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Old 03-26-2013, 05:06 PM   #1
schwalbach
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CPAP-Battery & Invertor

I have a 2012 275sbh Laredo fifth wheel, and there are times that I want to camp with no electricity but I am on CPAP which requires a 110 v plug in to run all night, I was wondering if anyone has tried installing a 12v plug and used an invertor to run the CPAP and if one battery will hold all night?

I use a humidifier on the CPAP, it can be turned off. But prefer it to be on. The lights have all been converted to LED in the trailer and I would run the generator right up until I go to bed to charge the batteries and then turn it off overnight.

Can I make it through the night? I believe I have only one battery, but honestly bought it late last year and have not checked the battery. It is plugged in every few weeks over the winter to keep charged.

Anyone tried this or have better ideas how to accomplish? I do not want to spend the $250 for a CPAP battery pack.

It is essential that I do not skip a night as I have to maintain a high use factor for my CDL license to be valid.
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Old 03-26-2013, 06:12 PM   #2
goldwing
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the DW and I both have a cpaps, and we run it off of a deep cycle battery , one battery will run both cpaps , we use a stanley converter we got at menards , nothing special , i think its 500 watt. I dont use the camper batterys , just carry a spare battery with me and recharge it with a generator the next day
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Old 03-26-2013, 06:21 PM   #3
SkiSmuggs
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Great idea! I had thought of using one of those portable battery packs that are used to jump start cars. I will have to try it in my driveway where I can just plug my CPAP into a receptacle of the battery doesn't last the night.
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Old 03-26-2013, 07:30 PM   #4
a1albert
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I don't use the humidifier any more I gave it up a few years back. Some Cpap machines are 12 volt and can run directly off a battery. For me I have a small 18 amp battery with me incase we lose power in our RV but have not needed it yet. Test what ever you do at home before you go camping. I made it nine nights in the wilderness Elk hunting on my 18 amp battery and folding solar panels.

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Old 03-27-2013, 12:25 AM   #5
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My CPAP machine is actually 12vdc with a heavy duty wall wort. I picked up a matching connector for the CPAP end and wired it to a standard 12vdc cigarette lighter type plug.
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Old 03-27-2013, 03:49 AM   #6
schwalbach
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it appears my idea is feasible, and maybe putting in a second battery, could even isolate it just for the cpap is the answer, seems to be a non issue with making it all night from the way it sounds.

opens up many new areas to camp


Steve..do you have one battery? and is the cpap on the same coach battery and is there any issue making it all night?
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Old 03-27-2013, 04:12 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schwalbach View Post
Steve..do you have one battery? and is the cpap on the same coach battery and is there any issue making it all night?
I run matched dual 12vdc deep cycle marine/rv batteries in the Cougar. They're on a battery switch with A or B or A+B or OFF selections. Usually, I have A+B since we dry camp so much.

I will tell you that I have converted the entire coach to LED lighting. The current draw of typical incandescent lighting is a lot more than you think it is. By using all LED, I am consuming barely 10% of that current draw. The end result is that there is plenty of reserve for the CPAP.

There's a sticky here on LED's plus several other threads with great detail about bulb types, lumens, sources, etc. Any questions you might have about LED conversions are already answered.
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Old 05-08-2013, 02:51 AM   #8
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Steve, I picked up the cord for 12v from cpap supplier, $30. Debating if I can run directly off the 1 battery and make the night? I have the led conversion and would run generator right up until I go to bed to charge all up and then kill it until morning. Or should I isolate it with another batterie and if so how large? Literature says 100 a hr? not sure what that means?
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Old 05-08-2013, 05:29 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schwalbach View Post
Steve, I picked up the cord for 12v from cpap supplier, $30. Debating if I can run directly off the 1 battery and make the night? I have the led conversion and would run generator right up until I go to bed to charge all up and then kill it until morning. Or should I isolate it with another batterie and if so how large? Literature says 100 a hr? not sure what that means?
To my knowledge, CPAP's are not essential to life, rather they provide supplementary air to help prevent airway closure during sleep and help reduce apnea. If your battery doesn't make it through the night, it's more an inconvenience than a life threatening event. That said, if you're really worried about if the battery will make it through the night, why not pull the battery out of the RV, set it in a battery box (or a clean cardboard box) beside the bed and use the battery to power your CPAP at home. That way, if it doesn't have enough power for the entire night, you can just plug it in the wall and go back to sleep. My guess, however, is that you'll be fine for the evening. Most CPAP's use very little power and with a serviceable 12 VDC deep cycle battery, you should have no problems making it through the night.
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Old 05-08-2013, 07:34 AM   #10
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Been a hose head for years. My current and prior units were 12v DC running off a wall wart transformer. I made a 12v cord from a spare transformer (doesn't everyone have a box full of those with no idea what they go to any more?) by cutting off the cord and attaching to a 12v plug.
I keep the humidifier heater off and they draw a very small load with just the blower (check your manual for actual current draw).
For remote hunting camp I use a 12v Schumacher power pack PP-2200 that runs my cpap almost 2 nights without recharging. I recharge as much as I can during the day with a small solar panel.
You can get the most mileage by running your 12v cpap directly from 12v instead of 12vdc to an inverter for 110ac and then back to 12vdc again -you get losses in each conversion.
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Old 05-08-2013, 01:53 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schwalbach View Post
Steve, I picked up the cord for 12v from cpap supplier, $30. Debating if I can run directly off the 1 battery and make the night? I have the led conversion and would run generator right up until I go to bed to charge all up and then kill it until morning. Or should I isolate it with another batterie and if so how large? Literature says 100 a hr? not sure what that means?
As John suggested, pull the battery and do a test at home. That way you'll know how it goes.

The humidifier is the part that uses the most juice so that will be a doubly important trial.

I wouldn't consider an isolated battery for this application. Better to run a matched pair and deal with the full requirements of the trailer. Your LED conversion should free up more than enough reserve. Since you have some freedom with generator run time, you should be fine.
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Old 05-08-2013, 05:02 PM   #12
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I have been using a portable battery power pack for a few years. 800 Watt, which works for 3 nights without the humidifier, before requiring a charge. The added benefit is having a boosting battery, if required.
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Old 05-13-2013, 04:58 PM   #13
schwalbach
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Update-
needed a new battery for horse trailer, so bought a 100ah group 21 (I believe) deep cycle battery, hooked the 12 volt cord to it after charging, here is the results.
Voltages are starting voltages, 14 pressure setting about 7 hours a night

day 1 13.3 volts (presume a surface charge ) cpap on no water heat
day 2 12.8 volts cpap no water heat
day 3 12.77 volts cpap water heat of setting 3
day 4 tonight 12.57 volts-ran until 12.5 volts and shut down-only about 1 hr with heater on 3-


looks like 4 nights without heater are doable, or 2 with heater
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Old 06-23-2013, 01:26 PM   #14
Jim Dow
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Cpap-12v battery-marine battery box

If you plan on using a dedicated 12v battery, rather than going through an inverter, get a marine battery box with a 12v plug. It will keep everything nice and tidy and safe.
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Old 06-23-2013, 06:05 PM   #15
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Definitely best use of battery.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gkainz View Post
Been a hose head for years. My current and prior units were 12v DC running off a wall wart transformer. ....
You can get the most mileage by running your 12v cpap directly from 12v instead of 12vdc to an inverter for 110ac and then back to 12vdc again -you get losses in each conversion.
If you have a 12 vdc model, you will definitely get more life going right from the battery instead of from a converter/inverter. Somèbody suggested using a car JumpStarter power pack and that would be an easy way to charge the next day too.
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Old 06-25-2013, 07:36 AM   #16
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I ran a dedicated 12v line to the bedroom in our travel trailer for my cpap. We run 2 6v batteries and We can camp a weekend without hooking up and still have power to spare. I used and old power cord also, plus it gave us a 12v port in the bedroom for charging stuff. I also use it to check the battery voltage with a volt meter
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