50%. (It’s best for the life of the battery to not discharge further, though you can do so in a pinch.) With a small solar charger in place of the trickle charger, you could go weeks (maybe indefinitely) with this setup.

The Xantrex 400 has a 20 amp-hour battery. At about 1 amp draw, this will run an XPAP, without humidifier, only about 1 night without recharging.

The Xantrex 600 has a 28 amp-hour battery. It will maybe run an XPAP, without humidifier, for two nights without recharging.

Wayne

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:14 pm

Anonymous wrote:Think I should get the 400 Xantrex or 600 Xantrex? I'm 99% sure I want the Xantrex from posts here.

600
amazon.com/Xantrex-Powerpack-Jumpstarter-Inverter-Backup/dp/B000E6LEIC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1197573598&sr=8-1

400
amazon.com/Xantrex-XPower-Powerpack-Portable-Backup/dp/B000157TP8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1197573598&sr=8-2

Cheers,
Babs

Babette,

What Wayne said...

Mask

Additional Comments: Equipment isn't correct, S9 ASV w/H5i

Ice!

Ice!

No electricity - argh!