2 batteries - CPAP machine?

[El Brazo Enophre]

We are getting ready for our annual long trip. This year I will be powering a CPAP machine. (For those of you under 60years old... CPAP is a breathing machine for people with sleep apnea.) Can I put a second battery above or next to the first one on my Scamp 5er?? Is this the right thing to do? Any wiring/mounting suggestions? Do both batteries need to be the same size/amp hr capacity? Help!

[Jim Thor]

I have a CPAP also, so interested in responses

[jondsw]

hi,
i have a scamp 13 with a dual battery system. my wife also uses a cpap. one things that helps with efficiency is that the base cpap unit runs on d.c. if you get a d.c. power adapter (made for cpap) you will get more life out of the battery.
re batteries; if you run in parallel the batteries are supposed to be of the same capacity and not more than 6 months apart in age. i have a dual charger and i hooked each battery to a charger output and made my loads switchable. i.e. if i drain one i can switch over to the other.
i hope this helps.
jondsw
sequim wa

[gordon2]

Generally you want matched batteries.. maybe the two 6 volt golf battery idea would be good for you (google yields much info). I understand that the amount of power the machine requires varies according to its settings, etc. I have some other ideas but the liability of discussing the powering medical equipment will limit my reply. (Again, google words like CPAP in RV or CPAP on 12 volts yields some info).

What I think you might want to do is get a alarm that will wake you if the power drops too low, the CPAP machine stops, etc.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Myths and more myths. You don't have to have matched batteries. I often parallel a 100 amp hour Trojan Deep cycle battery with a 50 amp hour gel cell battery. Batteries will find their equilibrium. My parallel combination will give me 150 amp hours or 75 amp hours of practical use.

[rainjer]

I use 2 batteries but only one is wired into the trailer. I run my cpap on a 115 AH group 27 battery that is in a portable battery box that has a 12V power plug in the box. I just put the battery next to the bed. I can get 5 nights off the battery. The other battery run the lights in the trailer and then works as a backup to my portable battery. The nice part about it being portatable is when the power goes out I can bring it into the house also.

Jeremy

[Timber Wolf]

There are too many unknown variables to form a definite response. What is the draw of your machine? How many nights will you go without recharging? What is the condition and capacity of your current battery? What other draws will you have? Will you DIE without the CPAP or just get a really crappy night’s sleep? Etc., etc. All that said, I too use a CPAP and am a good bit UNDER 60. I have not camped with the CPAP on 12V yet but did prepare myself for power outages which are inevitable around here. I purchased the invertor recommended by my CPAP manufacturer (PV150 | Tripp Lite) and hooked it up to the battery out of my tractor, which is the old battery out of my pickup, for a test. I was able to sleep two nights without recharging and with plenty of charge left in the battery. It has been a pretty good while and I don’t remember the exact numbers but they were good enough for my purposes at the time. Note that this was with an ordinary (old, used) automotive battery and not even the “deep cycle” kind. My CPAP appears to not draw much power at all. My advice is to get a good meter, learn how to use it, and try your CPAP on your battery at home and see what kind of results you get.

[honda03842]

My son has a Scamp 13 and uses a 12 volt CPAP machine. He has two 12 volt batteries and can switch between them. Most of the time he's camping with power but has successfully run the CPAP off the batteries for a weekend.

He has a flip up shelf mounted off the fri=ont of the Scamp's closet door for his machine.

Am I alone in wondering why so many people need these machines?

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Am I alone in wondering why so many people need these machines?

No you are not. Like a lot of things the medical industry has decided they are worthwhile and the insurance industry supports their decision. Don't get me started on the prevalence of prescribing colonoscopies. I do definitely sleep better with my CPAP though.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Myths and more myths. You don't have to have matched batteries. I often parallel a 100 amp hour Trojan Deep cycle battery with a 50 amp hour gel cell battery. Batteries will find their equilibrium. My parallel combination will give me 150 amp hours or 75 amp hours of practical use.

True. You don't need matched batteries in parallel.

Battery capacity (amp-hrs) is often confused with battery potential (voltage). There is a benefit to having batteries of the same "capacity" and "make" : they decay at about the same rate, and they don't become parasitic of each other when one of their output voltages drops below the rating.

If you don't use a converter then 'parasitic charging' can occur, but only if the batteries have a VOLTAGE difference - not an amp-hours difference.

[Carol H]

If you use the search function at the top of the forum and on the drop down menu use the Google option - its the one at the bottom. Search for "CPAP" and you will find lots of previous posts with good info on the topic of using a CPAP machine while on battery power.

[mbbear]

Originally Posted by honda03842

My son has a Scamp 13 and uses a 12 volt CPAP machine. He has two 12 volt batteries and can switch between them. Most of the time he's camping with power but has successfully run the CPAP off the batteries for a weekend.

He has a flip up shelf mounted off the fri=ont of the Scamp's closet door for his machine.

Am I alone in wondering why so many people need these machines?

Norm in my experience as a cpap user for 18 years I have to say that I don't feel that this device is pushed on the public. For one thing there is a comprehensive test to determine if you need it - you are wired up like a Christmas tree and the test is filmed. It has literally saved my life. My superb cardiologist feels that apnea initiated my heart condition. The bigger problem is that people that need the machine don't get it and also folks that get them don't use them. This is why both Medicare and insurance companies rent the machines for a period of time then the patient must take the machine to the sleep doctor and the smart chip is read to make sure that you are using it. If the chip shows that you are using it properly they then pay for it. If not, it must be returned or you pay for it at around $1,200. For me it has meant that I no longer fall asleep while driving; it allowed me to work a full day without putting my head down on the desk for an hour; and my oxygen level has increased to normal instead of 78 which is close to death. Fortunately not everything is a scam. Michael

[Cathi]

I have seen where people say that they do not use the water heater on a CPAP when boondocking. Our CPAP is a 12V and has a converter to use on 110. We have to get another cord to use on 12V. The company that services it does not have such cords so we have to find one.

It says it is 5 amps. Does that mean that it is 5 amps if you heat the water, so people are not heating the water to have it use less amps when boondocking? We will have two 6-volts and solar 150 watts.

[Steve Outlaw]

Both myself and my wife use a CPAP machine at night. The 12VDC cord for each was $50.00 from the mfg. I decided that was just too much for a cord. I went down to the DME supplier that provides our machines and asked if they had any old wall chargers that had "gone out." She gave me several, I cut the cords off the brick that converts 120VAC to 12VDC, and soldered on a 12VDC male plug.


As to "... why so many people need these machines ...", here's a link to a Mayo clinic article that will show that many if not most of the folks represented here on these forums, simply because of our station in life, are at risk for obstructive sleep apnea.


Sleep apnea Risk factors - Mayo Clinic


Here's to all us men age 60 and beyond...

[Terry R.]

My husband and I carry Shumaker power packs from Walmart. We use a version of this http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-XP2...T9T08FD8NW8ZFA


It has come in handy for all kinds of things. We always try to think, what all can it be used for. Easily charged while we are sight seeing, for the next couple of nights.


If we have power outages in the house, in the night, we can plug in and sleep as normal.


They last for years, and have been well worth it.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

Don't get me started on the prevalence of prescribing colonoscopies.

Hummm something tells me if you had lost 2 family members to colon cancer due to never having had a routine colonoscope as part of a check up and another who has won their personal war on colon cancer due to early detection via a routine colonoscopy you might not be rolling your eyes at the prevalence of doctors suggesting folks have a colonoscopy.

[Rob V]

Saved me. And the procedure isn't too bad if dying of something besides colon cancer interests you.

[ruscal]

SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR
No matter how many batteries you have consider solar charging to get them back up to full charge.
Two batteries is good though if you are camping in dark cloudy weather or in heavily forested areas where daily sunlight is sketchy.
Two CPAPs can tax one battery as well.
Here in southern California a solar charger is much more important than the second battery though.
My Respironics system One CPAP draws about half of the current draw listed on the tag while not using the heated humidifier. It will use about 10% of a 100 amp hour battery during the typical night.
The humidifier is just a resistance heater. The higher you turn it up the more current it uses. I have found that I can run my humidifier on 1 while on battery power and it does not blow the fuse, and it does not hit the battery too hard. Usually I just leave the heater off and fill the tank for passive humidification.
Russ

[ruscal]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Am I alone in wondering why so many people need these machines?

Norm,
I would guess that it is usually due to most Americans being overweight. A little flab around the windpipe collapses when inhaling.
Obesity causes many more problems, but a CPAP can keep us around a little longer. I am grateful for mine!
Russ