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[Equipment] Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
#1
Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
Summer is here and I plan on doing some car and canoe camping this summer of 1-2 nights at a time (away from recharging). I plan on bringing the DreamStation Auto CPAP (no humidifier) and getting some sort of battery setup.

I am looking for actual experience from someone using a DreamStation AutoCPAP (APAP) while on battery power. (My current settings are a pressure range of 5-20, and my 90% pressure runs around 12 according to the LCD screen).

What is your setup?
How long does it last? - Nights/Hours
Battery (Type, size, capacity)?
Cables? Any other equipment needed?
Overall weight?
What are the settings that give this amount of time.

Also, what settings to make the battery charge last the longest?
I know, obviously, no humidifier.
My only user settings available are Ramp and Flex (does lower or higher setting consume less power?)
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#2
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
Lead acid batteries of the type used in a boat will last longest, but if you're doing a lot of portaging on your canoe trips they're too heavy. Perhaps a Lithium Ion battery would be better there, with a solar charger.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#3
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
We dry camp a lot in the summer with our travel trailer. My husband also uses a CPAP and he laid claim to the 12 volt cigarette lighter plug for his Resmed machine. I got a C-100 Battery pack made by BPS--ordered it from Supplier #1, listed at the top of the page. They had the best price at the time. It isn't cheap! Used it a few weeks ago and think I could easily get two nights out of it--or more. I didn't use the humidifier or heated hose. We do have a generator to recharge. I have my PR machine on APAP 11/11--if you are on APAP with pressures that vary a lot it will use more power. I had been playing around with varying pressures for awhile but my original starting pressure seemed to be the best and I worked back to it before using the battery.
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#4
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
I will reply to my own post. I purchased the C-100 battery pack and Dreamstation converter that is sold for the C-100 battery pack.

My battery charge <50% remains (probably closer to 25%) after 7 hours (APAP 8-20 cm; 90% pressure around 12.5 cm), so I can only get one night from the C-100 pack. Sad

I'll need to purchase and carry a second C-100 for a second night away from civilization.
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#5
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
NorthernGuy,
Was the humidifier turned on? That little puppy eats up some power.
Crimson Nape
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#6
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
(07-07-2016, 07:58 PM)Crimson Nape Wrote: NorthernGuy,
Was the humidifier turned on? That little puppy eats up some power.

No. Humidifier unit was removed completely for my battery trials.
The Dreamstation APAP seems to use some larger amount of power compared to other CPAPs.
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#7
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
They say that the higher the pressure, the greater the draw on the battery. Makes sense, but I wonder just how large this effect is.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#8
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
The C-100 units are popular because they are small and light, and look good, and require no real thought or effort in their use. But they are, in my opinion, not suited for extended application, as you also concluded. IIRC, they are also expensive as hell.

If possible, it would be good to measure how much energy your unit uses over an average time and that would tell you how big a battery you will need based on amperage drawn down by your unit and time used. One of the nice things that resMed does is it publishes a battery guide with that kind of information. One of the crappy things that Respironics does is refuses to disclose that information. I have a little inline meter that I can use for that purpose. Some radio control hobby shops sell a similar thing under the name "Wattsup" - Tenegy make a close approximation. Many of them are sold on Amazon. Prices range from $15 up to $45. Without measurements, you are stuck guessing. Or experimenting. Or maybe comparing to the ResMed unit for a somewhat "equivalent" at your pressures and then using that as a baseline to experiment.

I can get a safe 4-5 days out of a 35-39 AH 12 V AGM/SLA (absorbed glass mat/sealed lead acid) battery (what I keep around the house) - that is with a 50% safety factor (A battery I estimate "safe" for 4 days would really have enough capacity to run my machine for 6 days, under ideal charge conditions and battery strength at the start of use. But batteries lose charge sitting waiting to be used, old batteries don't hold a charge as well, batteries can be damaged based on how deeply they are discharged, the number of charge/discharge cycles, and other factors. Thus, the 50% safety margin.) If I was going out for a three night trip, I would probably be OK with a new 18-20 AH rated battery -- if it was relatively new and well charged. The 35 AH batteries I have weigh ~ 24 lbs/10.5KG. That is a little heavy for schleping around the wilds. An 18 AH battery will run about half that. Still a lot of weight to schlep. But the SLA are relatively cost efficient. Another battery technology that I want to explore is the Lithium IRON Phosphate batty (not Lithium ion) or LiFePO4 batteries. There are some deep cycle (not starting) LiFePO4s coming on the market that are significantly lighter than lead, and significantly more stable/safe than the Lithium Ion batteries. But they are still damn expensive. If I was thinking of a traveling battery, that is where I would look. Matter of fact, I am hoping at some time in the near future to find a something like a 20-30 AH LiFePO4 setup for use in the plane. (It was built before a lot of planes had electrical systems and it lacks an electrical system and I like having some portable electronics like a handheld radio and gps on board and they like electricity....) I think weight wise I could swap out something in the 20 AH range for the small 9 AH SLA battery I now use.

I'm starting to ramble now, aren't I?

OMMOHY
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#9
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
Yea a little ramble but worth reading ThanksThanks

(07-07-2016, 09:55 PM)OMyMyOHellYes Wrote: The C-100 units are popular because they are small and light, and look good, and require no real thought or effort in their use. But they are, in my opinion, not suited for extended application, as you also concluded. IIRC, they are also expensive as hell.

If possible, it would be good to measure how much energy your unit uses over an average time and that would tell you how big a battery you will need based on amperage drawn down by your unit and time used. One of the nice things that resMed does is it publishes a battery guide with that kind of information. One of the crappy things that Respironics does is refuses to disclose that information. I have a little inline meter that I can use for that purpose. Some radio control hobby shops sell a similar thing under the name "Wattsup" - Tenegy make a close approximation. Many of them are sold on Amazon. Prices range from $15 up to $45. Without measurements, you are stuck guessing. Or experimenting. Or maybe comparing to the ResMed unit for a somewhat "equivalent" at your pressures and then using that as a baseline to experiment.

I can get a safe 4-5 days out of a 35-39 AH 12 V AGM/SLA (absorbed glass mat/sealed lead acid) battery (what I keep around the house) - that is with a 50% safety factor (A battery I estimate "safe" for 4 days would really have enough capacity to run my machine for 6 days, under ideal charge conditions and battery strength at the start of use. But batteries lose charge sitting waiting to be used, old batteries don't hold a charge as well, batteries can be damaged based on how deeply they are discharged, the number of charge/discharge cycles, and other factors. Thus, the 50% safety margin.) If I was going out for a three night trip, I would probably be OK with a new 18-20 AH rated battery -- if it was relatively new and well charged. The 35 AH batteries I have weigh ~ 24 lbs/10.5KG. That is a little heavy for schleping around the wilds. An 18 AH battery will run about half that. Still a lot of weight to schlep. But the SLA are relatively cost efficient. Another battery technology that I want to explore is the Lithium IRON Phosphate batty (not Lithium ion) or LiFePO4 batteries. There are some deep cycle (not starting) LiFePO4s coming on the market that are significantly lighter than lead, and significantly more stable/safe than the Lithium Ion batteries. But they are still damn expensive. If I was thinking of a traveling battery, that is where I would look. Matter of fact, I am hoping at some time in the near future to find a something like a 20-30 AH LiFePO4 setup for use in the plane. (It was built before a lot of planes had electrical systems and it lacks an electrical system and I like having some portable electronics like a handheld radio and gps on board and they like electricity....) I think weight wise I could swap out something in the 20 AH range for the small 9 AH SLA battery I now use.

I'm starting to ramble now, aren't I?

OMMOHY


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#10
RE: Battery power experience for Dreamstation Auto CPAP
I do most of my camping either by canoe/kayak or short hikes in from parking areas. Most are 2 nights, sometimes 3 nights before hitting civilization where I could recharge the batteries.

Maybe up to 10 pounds of batteries is tolerable, but large, deep-cycle marine batteries are out for my outdoor needs.

If there is a reasonable weight, cheaper option than Li-ion. I am game for trying.

I do have a plug in watt meter, but I am concerned that the efficiency of the power-brick is also being included in that measurement, not the actual energy used.

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