battery operating a cpap

[sunniewally]

anyone have experience using a deep cycle battery to power their cpap while camping? i got the power cord for the cpap to hook up to a battery, now which is the best for it? a battery like the optima i would guess would be the best but what size have any of you used for about 5 days camping?

[Cheers]

I can imagine that you can get 5 days from any battery. My guess is a deep cycle as big as you can afford

[whitebassman]

i've used a deep cycle for two nights and no problems. a coworker said he gets about 3-4 nights on his. i haven't had to test mine beyond two nights. just using a 27 battery so far.

does yours have a humidifier? if so, not using that should significantly reduce power consumption.

[sunniewally]

ya, it has a humidifier, so that will cut it down. i was wondering if using a gel battery will be better for how long it will power last on a charge.

[whitebassman]

from what i know about batteries, it doesn't matter really about type of battery if you want a longer charge. if you want a longer running time, you basically need a larger capacity battery (amp-hours). if you have a voltmeter, hook it up to your cpap while it is running on the battery and see how many amps it is using. Knowing this and your battery capacity in amp-hours you can calculate how long the battery should last.

a gel battery is nicer in that it is less maintenance in the long term vs. a regular acid battery and perhaps lighter. if in doubt bring two batteries (if possible), or a portable generator. and if your battery dies, a couple nights without the cpap won't hurt too bad. for me it makes my throat sore from the snoring!

[GrizzlyAdams]

Bring some jumper cables and charge it with your vehicle for a little bit and it should be good to go.

[Jim Almquist]

ya, it has a humidifier, so that will cut it down. i was wondering if using a gel battery will be better for how long it will power last on a charge.

I have a Respironics and I thought the directions said it that with the battery cord it would NOT use the humidifier. Might just want to double check the directions. I have never used mine past 2 nights and ran it without the humidifier.

[Tom7227]

I doubt that it would run the humidifier as it would deflate a battery in no time at all. I have used my Respironics 3 nights on a deep cycle with no problem. When we go to Canada on a fly in I hook it up to the photovoltaics they always have on the dock and top of the battery every other day. I would leave the humidifier behind and expect at least 3 days. Longer I would bring the charger along and drive to a place where I could plug in for a short time and eat lunch or something.

[Sonicrunch]

I use an old car battery (group) 24 and get two solid nights easy. I can't remember if I have gone 3 or 4 nights, but with a good group 27 battery I would think you could. I use a inverter too. That wastes energy for sure.

I never thought of running it direct. I have a respironics as well. If it's 12 volts, i am definitely gonna run it direct.

DO NOT use the humidifier, you won't even get 1 night.

I love my CPAP!!! I sleep so well!!

[Down Deep]

My fishing buddy has a C-Pap with the humidifier. We frequently travel to Canada and do remote camping using our campers. He gets three to four nights on his deep cycle and runs the humidifier. We are getting ready to head up to a boat-in outpost for a 6 day trip and he is bringing an extra battery.

[Tom7227]

OK, let me clarify my post. I used the tank on the humidifier but not the heater. My rig has a 'special' attachement that has a cigarette lighter plug on one end and a plug that goes into the back of the unit. It came with my unit. The heater on the humidifier has to be 110

[Down Deep]

My buddy uses a converter or an inverter whichever is the one that goes from 12 V to 110 v.

[Tom7227]

An inverter gets you from 12 vDc to 120 v Ac. But if you have the 12plug like the original poster why do that? You are going to lose efficiency through the process. There just isn't enough ooomph in a 12v battery to run the heater for any length of time.

The rig I had had a cigarette plug adapter on one end. That is pretty useless up at a fly in camp. You can either buy or make the female end with aligator clips on it and be good to go.

[igotem]

You should just test it out at home and see how many nights you get. The last night when it runs out of juice may be a bugger.