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CO2 danger in power outage
#11
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
(03-20-2015, 06:16 AM)Veilsd Wrote: Hi guys, I'm pretty new to the CPAP world and after having a 27 hour power outage a couple of weeks ago it got me thinking what are the real dangers if the power went out at say 1am and you remained asleep, breathing and re-breathing your exhaled air for 6 or 7 hours? Obviously if it were to lead to deaths you would hear about it in the news so I assume it hasn't happened.

I am in the position that I can easily make my own battery backup and I will probably do it down the track in any case.

I'm sorry if this has been covered before, my search did not find it if it has.

Well, the short answer is that you wouldn't remain asleep.

When the machine is off, breathing is very difficult and you would wake up, just like you did when you stopped breathing before getting the machine.

Note that this works for nasal masks. Full Face masks have a large valve that flops open so you get room air.

If you're prone to power failures, you might like to get a battery pack or small generator. Sleeping without the machine sucks. You can check out the wiki for information on building a battery pack. You'll need at least 600 watt hours of battery to reliably get through a night if you use the humidifier.
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#12
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
A computer backup system will only last a few hours, if that long. Reminds me, I need to test that.

Your mask has a vent system and through that you breathe through it when the power is off. Even if your mouth does not open. But it is tough to breathe with and you will wake up. Heck, I wake up the second the machine goes off.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#13
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
I've experienced power outages and woken up every time, I would think it would be the same as someone covering your airway if you were a normal sleeper, you'd wake right up.

In case of power loss, I have a universal power pack in my room fully charged just in case which I've used while camping. It will get through the night quite easily, two nights might be pushing it though. Worst case scenario, I can recharge the power pack off the car battery. I haven't had to use my power pack at home as the longest power outage I've had with CPAP only lasted 11 minutes, just enough time to hook everything up, lay down and then to have the power go back on....

Talk about Murphy's Law....
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#14
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
I've been on CPAP therapy since 1998 and have survived many power outages. I can say with absolute assurity that you will wake up.

Most power outages last less than an hour but in December 2014 we had a major ice storm and lost power for 3 days. At the time my machine was a ResMed S8 which can operate on 12V DC. We all ended up sleeping in the Family Room where we have a Gas Fireplace (furnace doesn't work without Hydro) and the house dropped to 58 F.

I connected my S8 to one of the deep cycle batteries from my boat. The boat was in winter storage but I keep the batteries in the basement on a "Trickle" charger. The battery easily powered the S8 for 3 days and I still had a second fully charged in reserve.

I just changed my unit to a ResMed AirSense 10 which also operates on DC but this one is 24V. In a pinch, I could put both batteries in series but I intend to pick up a ResMed 12V adapter before boating season.
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#15
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
Hi Veilsd,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#16
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
Thanks everyone for the replies! After reading the comments I do think I would wake up if the power went out. I wake up from the noise if I pull my mask off unconsciously and I'm deaf in one ear, so I'm not a heavy sleeper.
I tried a nasal mask in my trial and I had bad sores appear where the outer mask contacted my face, using pads under the mask did not help. I think the nasal pillows are the only option for me, I really like them!
I'm in Australia by the way, I will add that on my profile now. Interestingly the Airsense 10 Autoset I have does not seem to have the wireless connectivity.
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#17
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
The degree to which you will wake up may vary a lot depending on what sleep stage you're in. It might also vary a lot with alcohol or legal or illegal drugs you're taking. It could also vary a lot with various medical conditions.

Don't forget, many people have 120 second long apneas without waking up during sleep tests, which is inconceivable to most people.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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#18
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
Tripp Lite SMART1500LCDT 1500VA 900W UPS Smart LCD Battery Back Up Tower AVR 120V USB

About $165 from Amazon or similar.

I fully expect it to last most of the night, and we are considering adding my wife's new S9 Autoset to it -- except that it might be a little tedious to route the power cords to it for both of us.


We already had two of these:

#1: For big screen TV and multimedia PC, U-verse receiver/DVR, plus living room networking gear

#2: For my two Virtual Machine (VMWare and Hyper-V) host servers (these servers hold multiple "virtual computers" each)

Each of these were running at about 1/3 capacity which led me to believe it would give me plenty of time for the CPAP. The metering suggests several hours (or more) is possible, but we haven't had a significant power outage since this arrived.

It runs at very minimal load for my S9 Autoset.

Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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#19
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
(03-23-2015, 03:35 PM)herbm Wrote: Tripp Lite SMART1500LCDT 1500VA 900W UPS Smart LCD Battery Back Up Tower AVR 120V USB

My S9 AutoSet with humidifier runs about 30 watts average over night. Measured with a Kill-a-Watt meter.

2 S9 machines, 60 watts, 113 minutes per the Tripp-Lite Web site.

Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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#20
RE: CO2 danger in power outage
Good to know -- that will cover 99.99% of power outages probably....
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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