Need suggestions on easiest way to run CPAP for 6 hours without 110 volts

icechex

Well-known member
Wife sleeps with the aid of CPAP machine and everytime we lose power (for whatever reason) she is forced to sleep without it, and besides the obvious negatives involved, she usually wakes up with a sore throat the morning after a night without the CPAP.

Since this doesn't happen very often we've been reluctant to spend the money/time to install an inverter especially since we have no other use for one.

Tonite the power will be off from midnight till 5:30 a.m. so the park we are staying at can do some electrical repairs.

Question: Isn't there some kind of portable/inexpensive way to remedy this problem.

I've thought of buying a 12 volt conversion for the CPAP but the BIG COUNTRY 5th wheel we have, does not have any of those convenient cigarette outlets (like, uh, my older 5th wheel had).

Was wondering if anyone had any ideas?
 

danemayer

Well-known member
If your bedroom slide is electric, you can probably pick up 12V under the bed platform and mount the adapter on the side of the platform.

Another source might be the 12V reading lights, or a light in the closet.
 

rjr6150

Well-known member
Icechex
Most machines have the capability of using an attached battery pack. At least my ResMed does.
 
B

BouseBill

Guest
I don't use a CPAP machine but was made to understand there are battery packs made for such a situation. At the last campground we hosted we were instructed (dry camp) to tell folks that they could not run their gensets all night because of a CPAP machine and to get a battery pack. They are a little expensive but rules are rules.
 

icechex

Well-known member
Dan

bedroom is hydralic I think but it doesn't matter, cause I think I've solved the problem at least temporarily. A neighbor is loaning me his 750 watt inverter that jumpers onto the battery. We will give it a shot tonite. With everything else off - I think the battery will power the CPAP for 5 and a half hours. If it works I'll just buy one. Cost is around $80 and for no more than we need it .. that will be fine.

Many thanks for the idea and if the slide is electric your idea for a permenant fix will be something I consider.
 

icechex

Well-known member
Randy

No... this machine doesn't have the battery pack, wish it did. Think we got it solved though. See my reply to Dan.

thanks ...
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
Battery pack for them is expensive. You can get 12 volt power supply for a lot less or use a inexpensive 12 volt inverter. If you only have one house battery it may not last all night. I would hook it up to a seperate 12 volt battery to make sure it goes all night. You may not be able to use the humidifier while on 12 volts. They draw a lot of power....Don
 

icechex

Well-known member
Battery pack for them is expensive. You can get 12 volt power supply for a lot less or use a inexpensive 12 volt inverter. If you only have one house battery it may not last all night. I would hook it up to a seperate 12 volt battery to make sure it goes all night. You may not be able to use the humidifier while on 12 volts. They draw a lot of power....Don

Just going to hope the battery will last 5 and a half hours. We will turn everything else off.

Will let you know in the morning.

p.s. no humidfier on her CPAP. She told me her 'old one' had humidfier but when she got her new one it didn't have one. Tells me she doesn't need it on the new one for some reason. Prolly helps that we are in Southern California too.

thanks
 

ICamel

Active Member
You should be able to get more than 6 hours of CPAP use off your RV battery. Many CPAP machines have the capability to run directly off of 12V with an optional power cord. You generally want a pure sine wave inverter for electronics like CPAP's which are more expensive than modified sine wave inverters. I have been using my CPAP for 7 years now while dry camping. Using an inverter is not the most efficient method to power a CPAP, so if your wife's machine can be powered directly from 12V that would be the most efficient and least expensive method.
Battery pack for them is expensive. You can get 12 volt power supply for a lot less or use a inexpensive 12 volt inverter. If you only have one house battery it may not last all night. I would hook it up to a seperate 12 volt battery to make sure it goes all night. You may not be able to use the humidifier while on 12 volts. They draw a lot of power....Don
 

klindgren

Retired Virginia Chapter Leaders
I sleep with a CPAP and have absolutely no luck using 12 volts to power it at night. When we bought this rig, one of the add-ons I had them do was to provide a 12 volt outlet in the side of the bed platform. I bought a 759 watt inverter but it keeps shutting down with an error code less than a minute into the CPAP. I've turned off the heating element, used a standard hose instead of the heated one my doctor recommends, and done just about every thing I can think of, including borrowing a larger inverter, all to no avail. I just figure I have to "sleep" (what little there is) in my recliner because I cannot lay down and sleep. It's a fitfull night, but for some reason, CPAP and inverters do not work for me.
 
CPAP dry camping

We went West for 3 months last Spring with our 2011 Greystone 28MK, in planning our trip ,( knowing we would be staying in National parks and forest campgrounds) I realized I needed to do something to be able to operate my CPAP. So, after a lot of research, I bought a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter on internet (with a remote), added a 2nd house battery in parallel, and wired a dedicated outlet in the bedroom. We also bought 2 Yamaha 2000 watt generators (for recharging).
I could go all night with CPAP running as long as nothing else was on. We found out early into the trip that the furnace blower would drain the batteries in about 3 hrs. So, we got a down comforter and slept great.
 

brianharrison

Well-known member
I sleep with a CPAP and have absolutely no luck using 12 volts to power it at night. When we bought this rig, one of the add-ons I had them do was to provide a 12 volt outlet in the side of the bed platform. I bought a 759 watt inverter but it keeps shutting down with an error code less than a minute into the CPAP. I've turned off the heating element, used a standard hose instead of the heated one my doctor recommends, and done just about every thing I can think of, including borrowing a larger inverter, all to no avail. I just figure I have to "sleep" (what little there is) in my recliner because I cannot lay down and sleep. It's a fitfull night, but for some reason, CPAP and inverters do not work for me.

Sounds to me the inverter may be shutting down due to low voltage; voltage drop from the battery to the outlet may be excessive because of small gauge wire. Try attaching the 12V inverter connectors directly to the battery and running the cpap machine, even temporarily from the outside.

If your inverter is a direct plug in one, you can buy/borrow something like this (Click for link).

Brian
 

brianharrison

Well-known member
A neighbor is loaning me his 750 watt inverter that jumpers onto the battery. We will give it a shot tonite. With everything else off - I think the battery will power the CPAP for 5 and a half hours. If it works I'll just buy one. Cost is around $80 and for no more than we need it .. that will be fine.

We did this for my dad for a number of years. Started with inverter clipped to battery outside and 120V industrial extension cord (12 gauge) fed through the bedroom window. Finished up with cord fished up through floor under bedside table.

Brian
 

klindgren

Retired Virginia Chapter Leaders
Sounds to me the inverter may be shutting down due to low voltage; voltage drop from the battery to the outlet may be excessive because of small gauge wire. Try attaching the 12V inverter connectors directly to the battery and running the cpap machine, even temporarily from the outside.
If your inverter is a direct plug in one, you can buy/borrow something like this (Click for link).
Brian

Thanks Brian. I tried that with my old coach (2010 Pinehurst) and had limited success. I know it's the low voltage, I just can't get it figured out well enough to get it to work. (I'm very unmechanical when it comes to things like this)
 

Photoman

Member
I sleep with a CPAP also and have been RVing with it for several years now I bought a 12 volt power cord for it from the place I got the CPAP from and installed a cigarette type outlet in the camper and could dry camp for 2 days+ most of the time with out charging the battery depending on how much the furnace ran and how much we used the lights. The pickup camper only had 1 battery. I will be installing a 12 volt outlet in the new 5th wheel most likely in the closet.

Chuck
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I sleep with a CPAP also and have been RVing with it for several years now I bought a 12 volt power cord for it from the place I got the CPAP from and installed a cigarette type outlet in the camper and could dry camp for 2 days+ most of the time with out charging the battery depending on how much the furnace ran and how much we used the lights. The pickup camper only had 1 battery. I will be installing a 12 volt outlet in the new 5th wheel most likely in the closet.

Chuck

Hi Photoman,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and thanks for sharing.
 
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