Best way to run cpap while camping?

[superj]

Google says I can get two 100 Watt Solar panels, a solar charge controller, and a 100 amp hour battery, and that'll run a cpap machine for 8 hours.And then it'll charge in a 6 hour day.What do you guys think?

I need a set up for when when I go to big bend

 

[superj]

I tried one of those online solar panel set up deals where you put all your information in , and that's what it told me

 

[Curious Hound]

Look at the label on your CPAP and see how many amps or watts it takes. I just looked at my old resmed model and it requires 1.5 amps input at 120volts. That would be 180watts. So, for an 8 hour night of sleep, it would need 12amp-hours (AH) or 1440watt-hours (WH). So, to be on the safe side, get a powerbank that provides 2,000WH or maybe 15AH at 120volts.

If that's all you want to use it for, just get a whole package deal with powerbank and solar charging from somebody like Jackery or Bluetti or something like that. You can get inexpensive setups even from Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. It can also charge your phone.

There are several articals in our tech library if you want more info. Here is one.

Auxiliary Electrical Systems - The Ranger Station

How to design and install an auxiliary electrical system for your Ford Ranger or off-road vehicle from dual batteries to full solar setups.

www.therangerstation.com

 

[superj]

That instruction deal is whay i was trying to find. I knew i had seen one.

And yes, jist the cpap. Its a resmed airsense 10.

It says:

dv24v and 3.75a

On the tag on the bottom

 

[Curious Hound]

That instruction deal is whay i was trying to find. I knew i had seen one.

And yes, jist the cpap. Its a resmed airsense 10.

It says:

dv24v and 3.75a

On the tag on the bottom

View attachment 143824

There should be another label on the power supply that you plug into the wall. That will be the info you want. It will probably be the numbers I mentioned above.

I should find a new doctor and get my prescription renewed. I stopped using 5 or 6 years ago when my Dr. Retired.

Just looked again. Mine is a ResMed Air10. Same DC ratings on the base unit.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

Those "solar generators" are great! I got one for my BIL who works storm outages. His wife liked it so much she took it from him! Those will charge off of a 12v source, too, in case solar fails you.

 

[RobbieD]

That instruction deal is whay i was trying to find. I knew i had seen one.

There should be another label on the power supply that you plug into the wall.

Looks like AC input is 115V at 1.5A.

@superj : If you need a manual for the machine, as long as you have an FCC ID number, you can get manuals and other information from the FCC website. Just google "FCC ID lookup" to find their website. If they got it, you can download it as a .pdf.

I just checked if there was a manual for your CPAP machine at the FCC, and this is a screen shot I made of the manual page for specifications showing your power supply's AC voltage input:

HTH

 

[pentode]

The AC power supply will often be a bit oversized for the device it's powering, especially on a medical device. What the actual device needs is 90 watts (24v x 3.75a). The power supply won't be 100% efficient, but it'll be well over 80%, so given that that spec sheet claims 104 watts MAX, I think you could plan your power budget for 120 watts and be pretty safe.

There are a few ways you could get there. Your proposed setup should get the job done - the tricky part of that setup is that solar panels need direct sunlight, no shadows at all anywhere on the panels, to get full output. You actually lose a fair amount of efficiency going from solar through the charge controllers, converting from DC to AC and then back to DC for the device itself.

For a one-off trip, it might be just as easy (although I don't know about price) going with one of those big charge banks/"solar generators" (as some companies call them and as mentioned above) that can accept solar panel inputs for charging as well as other charging methods, wall power, cigar lighter etc.

I think the most elegant and most efficient solution - and this might not make sense for a one-off trip but I think would be great in the long run - would be to use 24v worth of solar panels into a 24v charge controller that can put out a regulated 24v, wired into 2x12V batteries, and make a cable to connect that directly to the CPAP machine. That would take less solar to charge and less battery capacity to run. (maybe even 30-40% overall)

Of course, the solar generator has a whole other bunch of uses so you might get better value out of something like that in the long run. Also depends on what you might already have on hand or readily available for parts

I don't want to be too long-winded here. If you want me to elaborate on anything I'd be happy to. It's an interesting and useful project.

 

[superj]

I have to googlw solar generator. I dont know what that is

 

[Curious Hound]

The AC power supply will often be a bit oversized for the device it's powering, especially on a medical device. What the actual device needs is 90 watts (24v x 3.75a). The power supply won't be 100% efficient, but it'll be well over 80%, so given that that spec sheet claims 104 watts MAX, I think you could plan your power budget for 120 watts and be pretty safe.

While uou are technically correct, it's usually better to plan and design with the larger numbers. A bit of reserve capacity is good to have, especially if the next day turns out to be cloudy or you're in the shade a lot and can't get a full recharge. Besudes, at this small size, tje price difference between 120 watts, 150watts or 200watts isn't really that much. Furthermore, don't concentrate on just "watts". You need to think about "watt-hours" . That is the battery capacity that carries your load over time. "Watts" and "amps" are instantaneous measurements. Watt-hours or Amp-hours tell you how long your power bank will supply tjose watts or amps. And that is what you need. You want it to keep the CPAP running all night long, not just for a minute or two.