Emergency generator for S9?

Hello again from your still very anxious newbie member! Just so I wouldn't be able to settle down for long, the powers that be decided to throw an unexpected power outage in an area very close to where I live last night. Thank goodness my place was just outside the outage area but it made me want to get an emergency backup 'generator' for my S9. Is there a device that would kick in automatically if the power goes out at night? I'm not looking for something I can go camping with for several days or anything, just something that would provide battery backup (automatically?) in the event of a sudden power outage. Any suggestions? And p.s., has anyone actually had the power go out in the middle of the night? Do you just wake up choking?

I am fairly new to cpap as well. less than 2 months. I have had the power go out once. I have also had two humidifier errors that caused the machine to turn off.

In all 3 cases, I woke up, realized it didn't feel right, put my hand in front of the vent and realized there was no major air flow coming out. Oops. Not on. I didn't choke or feel horrible, but it was enough of a difference that I woke up and was able to fix the problem. In 2 cases, I just had to unplug it and plug it in again. The other time, the power actually came back on by the time i got back from the bathroom. I do not have a specific battery for it. But we do have a generator, so during an overnight power outage, I would plug it into that.

I use a full face mask, which has a built in anti-asphyxiation valve. Basically, when the machine is pushing air down the hose, a flap seals off the opening to make the air go into the mask. If the machine is turned off, the flap stays open, allowing fresh air to enter the mask, right at the elbow where the hose attaches.

I would assume that with nasal masks, you would naturally open your mouth to get air if the nasal flow stops.

In this linked thread by Rested Gal, you will find boatloads of information on battery operations, power back up options, what to do to prepare for an outage, or even just camping with CPAP...

LINKS to Battery operation, camping, power outage: viewtopic.php?t=9682

I found it extremely helpful to follow the thread by John B Fisher about a back up battery design and plan to have one in place as soon as I am able to. You can find that information here: viewtopic.php?p=449334#p449334

Since you specifically mention generators, you can do a search for generators in the search bar, and I am sure there must be mention of them within one of Rested Gal's links.

I hope this helps and good luck to you!

Marianne

There are various battery back up things available.
The "kick in automatically" part of the request is a bit difficult. Generators require starting. Batteries require hooking up unless you are using batteries the entire time (I think some people do it) but since I have rarely had occasion where this would be a problem I just haven't researched it enough to offer ideas.
There might be a way to get some sort of power supply stand by that could provide enough power to kick in like you are wanting...like a computer power source for outages but the amount of power required to maintain the machine and humidifier is much greater than what is needed to power a computer. The humidifier is a huge power hog.
Lots of reading available for all these options as it has been discussed a lot.

If you're looking for seamless transition of power without any manual input from you during an outage, and IF you have the funds, you can look into whole home automatic generators or essential circuit generators.

They are the only types I know of that come on automatically and do not require any plugging in, setting up, etc.

I am sure there are those with vast electrical knowledge that have set up their own power back up generation systems. Since I'm not an electrician, I personally plan to stick to a battery back up system until the funds are available for the automatic generator (haven't decided between a whole home or an essential circuit one yet).

Hard wiring anything back into a circuit panel can be devastating if you don't know what you're doing. I used to see it all the time when I lived back in FL. People would freak out during hurricane power outages and tried to set something up to avoid problems during the next one. All too often, they didn't do it right

If you're interested in anything that connects to your home's main lines, ask a licensed electrician.

Gas generators can be just as devastating if not used correctly. And they're noisy. And they require gasoline (which is expensive right now). AND they require correct ventilation. And you'd have to get up, turn it on and run a cord to it anyway, which isn't exactly middle of the night easy peasy.

Computer back ups beep incessantly when there's no power being fed to them. Ugh.

Battery packs can be useful, but interesting in configuration. It is the plan B I have decided to go with for now, until I get the funds for a permanent solution.

I hope you find information on which option would work best for you...

Marianne

kaiasgram wrote: And p.s., has anyone actually had the power go out in the middle of the night? Do you just wake up choking?

I've had the power go off. I've also had the cat turn off my cpap. I woke up immediately - unhappy but not choking. And sat there, cursing and reading by flashlight until the power came back on. Luckily I haven't had a multiday blackout since I started CPAP.

If power failures aren't common there are other less expensive strategies you can use - such as planning to go spend a night with nearby friends or relatives or even driving to a motel. If you are worried about waking up, which I don't think you should be, you can get an audible alarm. Once you're up you can get out the flashlight, hook up your battery, or drive elsewhere as you choose.

Mostly, you should try to stop worrying, since that seems to be a problem for you. It isn't a ventilator and you aren't going to die if the power goes out and you can't use it for a night. Any kind of backup is for your comfort and convenience.

kaiasgram wrote:[snip] Is there a device that would kick in automatically if the power goes out at night? [snip] Any suggestions? And p.s., has anyone actually had the power go out in the middle of the night? Do you just wake up choking?

Last first, I have an S9 Autoset, too. Yes, it was very uncomfortable, panicky feeling as if I was drowning. I have a lot of power outages which usually occur in the middle of the night as the result of drunk drivers failing to avoid telephone poles on twisty canyon road that leads to the town in which I live. I had one too many of those episodes and decided the last one was indeed going to be the last one. Here's what I did:

viewtopic/t78854/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=73 ... la#p671485

Your S9 runs off of 24 volts, so you can't directly connect to a battery unless you connect two 12V batteries together in series. For those whose machine is capable of running off of 12V DC, JohnBFisher's excellent treatise on constructing a battery backup system bears consideration. viewtopic.php?p=449334#p449334

If the power goes out, I just go out to the garage bring in my battery (I have it on a trolley) and hook up, and go back to sleep. I have had power go out several times lately and have woken up almost immediately from little air flowing. I was keeping the battery in a corner of my bedroom for awhile, but decided that was kinda dangerous to any visiting children, so just put it on my trolley and put it in the garage The garage is is attached to my house, so didn't have to go outside in my nighty I could also hook an extension cord from the garage to my machine, but I'm too freakin lazy to run a cord about 20 feet .

Marianne said it a whole lot better than me. I forgot about computer power backup alarms...

Anyhow..for all the above reasons and the fact that despite my living in tornado alley AND out in the country, I don't have anything setup for immediate backup use. In 3 years I have yet to have any real need for anything special. A couple of very short power outages have been all I have had to deal with. One was 2 hours at 6 AM...So I just got up. Slept for 15 minutes before I even woke up when that happened. No distress at all. One was during the day and no impact on therapy.
Should something happen here long term..my sister has a whole house generator I could borrow and if she suffered the same problem (most likely culprit would be ice storm) and needed her generator then I would just go to my mom's house in town. If she was affected...well then I guess I would go hunting a marine battery and use my Respironics machine but it really has been a non issue and I haven't worried about it. If I had to I could sleep upright in the recliner for short term. Not ideal but it would help limit the events. I am worse in REM sleep and if I don't get to REM (and that takes me a couple of hours) I barely even need a machine.

Some people probably cringe when they read about my lack of planning but for me, I am comfortable with it.

Pugsy wrote:Marianne said it a whole lot better than me. I forgot about computer power backup alarms...

Some people probably cringe when they read about my lack of planning but for me, I am comfortable with it.

Doesn't that beeping suck? LOL. I wish those and microwave oven beeps could be disabled at the push of a button. Definitely would be an awesome feature if they had one!

I think your last statement rings so true - it IS a personal comfort thing. If you're comfortable not having a back up, that's cool. Not everyone feels the need. Every xPap user needs to consider how much of an inconvenience it would be to sleep without it. Some may find alternatives (such as you did with sleeping upright in a recliner or planning other places to sleep). MidnightOwl also brought up valid points - it is not a ventilator and no, you won't die from one night without it. Just like none of us died while waiting for the machine to come. It would make you feel crappy not to use it for a few nights, but there ARE ways to cope.

I know I haven't rushed right out to get everything for a back up system (yet) but know I will need to seriously think about a plan B by the winter, when I expect the outages.

We live in the mountains where the snow filled trees are guaranteed to knock a power line or two out. So far the longest I've seen our area go without power in the last 4 years is 3-4 days. I'm used to going weeks without power in FL after a hurricane (was hit directly by Frances, Jeanne and Wilma back in 2004) but didn't have to deal with xPAP then. If I still lived there, a power back up plan would definitely be first on my mind.

Right now, because of where I live, I have time to think about whether I truly need one and I'm not hitting panic mode because I don't have one

notyorz wrote:We live in the mountains where the snow filled trees are guaranteed to knock a power line or two out

If I were living where you are then for sure I would have a back up plan in place.
Where I live (SW Missouri not far from Joplin) other than another F5 tornado...our biggest threat for long term damage would be a big ice storm which do happen occasionally. The last really big one was in 2007 and even my mom was without power for several days.
This past winter...heck we only had one tiny measurable snowfall that didn't even last a day.

Our electric company has been real aggressive about trimming back trees near power lines. I lost 4 trees to such recent trimming. A few others were severely cut back. I wasn't alone though. They are really very proactive with this sort of stuff.

Mostly we might get an outage when lightening hits a transformer somewhere and they get those fixed pretty quickly.
If a storm is that bad...I can't sleep anyway. I have to be up and watching it...don't want to miss seeing the tornado Though when Joplin got hit last year and that thing was heading my way...it got pretty ugly and I went inside and got all my critters in the bathroom just in case. I didn't even get a brown out when that storm came through. Found some pieces of Joplin in my yard though.

How to not wake up choking? Cheap and easy ->



I paid about $10. It works. Has awakened me once since I got it and it was worth it. http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls ... =8-1-spell

Then I just got up and stayed awake the rest of the night - not so easy.

Keep a battery lamp to read by otherwise you get bored and sleepy when the power is out.

Had a sustained outage been expected I would have found a friend with power and would have packed the CPAP and driven to their house.

Keep it simple. Every battery system worth its salt is expensive and complicated to maintain and they won't wake you up when the power goes off.

BINGO, ChicagoGranny -- That's a solution that fits my now feeble (due to having to buy all my equipment out of pocket) budget! I can live with this solution -- thanks very much!

kaiasgram wrote: Hello again from your still very anxious newbie member! Just so I wouldn't be able to settle down for long, the powers that be decided to throw an unexpected power outage in an area very close to where I live last night. Thank goodness my place was just outside the outage area but it made me want to get an emergency backup 'generator' for my S9. Is there a device that would kick in automatically if the power goes out at night? I'm not looking for something I can go camping with for several days or anything, just something that would provide battery backup (automatically?) in the event of a sudden power outage. Any suggestions? And p.s., has anyone actually had the power go out in the middle of the night? Do you just wake up choking?

So was it the plug in flashlight/alarm or suggesting a drive to your friend's house the solution?

I'm lost to the BINGO moment you posted about...

Do you mean the alarm on the plug in that would wake you up before you choked? There are vents in CPAP masks. I highly doubt you'd choke, but you might be uncomfortable with the cessation of CPAP air flow. You would still be able to breathe...

I thought by reading your thread you were asking about something that would provide battery backup automatically (your words above) to your S9.

notyourz, you're right that I was initially asking about something that would kick right in if the power went out, but I realize now after reading everyone's posts that I can't afford the optimal solution. The BINGO was just because the alarm is affordable and would give me a little more peace of mind -- I'd rather be awakened by that little alarm than the uncomfortable sensation of not getting enough air. At least I think I would!