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Old 01-28-2017, 11:02 AM   #1
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CPAP machine on solar

CPAP machine

I have a resmen 10 autoset Cpap machine


I trying to figure out if this will run with the 6 volts and solar for a week or so.

The unit runs on 24volt Dc at home using a converter from 120 ac.

They sell a dc plug that will plug into 12 or 24 volt DC.

I thinking this converter would be the A better choice than using inverter.

according to the manufacture this will draw

with humidifier on
it will draw 4.35 amps at 12 volt

with the humidifier off 1.25 12 volt amps

I all ready thinking the humidifier and tube heater would have to go.

How our others solving the problem?

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Old 01-28-2017, 11:34 AM   #2
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Here's good thread:

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f3...ines-3742.html
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Old 01-28-2017, 03:20 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY View Post
I trying to figure out if this will run with the 6 volts and solar for a week or so.
...
according to the manufacture this will draw
...
with the humidifier off 1.25 12 volt amps
Hello NewYorkHillBilly;
Your question is both simple and complicated.

The simple answer:
Using 1.25 amps and 8 hours per day as an example, in one week you will pull exactly 1.25 X 8 X 7 = 70 amp hours from your battery. This will run down your pair of 6 volt batteries less than half way. (They are good for around 225 amp hours, +/-). Precise, but totally the wrong answer.

The real answer: "It depends".
It depends on so many factors... For example, are you camping in sunny south Texas in mid-summer. Are you camping in shady, cloudy, northern Maine in the fall or spring? Are you using *any* other lights, appliances, fans, pumps, refrigerator, TV, radio, chargers, etc, etc. Taking all of the above into consideration, there is no way we on the forum can give you a precise answer.

Realistic answer #1: I am thinking that many other CPAP users are camping happily. They try it out and adjust their camping style accordingly.

Realistic answer #2: You may be a good candidate for one of those battery monitoring devices that measure your power usage and your solar charge on a continuous basis. That way you will know at all times where you are on the discharge/recharge curve. Its a good tool to use when your needs are more critical than the average boondocker.

Bottom line: Read the threads, evaluate your camping style, consider spending a bit more for a monitor and/or second solar panel. In the end you will have peace of mind and a good night's sleep.

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Old 01-28-2017, 03:41 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by alanmalk View Post
Hello NewYorkHillBilly;
Your question is both simple and complicated.

The simple answer:
Using 1.25 amps and 8 hours per day as an example, in one week you will pull exactly 1.25 X 8 X 7 = 70 amp hours from your battery. This will run down your pair of 6 volt batteries less than half way. (They are good for around 225 amp hours, +/-). Precise, but totally the wrong answer.

The real answer: "It depends".
It depends on so many factors... For example, are you camping in sunny south Texas in mid-summer. Are you camping in shady, cloudy, northern Maine in the fall or spring? Are you using *any* other lights, appliances, fans, pumps, refrigerator, TV, radio, chargers, etc, etc. Taking all of the above into consideration, there is no way we on the forum can give you a precise answer.

Realistic answer #1: I am thinking that many other CPAP users are camping happily. They try it out and adjust their camping style accordingly.

Realistic answer #2: You may be a good candidate for one of those battery monitoring devices that measure your power usage and your solar charge on a continuous basis. That way you will know at all times where you are on the discharge/recharge curve. Its a good tool to use when your needs are more critical than the average boondocker.

Bottom line: Read the threads, evaluate your camping style, consider spending a bit more for a monitor and/or second solar panel. In the end you will have peace of mind and a good night's sleep.

--
Alan

Thats the problem some of these nights will be in the 20's so furnace will run often, and ETI will not put the batteries in the heated space any more on the 19 models , so they will be out in the cold and lose some power that way
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Old 01-28-2017, 03:46 PM   #5
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Just make sure you have electric available in the winter and solar will take care of you in the summer. I would not camp below freezing without electric availability.
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Old 01-28-2017, 03:55 PM   #6
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Just make sure you have electric available in the winter and solar will take care of you in the summer. I would not camp below freezing without electric availability.

The only electric i have would be the honda 2000I , Just in case i need to charge batteries. One of the reason's i looking at escape it to camp in colder weather.. I done this in my casita with out any problems. low 20's at night and above freezing in day. of course water tank and all water lines are in the heated space. ( with out cpap)

The way i understand it you can order the escape with water tank inside

not to worried about gray and black as long as its above freezing during the day
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Old 01-28-2017, 04:07 PM   #7
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...One of the reason's i looking at escape it to camp in colder weather..
A good number of us bought our Escapes for the same purpose - cold weather camping.

But it is an unfortunate fact of life that cold batteries hold less power than warm ones. And that the days are shorter, sun angle is lower, the furnace runs longer, and toasty warm drinks are required more often.

My solution is to carry a spare 150 watt solar panel in the winter. I aim it directly at the sun and get double to triple the amps that the roof panel provides.

Of course this is trivial compared to a generator...

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Old 01-28-2017, 06:42 PM   #8
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I'm not smart enough (or patient enough to try) to understand the science or the mathematics behind it it <g>?, but my real life actual experience is this:

Last summer & fall I ran my ResMed 8 Autoset (but no humidifier) for 8-9 hrs per night through a 1500 watt inverter on my Escape 17B with solar & dual 6-volt for up to 11 days without either electrical plugin & only one 50-mile trip (from Bryce to Kodachrome Basin) at day six. No problems whatsoever.

I never use the humidifier, either at home or when travelling. Never missed it.
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Old 01-28-2017, 07:31 PM   #9
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I always take mine camping in my 19'...

Mine is a Resmed Airsense 10elite and I always take it camping in the 19' (especially important to use this in a confined space like the trailer!!...). The batteries are not too low in the morning and are fully recharged by mid-morning. I put a 12 volt socket on a pigtail in the center cabinet over the bed and leave the CPAP machine plugged in up there an run the air tubing down to my sleep position. This is a high end unit and the humidifier is always used. I purchased a 12 volt converter for power. This setup work very well. I'm sure it would also work fine if I only had 2 batteries. Look up the specs on this unit on-line for the power draw info.
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Old 01-29-2017, 11:42 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY View Post
CPAP machine

I have a resmen 10 autoset Cpap machine


I trying to figure out if this will run with the 6 volts and solar for a week or so.

The unit runs on 24volt Dc at home using a converter from 120 ac.

They sell a dc plug that will plug into 12 or 24 volt DC.

I thinking this converter would be the A better choice than using inverter.

according to the manufacture this will draw

with humidifier on
it will draw 4.35 amps at 12 volt

with the humidifier off 1.25 12 volt amps

I all ready thinking the humidifier and tube heater would have to go.

How our others solving the problem?

Hi Mike,

I know campers that use cpaps that accept 12vdc as one of three power sources, 120/240v being the others. Hopefully yours can work DIRECTLY on 12vdc.. You should be able to find a suitable cigar style 12vdc connector. As I recall his cpap was a Respironic brand.

On the humidifier, being a heater its a good power draw that can be eliminated as I learned. There are evaporation types that resemble a stack of new printer paper and the cpap sits on top. I heard it works well and best of all required zero power.

Avoid the inverter as it will cost you more scarce battery amps due to conversion inefficiency. I believe in the order of 10-20 percent depending where on the amp flow curve you are running on. The manufacturer's spec sheets shows efficiency numbers and as always most favorable for obvious reasons.

Good luck.
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Old 01-29-2017, 02:31 PM   #11
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The Respironics model that my son uses will automatically turn off the heater when a 12 volt cord is plugged into the unit. The user manual recommends keeping water in the tank as there is some humidity gain with the air passing over the water albeit cold water.

The switch from 110 to 12 volt was a matter of purchasing the proper cord. Unless you have to have heated water it is always preferred to run the unit on 12 volt. If your unit will accept 12 volt it will reduce battery draw substantially over using an inverter.

Using dual six volt batteries and solar we have run the CPAP for two weeks and had 87% battery still remaining. So many variables that making a comparison to someone else's experience that number is almost meaningless.
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Old 01-30-2017, 06:59 AM   #12
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I ordered this dc converter

should work better than using a inverter
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Old 01-30-2017, 08:15 AM   #13
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I ordered this dc converter

should work better than using a inverter
That would be an inverter, taking 12V DC to 120V AC.
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Old 01-30-2017, 08:24 AM   #14
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That would be an inverter, taking 12V DC to 120V AC.
I am little confused from inverter to converter
But what id does is take 12 volt DC and brings it up to 24 DC



when at home the wall plus converts back down to 24dc

The unit is made down under so it runs on 24 volt dc
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Old 01-30-2017, 09:02 AM   #15
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Gotcha. What do you need the 24V for?
some how i posted this on wrong thread. I have another thread about running CPAP machine while camping. the cpap is 24 volt
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Old 01-30-2017, 09:14 AM   #16
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I purchased this on line today , plugs into 12 volt DC and takes it up to 24 volt DC with is what my CPAP runs on

This should work better that using a inverted for the 120 volt plug, Because the 120 inverts it back down to 24 volts
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Old 01-30-2017, 08:50 PM   #17
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I purchased this on line today , plugs into 12 volt DC and takes it up to 24 volt DC with is what my CPAP runs on

This should work better that using a inverted for the 120 volt plug, Because the 120 inverts it back down to 24 volts
First of all, you purchased a converter, not an inverter. This thread has morphed into into a conversation on CPAP machines and water tanks,...the moderators aren't awake. I believe the power converter you purchased is just what you need. You started this wanting to know about CPAP machine capabilities on batteries with solar. I hope we focus now on your specific questions....
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Old 01-31-2017, 06:36 AM   #18
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Thanks for all the help. when i get my converter I will be able to hook it up to 12 volt and check the amp draw. once i have that info I should Have better idea on sizing batteries. Of course i need to know what the furnace and other 12 draws will be,But that would be another thread
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Old 02-24-2017, 07:50 AM   #19
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Do you have a link to the converter? Most of the ones I have found are built ins. I have a Resmed too and two solar panels and would prefer to not use my inverter overnight. This seems like the ticket!
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Old 02-24-2017, 08:33 AM   #20
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Do you have a link to the converter? Most of the ones I have found are built ins. I have a Resmed too and two solar panels and would prefer to not use my inverter overnight. This seems like the ticket!

AirSense 10, AirCurve 10 & AirStart 10 Machine Series DC Power Converter With Cord
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