How to power a cpap

[MrNatural22]

My particular unit (S9) has a separate chamber with a removable water container. It typically holds 2 nights worth, but I don't sleep a lot.

It has a temperature setting for the humidifier. Max is 86°F, and I keep it pegged there. If the water container is full, I can run it without the humidifier heat active because I do get some humidification from the air passing through the chamber, but I do notice the difference in the morning.

This particular unit is 24V. Power brick is 90W with a 24VDC 3.75A output. There are 3 pins. It's too tight for me to comfortably verify the 3rd smaller pin, but the two big ones are 24V between them, and none have voltage to the "barrel" of the plug. Rather than try to hack it, I'd just suck it up and buy the 12V converter.

? My water chamber is also separate and can be detached so the blower unit can be run alone. I only get 8-9 hours of humidification even turned down to the #1 setting. I have never run it with the heater/water unit detached though.
My ac power brick outputs 12v to the unit not sure if it’s dual 12/24v capable but it would be nice. I have to dig out the manual stashed for 3 years somewhere. ? @DThames waiting for your results ?
Here’s the specs on my brick.

 

[UncleTodo]

My water chamber comes off as well but requires a separate plate to be installed to complete the air circuit.
I'd just gotten one as I haven't used the humidifier in moths, but with dry winter upon us I've been using it of late.
I need to recheck W usage.
I have a ResMed AirSense10

 

[CactusBob]

We are planning a battery run test tonight. I am charging the battery, starting fully charged. 3s Li-ion, 16ah. I have a DC meter that will show watt hours.

Cant wait to hear the results, I have a System One and the humidifier is a necessity in Az, when we traveled to Washington state not so much. I could actually go without it for a couple nights.
I have a power meter on order and it should be in Monday so I can read my system then and figure out where to go with this

Thanks for all the info so far, please keep it coming
Bob

 

[snoobler]

My kill-a-watt came today, so I'll be running mine tonight as well. I did a quick test run, and it peaked at 70W pretty quickly once the heater came on.

With you on the humidifier CactusBob. Mesa is dry enough, but Honey Badger Ranch up in the high desert is uber dry... and cold. I can get by with just having the water filled to the top w/o heat, but the mornings aren't as pleasant.

 

[UncleTodo]

Any thoughts on how the 110v cord usage will compare top the 12v cord usage?
I haven't ordered a 12v yet, and nothing to plug it in to.

 

[DThames]

Lisa's (wife) power supply looks the same as MrNature22. It is a Philips Dreamstation. 7 hours use last night, 119 watt hours total. When first used it was pulling 60 watts. I think there was initial heating of the water reservoir. I checked it later and the watts were way down. Still they were not constant. The go up and down with the breathing load and the heater is on for a few seconds now and then.

 

[snoobler]

6.6h, 210Wh

70W peak, 30W typical

EDIT: 4W background draw. Unplugged unit. Transformer alone pulled 0.7W, so 3.3W was keeping the unit in "standby" mode.

4W * 17h = 68Wh - almost 1/3 of the active use consumption - probably worth turning off when not in use.

 

[snoobler]

Any thoughts on how the 110v cord usage will compare top the 12v cord usage?
I haven't ordered a 12v yet, and nothing to plug it in to.

AC-DC converters tend to be 85-90% efficient, so you won't lose the 10-15% when running directly off 12V.

 

[UncleTodo]

Here's something interesting I came across a little ways back.

Learn How Playing the Didgeridoo Can Help Treat Sleep Apnea

How might learning the circular breathing technique needed to play an aboriginal musical instrument called the didgeridoo help to treat sleep apnea?

www.verywellhealth.com

 

[snoobler]

Heh... my cure is 100# less of fat and some exercise.

 

[UncleTodo]

Ha, same, but the didgeridoo may be fun to take up while I'm out vanning around the country

 

[HaldorEE]

I would be surprised to hear that CPAP used the heater at all.

It is part of the humidifier. I can turn it off, but it is pulsing on all night.

I don't use the humidifier when camping with my CPAP.

I power mine from directly from a 6.6AH 12V LiFePO4 battery pack. It will run just the CPAP about 14Hrs on a full charge. I bought it from BatterSpace.com about 6 years ago.

Works when we have a power outage too.

 

[HaldorEE]

I left part of the sentance off above. "It is part of the humidifier. I can turn it off, but it is pulsing on all night unless I turn it off."

Here is a pic of my setup. I originally used electrical tape, but that made a mess when the battery got hot and camping in AZ often means hot weather. The filament box sealing tape has held up extremely well. That tape is over 5 years old.

 

[wmills_92105]

My CPAP also has an "airplane mode" setting because it has cell or wifi or somethign I never use. When on battery I drop the heat to zero and put on airplane mode and that helped a LOT in not killign the battery.

CPAP is also why I''m building my own ammo can battery boxes. Now I'm thinking i need to find a 12v adapter for my machine maybe so I don't have to pay the inverter.

 

[HaldorEE]

My CPAP also has an "airplane mode" setting because it has cell or wifi or somethign I never use. When on battery I drop the heat to zero and put on airplane mode and that helped a LOT in not killign the battery.

CPAP is also why I''m building my own ammo can battery boxes. Now I'm thinking i need to find a 12v adapter for my machine maybe so I don't have to pay the inverter.

What brand is your CPAP?
Respironics run off 12V.
Resmed run on 24V.

Here is the cord for Respironics.

Mobile DC Power Cord for DreamStation Series CPAP/BiPAP Machines

This Shielded 6-Foot 12V DC Power Cord can be used to plug any DreamStation Series CPAP/BiPAP machine into the "cigarette" style outlets found in most cars, boats, trucks, and other vehicles.

www.cpapxchange.com

I cut the cigarette lighter plug off and replaced it with an SMA plug. All of my 12V devices use SMA plugs. My 24V stuff uses XT60 connectors.

Amazon.com: 2 Pack - SAE Power Socket Sidewall Port, Weatherproof SAE Quick Connect Solar Panel Mount Universal Flush-Mountable Connector, 12AWG SAE Cable with 8 Screws for Solar Generator Battery Charger: Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com: 2 Pack - SAE Power Socket Sidewall Port, Weatherproof SAE Quick Connect Solar Panel Mount Universal Flush-Mountable Connector, 12AWG SAE Cable with 8 Screws for Solar Generator Battery Charger: Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

Doesn't fall out of the outlet (I hate cigarette lighter plugs), and using two incompatible plug types ensures I don't plug a 12V device into 24V.

 

[UncleTodo]

Some good stuff here for a guy planning his build with CPAP in mind.
This is the 12v cord I found for my ResMed:

Amazon.com

 

[HaldorEE]

Some good stuff here for a guy planning his build with CPAP in mind.
This is the 12v cord I found for my ResMed:

Amazon.com

That is a good price for a cable with the 12V to 24V adapter.

 

[wmills_92105]

What brand is your CPAP?
Respironics run off 12V.
Resmed run on 24V.

Mine is 24V. Looks like there are 12-24 step up cigarette lighter power bricks to be had so I am thinking 12V cig lighter socket which is maybe generally useful for runnign air pumps etc.

100% agree that different plugs for different voltages is generallys a Good Thing (tm).

 

[UncleTodo]

I tested mine last night, on 110 though, with the humidifier on and doing a preheat prior to use it came up with .17 kw over 7.5 hours.
Humidifier is set on 4 out of 8.
It does use some juice in standby mode, also as well being a cellular device I'm sure it's doing other stuff in the background.
I'll be unplugging it while not in use for sure.

 

[CactusBob]

I was finally able to test mine last night, it is a Phillips Respironics System One Series 60,
pressure 10.
peak 80w
low 1.3w
both with the heater on.
This was over 13.5 hrs with a total of 285w. Unfortunately my power meter doesn't break it down by night