I need a recommendation on a portable power pack for a CPAP.

I’m going camping, I have sleep apnia, and I need something that can provide power overnight for a 120-240v ~ 50/60Hz, 2.1A [12V – 5.0 A] device.  Assume that I can recharge during the day from a power socket.  Please bear in mind that while I know that V = volts, Hz = Hertz, and A presumably = amps, my eyes will glaze over when we go deeper into those weeds (I have apparently subconsciously decided that anything engineering-related is to be filed under ‘let my wife take point on that’).  The more it costs, the harder it will be for me to justify spending the money, although a portable power pack isn’t a bad thing to have around the house generally.

Available on Amazon?  Definite plus.  I need this before the end of the week.

19 thoughts on “I need a recommendation on a portable power pack for a CPAP.”

  1. OK, this is all speculation, but based on what you said, you’ve got a transformer with a wall wart that takes 110-120vac and steps it down into 12vdc. So all you really need is something that provides 12vdc for an extended amount of time. A car or marine battery will do that, you’d just need something to hook it up with. I know you can get a cigarette lighter adapter to hook directly to a car battery with clamps, and there’s probably a 12vdc adapter that will plug into one of those, or you could just sacrifice an old power adapter with the right tip on it and have your wife solder something up…

    Car battery can then be trickle-charged off of an ac adapter during the day, but I’d bet you’d get 2 nights out of one charge anyways.

    1. I like the idea, Skip, but .. seems like this might be slightly too complex.
      .
      What about buying (or “sourcing” .. Moe has friends in IT, after all) a cheap UPS? One with *minimal* brains and a fat battery?
      .
      If the CPAP required load is as low as you’re saying, then .. plug the UPS in, charge it up, unplug it and drive to campsite .. plug in CPAP machine and sleep .. then plug the UPS in to recharge the next day.
      .
      Mew

      1. Yeah, I was trying to tamp down my engineering tendencies, but I suspect I did not succeed sufficiently.

        1. I understand, Skip .. I was attempting to map what you said onto what is COTS – Common Off The Shelf .. and you pretty much described a primitive UPS.
          .
          I agree that that’s about what it sounds like Moe needs.
          .
          For comparison, I run my home network router off a stupid-cheap UPS intended to power a workstation for 15 minutes .. it does just fine for several hours because of the low power requirement.
          .
          Mew

    1. Great….now I have adChoices and Google trying to sell me inverters. The things I do for you, Moe! LOLOL

  3. This is actually relevant to my area of prepping interest, Moe. Is space an issue for you (sleeping in a small tent, say)? Because if you’ve got space for a footlocker I can supply you with a solution that costs about $100 and can be assembled from components bought at Wal-Mart.

    Please email me for further details, in case I don’t remember to check these comments.

  4. I think you are looking for an external battery and I have a perfect one just in mind for you:
    .
    Anker Astro Mini 3000mAh Ultra-Compact Portable Charger: Has charge speeds of up to 1 amp. Anker charge time 3-4 hours via AC 0.8 amp adapter (not included). Package includes a Micro USB cable, travel pouch, welcome guide, 18-month hassle-free warranty (Apple Adapters- 30 pin and Lightning, NOT Included). I want this for Christmas.
    .
    *looks up what CPAP stands for*
    .
    Ok, this is clearly not for you. Or at least for this job. I would just go to any Home Depot or Lowes for what you are looking for. Sure you can maybe get the same thing at Amazon, but you run the risk of getting something you can’t use.

    1. Determine location of nearest outlet.
      Purchase appropriate number of 100′ extension cords to reach outlet.
      Hope nobody trips over cord during late-night trip to the restroom.
      .
      .
      .
      Mew

  5. TL;DR: Use DC power. It’s simpler and cheaper than AC, but still not *cheap*, strictly speaking.

    === DC Option:
    * CPAP
    * *12V plug*: You can get a [cheap plug](http://amzn.com/B00D7XNN7O), or [a battery carrier that provides a plug](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Trolling-Motor-Power-Center/20511018). I’d go with the more expensive option here, for convenience; it’s more self-contained, with less clutter or fiddling required.
    * *Battery*: Figure a typical 24M deep cycle marine battery will put put almost 70Ah. That’s about half again what you’d need to run the CPAP for 8 hours, and goes for about [$75 at Walmart](http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Group-Size-24DC-Marine-Battery/20531540)
    * *Charger*: Any 6 or 10 amp fast charger ought to work. I’d go with 10. Check the manufacturer instructions for the battery. [here’s a decent example](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Trolling-System-Charger-MK110P/5334812).

    You’d have a total of three things to haula around: The CPAP, the battery in it’s case, and the charger.

    === AC Option
    * *CPAP*
    * *Inverter*: Your CPAP requires >250 Watts. The best fit is a 400W inverter, and even those cannot provide more than 100W if plugged into a cigarette lighter.
    * *Battery*: You’ll need a **bigger** battery. Inverters are inefficient.
    * *Charger*: Same as with DC.

    1. Excellent analysis! I’d add only:
       
      * MOE, CHECK YOUR CPAP MACHINE’S OWNER’S MANUAL. You aren’t the first person in history to need a portable CPAP power supply for off-grid use.
       
      It is very, very likely that there’s a 12-volt input socket on your machine (especially if it’s powered by a big “wall-wart” transformer). The problem is that these sockets are NOT standardized. You may be lucky enough to find an adapter with a 12-volt cigarette lighter plug on one end and a plug that fits your CPAP at an auto parts store, but to play it safe (and to take care of warranty issues!) you’d be better off buying the adapter from the CPAP machine’s manufacturer. It’s worth about $10, but they’ll probably charge you $40 or more for it — ask me how I know.

      1. EDIT: Change “you’d be better off buying the adapter from the CPAP machine’s manufacturer” to “you’d be better off buying the adapter from wherever you got your CPAP machine” … Gosh, I wish these comments could be edited after the fact.

        1. Yeah, I’m with Herp, Moe. But I figureed you’d already done that; you strike me as that kind of hoopy frood.

          Out of curiosity, is the CPAP a recent accoutrement? I mean, what the hell have you done for this at Pensic?

      2. Only $40?
        You got off easy. We got a quote for 5x that. But they were willing to ship it by next day air at “no cost to” us. Such a deal.

        1. Yeesh. I’ve seen them for as much as $70 … but that’s outrageous.
           
          I use an el-cheapo car adapter that I picked up for $6 on sale. It happens to have the right connector … And when I’m tent camping I use my “spare” CPAP machine, the obsolete, bulky one that I replaced with a better model a couple of years ago, so I don’t care about whether it voids the warranty.

Comments are closed.