CPAP - Amp Usage April 03, 2016, 02:50:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 159685Larry asked for specifics on how amp usage for these machines. I have the latest model? Auto CPAP by Phillips called the DreamStation. It is powered by 12V via a brick. The rating plate indicates 6.6a which is with the humidifier. That's a lot folks if you are dry camping.I took this reading with the humidifier off. 3.6a with .6a of that consumed the inverter. That's almost 30amps a night. A lot to me, but doable when the suns shines every day and we don't need the furnace. (There is no way, we could recharge in the winter using both the CPAP and the furnace when the outside temp is say 34 and we have the thermostat set to 58. So it will change our style)It gobbles up 1amp on standby, so I will need to remember to unplug it every morning.I will make up a DC cord for it so, I do not have use the brick and the inverter.
Re: CPAP - Amp Usage Reply #1 – April 04, 2016, 02:57:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 159700Mike, We would be interested in your info also. We have dry camped (tent not RV) with a cpap before and used a marine battery which would work for 2 nights (but we charged it daily). If you have a camp host they often volunteer to do this and fire stations will also. But we sure would hate to have to carry a chunk of batteries for boondocking, though we are looking at extra solar. Hubby now also uses an o2 concentrator with the cpap, and that is another issue we are factoring in to figure out how much solar & batteries we need for longer boondocking trips. FYI, both the cpap and o2 concentrator we have comes with DC plugs and the concentrator comes with an extra battery (we got it used and it is a lighter 30 lb one that is what I would call semi portable, small and reasonably light enough to travel with but too big if you wanted to carry it around for day use). Jane
Re: CPAP - Amp Usage Reply #2 – April 07, 2016, 09:40:25 am Yahoo Message Number: 159763Jane, I posted all the information about my CPAP. I only mentioned Larry as he asked for info on all CPAP's.Adding batteries, would not help us in all situations. Two more batteries would double our amps, but, it also increases the time to recharge. And there is a fixed amount of daylight available. We will be fine during the summer months, but unless we choose to deep discharge the batteries to use the CPAP, we can not longer camp for long periods in shoulder months, much less winter.After I make up a 12volt cable to power it, I will be interested in seeing if amp usage is reduced by bypassing the brick.
CPAP - Amp Usage Reply #3 – April 09, 2016, 10:12:59 am Yahoo Message Number: 159809Mike (and Larry), I did a quick search last night, below are some useful links. DC cords seems much better. There was a caution about using a generic dc cable, one person fried their cpap after several uses with the generic cable (we got one from the manufacturer) and one person talked how the manufacturer wired theirs a little odd that might cause problems.We are eligible to get a new CPAP soon, so I think we will look at one of the camping models that need less power. Right now we have a Respironics systemone, about 2 years old. We will also look for a replacement O2 generator, ours is about 4 years old and was a great price off craigslist (cheaper than our portion if got one thru insurance).good results with dc cables - https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25546485.cfmThis talks about some portable cpaps - http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=76809.0http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f88/boondocking-with-a-cpap-device-60472.htmlhttp://www.heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/54515-Using-a-DC-24-volt-CPAP-while-boondocking
Re: CPAP - Amp Usage Reply #4 – April 09, 2016, 12:05:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 159813I am using a DeVilbiss Intellipap with Smartflex. I used to use a Respironics, the measured values below are similar.IntelliPAP Standard Plus with SmartFlex - DeVilbiss HealthcareThe reason I chose the DeVilbiss, is it does not require an external power brick, the power supply is internal, only requiring a cord to plug in, AC or 12V. It is also somewhat smaller and much easier to travel with. 12V power does not run the heater (humidifier). If I am boondocking, I will connect to an small inverter I have had for many years, an old Radio Shack unit, good for a couple hundred watts.Here is what I measured, all current readings are at 13.2 V.12V power cord attached (no heater) CPAP connected but off: 0.3 amp CPAP running: roughly 0.6 - 1.0 (depends on your pressure) CPAP running full blast (no hose connected): 2.5 amps (this will never happen in real use)AC power via a 12V inverter Inverter alone: 0.4 amps Inverter w/CPAP connected but off: 0.6 amp Inverter w/CPAP and heater running: around 6.0 amps (~75 watts). cycling down to roughly 1 amp.The 6.0 amp current is not continuous, because the heater is on a thermostat, and cycles. I did not attempt to determine the duty cycle of the heater, but I would guess it is far less than 50%. It probably depends on the ambient temperature in the vehicle, and of course your heater setting. You could start with warm water in it, to reduce the initial current, but I really don't think it takes very long to heat up a few ounces of water.It can pull upwards of 8.5 amps (100 watts) if the blower is running full tilt, which of course the power requirements have to support. But as mentioned above, this will never happen in normal use.-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis
Re: CPAP - Amp Usage Reply #5 – April 09, 2016, 09:29:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 159828Thanks Dave for the useful info.
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