using a C-pap on the road

GranMaMom · Oct 20, 2018

hello everyone I'm not ready yet to leave. I have medical problems I need answered first. I use a c-pap to sleep. and I have watched so many video's of Bob's and I have never heard of any one using a C-pap machine. How much solar would I need to use it all nite to sleep? or would I need to have electric all the time? I live on a mini farm North of Seattle about 1 hour from Canada border. oh I'm 68 yrs. thank for any and all help.
GranMaMom

B and C · Oct 20, 2018

Welcome to the forums.

I use a cpap machine in my RV. The first thing I did is get rid of the humidifier (it takes a lot of electricity) and then got a 12V plug for it. It now runs natively off 12V DC without all the losses of an inverter to step up the voltage to 120V and then the machines power supply stepping it down to 12V.

Is this the only thing electrical you are going to use in your vehicle? No phone, laptop, lights, refrigeration, etc? All of these things need power. The more of these that you can get a 12V power supply for the better. Don't plan on using any 120V AC household appliances for anything. There are other ways to accomplish the same task. The best way is to set a power budget:

cpap = 12V DC @ amps
laptop = 12V DC @ amps
etc.

Only by knowing how much electricity you need can an educated guess be made. You are in the rainy PNW so you will need a lot of solar for a small amount of charging.

travelaround · Oct 20, 2018

I'll be using something like this:

Rockpals 250-Watt Portable Generator Rechargeable Lithium Battery Pack Solar Generator
https://www.amazon.com/Rockpals-250-Watt-Generator-Rechargeable-Emergency/dp/B075SSMR6K/

The solar panel is sold separately. It can also be recharged by 12v. while driving.

The Amazon page says it will run a CPAP three nights.

I've already turned off the humidifier on mine, but the thing that takes up the energy is the humidifier's heating element. I leave the humidifier in the machine filled with a little distilled water, but don't turn it on. That's called "passive humidity" because you're not using energy to run it.

I did some research on this, and even measured electricity usage. Definitely, the humidifier, if left on, will take too much energy. Also, I read somewhere that it shouldn't be run through an inverter.

I'm not traveling yet - but I'm planning to go to the WRTR/RTR in a car since my van won't be ready until March at the earliest. I'll be taking this Rockpals setup along with me in my car.

Outdoorsisfree · Oct 20, 2018

My father uses a CPAP and is looking to live on the road as well. Thank you TravelAround for the battery suggestion. My father is stubborn though and refuses to turn off the humidifier. He is in denial it uses much more power (although it must). GoalZero makes some very expensive battery units as well. Solar is the answer for his vehicle, but he won't have time to install before the road. I will be following this thread.

travelaround · Oct 20, 2018

At first I took the humidifier out of the machine and tried to sleep that way and I had a very bad reaction to that. But the passive humidity option works well, keeping a little water in the container, but turning humidifier heat to "off." I considered Goal Zero . . . not sure yet if I'll ever get one. I'm hoping Rockpals will be enough.

jonthebru · Oct 21, 2018

I live in a house but there have been a good number of power outages lately so I created a battery off grid system for my CPAP. My current machine runs on 24 volts so I use a deep cycle battery and a small inverter. I have the humidifier at its lowest setting. And turn off the wifi connection. You could charge the battery off the vehicle engine if necessary with a solar panel set in the sun when camping. Make sure the battery gets charged every day.

Trebor English · Oct 21, 2018

Get a Kill A Watt. $20.

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/

You can measure how much energy your CPAP uses on the pressure setting you use. You can measure the effect of the heater and the humidifier.

Without that information it is like answering the question: how long is a piece of string?

SheepDog · Oct 23, 2018

The Travel CPAP’s like https://www.cpap.com/productpage/re...MIxqWtseOc3gIV3bXACh2_gwCIEAQYASABEgJpWfD_BwE are a nice compact option.

It has been designed to not use a water chamber and is thus very small and low power draw!

SD

travelaround · Oct 23, 2018

The travel CPAP is kind of cute - but the price . . . not sure I'd want to pay that much. Still, I'll keep it in mind as an option.

Outdoorsisfree · Oct 25, 2018

We bought the Yeti 400 Goal Zero system. Says it charges in 5 hours during the day. Will have to let you know how it holds up as to number of nights. There is no compromise my father wants to keep the heated water vapor on all night. So data will be from that. The Kil-A watt meter is great. That would be good to use on this.

Outdoorsisfree · Oct 30, 2018

Outdoorsisfree said:
We bought the Yeti 400 Goal Zero system. Says it charges in 5 hours during the day. Will have to let you know how it holds up as to number of nights. There is no compromise my father wants to keep the heated water vapor on all night. So data will be from that. The Kil-A watt meter is great. That would be good to use on this.

The Yeti runs the CPAP with heated water vapor for 5.5 hours. Without the heated water it runs for 4 nights.

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