CPAP with no on-board battery

Haybale

Haybale

I'd rather be camping!!
Aug 22, 2013
2,561
San Diego via MN
I recently was prescribed a CPAP through the VA (they provide everything for in home use and a 12v power cord). I have read through other threads, and most people have an on-board deep cycle battery already, which I don't, and mostly boondock.

Does anyone here have any alternative methods of running a CPAP, that is not spending $300 on a battery that lasts 8 hours, or $500 for 2 nights?

I have a ResMed AirSense 10 with the heated hose and humidifier.

The book/s don't say the power usage per hour/night to help me put something together.

Thanks for any links/help!
 
Last edited:
BirdsNest

BirdsNest

Active Member
Jun 12, 2017
152
Utah
We'd really need to know the exact power draw of the CPAP unit in order to calculate how much battery would be needed to last through the night. If you are camping in a place with electric hook-ups, then you can just plug it in and not worry about it. But you definitely don't want the battery to run out and shut down your CPAP machine in the middle of the night when you are "roughing it"! A small/quiet generator might work when boondocking, but most established campgrounds won't let you run generators overnight so you're really going to need to look at battery options if you don't have electricity available.

I did a bit of searching and it looks like the ResMed AirSense 10 averages 53 Watts during normal usage, and up to 104 Watts at peak usage. That equates to about 4.4/8.6 amps at 12 volts. That seems to be on the higher end of the results I've seen for other CPAP machines (most seem to be between 2.5 and 4.5 amps, depending on the prescribed pressure level) but is definitely doable with a good battery. Assuming 4.5 amps as an average, you'll need about 36 amp-hours to run the CPAP for 8 hours over night. A good deep cycle battery can handle that, especially if you recharge the battery with a solar panel or generator setup during the day. Using the trailer battery/batteries would give you the advantage of having power for other things in the trailer like lights and a heater if needed as well. And a good battery and appropriate solar panel (or a pair of high capacity 6V golf cart batteries that could run the CPAP for almost a week without recharging) would likely cost quite a bit less than just the dedicated CPAP battery...
 
SidecarMike

SidecarMike

Active Member
Jan 13, 2014
276
Unless you're camping in extremely arid conditions, you can leave the humidifier and heated hose turned off. That should cut your consumption in half or more. We run two ten year old Respironics M-Series BIPAPs (tend to use more power than a CPAP) off an AGM battery made for a Honda Goldwing.
 
S

sierrapup

Active Member
Jun 19, 2016
373
Haybale said:
I recently was prescribed a CPAP through the VA (they provide everything for in home use and a 12v power cord). I have read through other threads, and most people have an on-board deep cycle battery already, which I don't.

Does anyone here have any alternative methods of running a CPAP, that is not spending $300 on a battery that lasts 8 hours, or $500 for 2 nights?

I have a ResMed AirSense 10 with the heated hose and humidifier.

The book/s don't say the power usage per hour/night to help me put something together.

Thanks for any links/help!
Click to expand...
I have one of those zero gravity batteries. we can see if it will work this week end...[CC]
 
Haybale

Haybale

I'd rather be camping!!
Aug 22, 2013
2,561
San Diego via MN
I mostly boondock, and my pup does not have any use for a battey (no lights/furnace/outlets). And my hitch would not support a deep cycle, as my hitch weight is only 200 lbs (if that).

And from what I have read 53w/hr is typical.

I had thought about one of the battery jump packs with outlets on them, which will probably be the best solution. I may have to rig it to be charged with solar though. The units I was looking at a while back only had an AC plug to charge.

I wont have the 12v plug for it yet for this trip, however another member may have an adapter I can use. I am on the low end of sleep apnea, so I am not worried about the immediate need!
 
speckhunter80

speckhunter80

Super Active Member
Jul 26, 2012
4,781
Shell Rock Landing, Hubert NC
BirdsNest said:
We'd really need to know the exact power draw of the CPAP unit in order to calculate how much battery would be needed to last through the night. If you are camping in a place with electric hook-ups, then you can just plug it in and not worry about it. But you definitely don't want the battery to run out and shut down your CPAP machine in the middle of the night when you are "roughing it"! A small/quiet generator might work when boondocking, but most established campgrounds won't let you run generators overnight so you're really going to need to look at battery options if you don't have electricity available.

I did a bit of searching and it looks like the ResMed AirSense 10 averages 53 Watts during normal usage, and up to 104 Watts at peak usage. That equates to about 4.4/8.6 amps at 12 volts. That seems to be on the higher end of the results I've seen for other CPAP machines (most seem to be between 2.5 and 4.5 amps, depending on the prescribed pressure level) but is definitely doable with a good battery. Assuming 4.5 amps as an average, you'll need about 36 amp-hours to run the CPAP for 8 hours over night. A good deep cycle battery can handle that, especially if you recharge the battery with a solar panel or generator setup during the day. Using the trailer battery/batteries would give you the advantage of having power for other things in the trailer like lights and a heater if needed as well. And a good battery and appropriate solar panel (or a pair of high capacity 6V golf cart batteries that could run the CPAP for almost a week without recharging) would likely cost quite a bit less than just the dedicated CPAP battery...
Click to expand...
It is a 24volt machine.
 
S

SteveP

Super Active Member
Platinum Supporting Member
May 21, 2015
2,571
IMO your best bet is to get a deep cycle, rv/marine battery. You should be able to get at least 2 nights out of a g24 if you don't use it for anything else and turn the heater and the humidifier off. My previous machine, a Puritan Bennet, would run 3 nights on a group 24 with occasional light and water pump use. I got a battery clip adaptor with the 12v cord for my Resmed S9. You can just clip it to the battery and run the the cord under the bunk end tent. Before I got the S9 I had already installed a g31 and 100 watts of solar so I can't really say how it would hold up on the smaller battery.
 
kitphantom

kitphantom

Super Active Member
Platinum Supporting Member
Dec 26, 2009
13,758
Albuquerque, NM
How about something like the Goal Zero Yeti "generator" battery packs? Not cheap, though. We have the Yeti 150, they have larger sizes, and upgraded batteries recently. 12v outlet. USB ports, ours also has a 110 outlet, which we've never used. Charge from the 110 outlet or solar.
With the previous GZ storage battery, we also had an adapter to charge it in the vehicle on the road, but never used it. Our Yeti 150 has lasted a week charging things like cell phones and Kindles. We kept the Goal Zero solar panels when we up-sized to the Zamp, so we will be able to charge the Yeti separately from the TT. I assume we will need to do that on our 2-week trip to Wyoming later this summer.
 
tfischer

tfischer

A bad day camping beats a good day at the office
May 21, 2014
5,128
Plymouth (Minneapolis) Minnesota
Yeti 150 has 14ah for $230. Compare that to a group 29 deep cycle for $100 and 100-120ah. Granted the latter won't recharge without more hardware, but that would be my choice.
 
kitphantom

kitphantom

Super Active Member
Platinum Supporting Member
Dec 26, 2009
13,758
Albuquerque, NM
tfischer said:
Yeti 150 has 14ah for $230. Compare that to a group 29 deep cycle for $100 and 100-120ah. Granted the latter won't recharge without more hardware, but that would be my choice.
Click to expand...
Not for everyone, but good for us - no worries about leaking battery acid inside. The 150 would not be sufficient for Haybale's uses, though it works for us; we use it for one thing or another on almost every trip. We leave it plugged in inside the house all of the off-season, not just for maintenance, but so we have the use of a lantern, etc. if the power goes out, in addition to our small LED ones.
 
kitphantom

kitphantom

Super Active Member
Platinum Supporting Member
Dec 26, 2009
13,758
Albuquerque, NM
tfischer said:
Inside that fancy Yeti is a standard AGM battery.
Click to expand...
Understand that, still works well for us. Sometimes being able to buy something and use it is better for us than creating a similar item. Sometimes being creative is fun and money-saving. Just depends.
 
S

SteveP

Super Active Member
Platinum Supporting Member
May 21, 2015
2,571
tfischer said:
Yeti 150 has 14ah for $230. Compare that to a group 29 deep cycle for $100 and 100-120ah. Granted the latter won't recharge without more hardware, but that would be my choice.
Click to expand...
You can recharge with a pair of jumper cables attached to your TV in an emergency.
 
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