Comment

Comment by Ox Drover on January 30, 2012 at 8:24pm

Will, I am with you on dragging the marine battery around (nearly 50 pounds!) for camping, and I have a small (about 12 inches by 12 inches) solar panel to recharge the battery so if there is any sun I'm okay...a battery will last about 3 days without any recharging by either the panel or putting it into an automobile...I was unsure WHICH one of the items you bought from the link and how long it would run your machine. We have infrequent but prolonged power outages here from ice storms (the worst was a couple of weeks in 2000 and no way to even get out during that time) fortunately I have a diesel tractor and also a generator so can survive for quite some time, and even keep a battery recharged....I feel so bad the next day if I don't have my machine, there's no options...I will find a way to power it! LOL My son has some sort of thing he carries around in his truck that will "jump start" his truck if the battery is dead....I'm not exactly sure what it is but I know it has power and can also run other things if they are plugged into it. Is that similar to what you are talking about?

Comment by PaulaO on January 30, 2012 at 4:30pm

Thanks for the link! That looks like a good idea. I am a ham radio operator and always on the look out for portable power alternatives. I like solar stuff.

Comment by Will on January 30, 2012 at 2:02pm

After dragging a car/marine battery around with me for years to go camping, I recently purchased a battery solution from goal zero. I was tired of saying "I AM Ironman." What I like about it is it is self contained, has a handle, light, has it's own charger built in, can run AC (has a built in inverter) and you can choose during the purchase process what amount of power/number of nights you will need on a charge. You do get what you pay for.

I keep it in my closet plugged in and ready for action. It's kind of useful for other issues, like when power went out for 1.75 days this summer, my wife kept her cell attached. http://www.goalzero.com/medium-sherpa.html
I got it at costco. Resmed is one of the companies that insist you use a special converter of their design. I respect that and have one. Don't want to mess up my expensive S9. However with the goal zero, you don't need an ac converter at all, just plug in your AC charger to their AC port. BTW - converting to AC draws more power and the battery life is less. With ResMed, either with there DC to AC converter or using the AC power cord in the goal zero power outlet is going to draw power.

Best,

Will

Comment by PaulaO on January 30, 2012 at 11:37am

Yes, I have a converter and all that. But I was missing a part (the one with the clips that ends in the "cigarette lighter" end for the converter to plug into) and we couldn't get out to purchase another. We were packing me up to go stay at a hotel or friend's house when the power finally came back on. As soon as the roads were clear enough, we got the missing part and a box to keep it all in. My partner was about to kill me so anything it took to keep this from happening again was well worth it. I have two gel cell deep cycle batteries from my old wheelchair. They last several nights.

CPAP companies sell very expensive converters for their machines saying the electronics are delicate and all that. I figure if a laptop can handle the one from Radio Shack, their machine can too!

Comment by Ox Drover on January 30, 2012 at 7:57am

Paula, it doesn't happen often but we do get snow storms here that last for 1-2 weeks and we are out of power then. What I do to survive during those times is I have a "converter" from 12 volt to 110, and I use a deep cycle marine battery. Or you can use your car battery. They are a pain in the neck to haul in and out, but it beats the heck out of going without a machine. Make sure the converter you buy is big enough to handle your machine.
They are available at radio shack and you can ask the clerk. I took my machine in with me when I bought the converter. I also do this when camping, and have a little solar panel to trickle charge my battery.

My machine that died was replaced by the company. It was 3 years old and out of warranty and of course medicare wouldn't replace it but the company gave me another used one after several attempts to fix the old one. I am a happy camper now!

Comment by justgeo1 on January 29, 2012 at 11:15pm

Mine is the ResMed S9 ASV and the new one is the same but newer. I get to keep it until they get my old one fixed...

Comment by PaulaO on January 29, 2012 at 9:32pm

Ouch. The longest I have gone is 5 days when the power was out due to a snow storm. I was not such a nice person by day three. What machine did you get? I have heard that ResMed's S9 ASV is good.

Comment by justgeo1 on January 29, 2012 at 8:39pm

My ASV died about 2 weeks ago and I finally got a replacement (temporary) a couple days ago... that time without a machine was horrible...

Comment by Emmy on November 5, 2011 at 10:52pm

If anyone is interested in a support group just for Apnea, I created one on facebook for CPAP, APAP and BIPAP users. Please mention that you're a member of TuDiabetes when you click the join button.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/APAP.CPAP.BIPAP/
Emmy

Comment by justgeo1 on November 4, 2011 at 5:44pm

My sleep specialist said I was 90% CSA with occasional, short bouts of OSA but I've lost lots of weight since then. My guess is I'm mostly CSA. I just go with what my sleep specialist tells me but she did mention that less than 1% have this kind of sleep apnea... go figure... That explains why I had to go through 4 sleep studies...

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• …
• 20
• Next ›
• Page