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Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - StevesSp - 11-29-2020
My hobby is photographing motorsports of all kinds. The venues are often in rural areas, a couple of hours or more from home, and require that I book accommodation if I'm to cover the event properly.
Some events are in areas that have no B&Bs, motels, or similar - only campsites. Also, Covid travel restrictions mean that Aussies are currently confined to our Wide Brown Land and so are holidaying domestically in greater numbers than before so, even where accommodation is available, the costs have soared.
So, despite swearing never to go 'tenting' again, I have bought another tent and tried it out last night at a nearby site. Apart from the expected dramas associated with learning to camp all over again, this time as an arthritic old git, I found the CPAP side of things a nightmare, despite diligent prep.
I used a Devilbiss Sleepcube (Autopap) that I don't normally use (too noisy) because it runs directly off 12V and I already had a suitable battery. However, apart from the noise, I found the lack of humidifier a real deal-breaker. There is no way I could repeat last night's 'sleep' again.
So, my options seem to be sticking only to big sites that supply power (not my preference) or finding a way to power the humidifier.
Have any of you done this? Is it as 'simple' as buying a HUGE battery? Note that most of the sites I want to use (small, no services, out in the bush) do not allow generators.
Help!
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - Sleeprider - 11-29-2020
Steve, I think you would be well served by simply buying a good deep cycle marine battery and the DC-DC adapter from Resmed or aftermarket supplier that up-converts the 12-volt battery power to the required 24 volt for Resmed. With a deep cycle battery, you can have days of use, and probably even run the humidifier if you want. Do a search for "resmed dc/dc converter (for airsense 10)". Here in the U.S. Supplier #1 carries the Resmed brand for $67.00 USD (Item #37297).
There are many ways the battery could be recharged on the road if necessary, but you should be getting considerable run-time from a setup like this.
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - Sleepster - 11-29-2020
In addition to the larger battery, you could also get a solar charger.
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - SideSleeper - 11-29-2020
If passover humidification (water in the tank but no heat in tank or hose) will work for you, you can still get some small amount of humidification. I realize you are dealing with hot, dry conditions, not our Oregon cooler, damper air I used passover when camping--used a small battery pack in our travel trailer. We had the luxury of recharging with a generator the next morning. I was using a Phillips Resperonic machine at the time--it is 12 not 24 volt like Resmed machines.
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - StevesSp - 11-29-2020
Thanks guys.
It looks like the best solution is a large deep cycle battery, with enough capacity to run the Resmed Airsense with humidifier for two nights. I will also buy the power adapter.
Now I just need to figure out what size I need.
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - Sleeprider - 11-29-2020
Start with this, the Resmed Battery Guide forStand-Alone Deep Cycle Batteries https://www.resmed.com/us/dam/documents/articles/198103_battery-guide_glo_eng.pdf
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - StevesSp - 11-29-2020
(11-29-2020, 06:21 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: Start with this, the Resmed Battery Guide forStand-Alone Deep Cycle Batteries https://www.resmed.com/us/dam/documents/articles/198103_battery-guide_glo_eng.pdf
Wow, that's great and really helpful. It's the first time I've seen anything from Resmed that assumes the humidifier is turned on. Now I can figure out what size battery I need!
Thanks again.
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - StevesSp - 11-29-2020
I'm looking at a no-name ('Eclipse') 130AH battery which, if the Resmed advice is correct, should give me 2-3 nights operation with humidifier. Cost AUS269. I also need the Resmed adapter at AUD120, so total cost would be AUD389.
I don't think I need more power than that because I don't plan on tenting for more than two nights but, if I wanted to go for longer, there are several options including solar, fitting my car with a dual-charge setup or finding sites that have power (or asking the host to charge it for me, for a fee).
I'll be happy if this works, because I'd much rather use the Resmed than the Devilbiss machine (hiss ... roar ... hiss ... roar)
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - Sleeprider - 11-29-2020
I started looking into this for use on our 24 foot sailboat that has a cabin and basic galley and head. Your conclusion is similar to mine, but our battery prices are lower, and I already have a marine battery and solar charger onboard. My plan was to add a second battery in parallel, so I can run nav lights, radio and accessories separately and keep things going for a weekend or longer while using BPAP. I tend not to be a camper type, so we'll see how it all works out. Good luck.
RE: Awful camping experience with CPAP - HELP! - StevesSp - 12-06-2020
Well, I tried out the new setup over the weekend - two nights camping while using my Resmed Airsense Autoset with humidifier, powered by a 130AH deep cycle 12V battery.
Despite the shop saying the battery would be fully charged, it was in fact only charged to around 80%. Despite this, it powered the machine quite happily for both nights, albeit will little power left according to the battery's built-in voltmeter.
I operated the machine at my usual settings (12 - 15) but with the humidity and hose temp turned down to 5 and 23C respectively. This resulted in a bit of the dreaded dry mouth so, next time using a fully-charged battery, I will return to my usual settings.
The only downside so far is the weight of the darn battery. It's a bit of a beast. I don't plan to go camping for the rest of the summer though, so I might fit a battery box in the back of my SUV, along with a dual-charge system, so the battery can stay in the car in future (using a long power lead).
Thanks again to those who offered advice.