CPAP Use Overnight?

OneWagonHo · 01-04-2015, 06:04 PM

Hello. I have a 2003 SMB w/o a generator. I use a CPAP machine when I sleep and have not taken the van anywhere that does not have hook ups. Is there an inexpensive solution for me w/o having to buy a generator? Thanks!

TheLetterJ · 01-04-2015, 06:12 PM

I hooked up a cheap power inverter to an old motorcycle battery I had laying around to run my dad's CPAP. It lasted all night (he only tent camped with us for one night) but I don't know how many nights it could run without a recharge. That got the wheels turning in his head and it opened up a lot more possibilities for him to camp.

You'd be surprised how little power they actually draw as it really isn't much more than a tiny blower motor, the power requirements should be printed somewhere on the machine and I'd bet a small LiPo battery would run one for a long weekend.

boywonder · 01-04-2015, 07:17 PM

Look at the data label on the CPAP and post the amp draw......does it run off of a wall wart?

...or take a photo of the data label and post it here.

**daveb** · 01-04-2015, 07:28 PM

I'll do agree with the lithium battery solution provided the units draw is low enough to handle it. The battery would have to be rated high enough to power it throughout the night. In that case a separate power supply might be a good choice. But having a good house battery bank also goes a long way. I have about 420AH worth of battery reserves on board that can run my microwave for a few minutes w/o dropping the banks voltage below 12.2 volts. If the unit pulls low amps (4A or lower) I doubt you'd have an issue with a big battery bank. It all depends on the load.

sbgrimm · 01-04-2015, 11:36 PM

My wife uses a CPAP in our SMB every night. We power it off a 175 watt Costco inverter that is plugged into our 12v system. Our 210 ah house battery can power that for 2 nights, plus fridge, lights (all LED now!), and a couple of hours with the laptop per day.

I haven't looked at the power draw on the CPAP, but it doesn't seem to be much. We did an 8 day kayak and raft trip down the lower Salmon and one of our party powered his CPAP every night with a deep cell marine battery without a recharge.

**BroncoHauler** · 01-05-2015, 07:26 AM

Depending on your model, there are factory battery kits available.

http://www.cpap.com/productpage/cpap.co ... cable.html

Or a 12V power cord which will save you from having to use an inverter to convert DC to AC, and then back to DC.

http://www.cpap.com/productpage/respiro ... -cord.html

Herb

charlie56 · 01-05-2015, 08:04 AM

I use a CPAP on every trip without issue. Does it use a wall wart to plug into your house outlet? If it is like mine (Respironics) it actually operates at a native 12 volts. I purchased the manufacturers "overly expensive" 12 volt plug and go directly into a 12v outlet in the rig. Bypass the inverter method as you are only taking 12v, changing it to 110v, then the CPAP is changing it back down to 12v. (Not very efficient.) I do run mine off the house battery, not the starter battery. The battery is a small 64Ah which runs the CPAP and refrigerator all night long. Voltage in the morning is between 12.3 and 12.4. It has been years since I checked, but the manufacturer's literature stated the draw of the CPAP was in the 3+ amp range. When I checked it, I found the running amps load was half that.

Also, if you have a humidifier option, leave that at home. It has a resistance heating coil in it that will raise your amp draw.

boywonder · 01-05-2015, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie56

Does it use a wall wart to plug into your house outlet? If it is like mine (Respironics) it actually operates at a native 12 volts. I purchased the manufacturers "overly expensive" 12 volt plug and go directly into a 12v outlet in the rig. Bypass the inverter method as you are only taking 12v, changing it to 110v, then the CPAP is changing it back down to 12v. (Not very efficient.)

^^^^^^what he said

....a home brew cable and connectors for the cig lighter is probably $5.00......

bassman · 01-05-2015, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneWagonHo

Hello. I have a 2003 SMB w/o a generator. I use a CPAP machine when I sleep and have not taken the van anywhere that does not have hook ups. Is there an inexpensive solution for me w/o having to buy a generator? Thanks!

I plug my cpap into the dc outlet in my SMB. It's a cigarette lighter type plug. I also have a power supply that lets the machine run off 110ac. Most all cpap's can run on 12v straight in. I also have a battery pack that I carry to jump start the van in case of problems and I can plug the cpap into that if need be. I use it at home in case of power failure.

OneWagonHo · 01-07-2015, 07:02 PM

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond to my posting. I appreciate the insight.

The original owner of my van swapped out the house batteries due to replacement costs. There are batteries in there, but he rigged it up somehow where I can't use any of the plug in outlets unless I am hooked up to electricity. I imagine I could use my cigarette lighter to power it, but not sure if that has power when stopped, Ill have to check on that.

Here is my CPAP information:

ResMed
100-240V 50/60Hz
110V 400Hz 2.5A
DC: 12V, 2.5A

Again, thanks for the help with this. I really want to take the van and not have to worry about hooking up if just for a night or a few hours.