(09-18-2013, 10:25 PM)madtownmaxx Wrote: OhMyMyOhHellYes: despite the ResMed w/ converter using less wattage you give the DeVilbiss the slight edge - can you expand upon that? It sounds like the DeVilbiss has a converter built-in (?) which would be handy if it's the case. One less item to account for.
Does your comparison include humidification 'on' at both machines? Paula02 says the S9 does allow passive/passover humidification. I'm assuming the DeVilbiss does as well (I need to dig into those manual links)?
Intellipap never requires any external converter. It runs on 12 V DC and has an internal converter to step down 110V AC to 12v DC. No external power brick. It also has a 2.5 MM Coax plug hole for direct input of 12V DC with no converter required. It bypasses the internal 110 V converter and will go right to the control board and motor, IIRC. When using the direct DC power, the power to the heater plate on the humidifier is cut off, so set up as normal, you get passive, non-heated humidification. In either power configuration, all you need is a cord, not a brick. That makes it attractive. Plus you can go 12V DC directly from so many sources. Car battery, cigarette lighter, AGM battery, two 6V cells in series, etc, (if you have the amperage).
The S9, and I consider this a serious design flaw, runs on 24V DC. You have to have an external power brick in any configuration: 110V AC or 12V DC. So, to run the S9 on 12VDC, you have to buy a second converter (bulky and expensive) from ResMed and carry the brick. Two bricks if you will spend some time on grid power. Or you could stick with the standard 110 AC converter out of an inverter which is terribly inefficient. And means rather than two brick converters, you have to carry a brick converter AND an inverter. To me, just really bad design on ResMed's part and a huge step back from what they had in the S8 line - which could run 12V DC directly with a properly wired plug (standard 2.5 coax plug, but wired backward).
Me personally, I don't run a humidification device if I'm traveling... And for battery use, at my pressure settings and no heated humidification, I have figured I can safely count on getting 4 nights of use from a 35 AH 12V battery on the Intellipap while I would be able to get maybe 6 nights from that same battery on the S9. But I would have to buy an extra converter and still have a separate power brick.
For extended outages, I have a 35 AH and two 39 AH AGM (absorbed Glass Mat) batteries that should get me through almost two weeks. I also have a large 140W solar panel that will charge at 10 amps to refresh the cells along the way if power outage lasts longer than that. I don't remember you saying what kind of battery you have - the AGM/SLA batteries are probably the most convenient from a storage/deployment standpoint. You do have to maintain them. Battery maintenance is important - all batteries have some drain over extended time. If you let one sit a year, it is likely going to die and you may not be able to recharge it if voltage has dropped too low... At the first of every odd month, I check voltage on my batteries and put a top charge on them using a good quality, modern charger.
OMM