CPAP and batteries

[docwood]

Sailed with a friend that has a CPAP. For this reason chartered a boat with generator and A/C Long story short. With A/C and generator noise, 7 other people on the boat slept through 50 mph winds with gust in 60s from Hurricane ETA. I finally woke everyone else when anchor wouldn't hold at 5a.m. I consider boat motion and outside noise the two necessities at night to keep from getting caught by surprise by weather or thieves. So my question is does anyone have experience with running a CPAP all night off of boats batteries. (he bought a $400 portable battery but only lasted 3 hours). Added note: upgrading to a charter boat with generator is a couple of grand more which is something else I would like to avoid. Thanks for input

[GordMay]

Speaking of CPAP machines (I'm getting fitted for mine on Friday, so Maggie asked me to check out sanitizers - SoClean O3 vs Lumin UVC)

No home CPAP cleaning devices, that use ozone gas, or UV light have been approved or cleared by the FDA.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released (Feb. 2020) a safety communication [1] and consumer update [2] to inform patients and health care providers about concerns related to CPAP cleaning devices that use ozone or ultraviolet light. CPAP is a common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
The FDA reported that devices claiming to clean, disinfect or sanitize CPAP devices or accessories (such as masks, tubing, headgear) using ozone gas or UV light are not legally marketed for this use by the FDA in the U.S. According to the FDA, it is unknown if these CPAP cleaners are safe and effective.
To ensure the safe and effective cleaning of CPAP devices and accessories, the FDA recommends that consumers and health care providers follow the cleaning instructions provided by the CPAP manufacturer. These directions normally include regular cleaning with soap and water.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)
➥ https://aasm.org/fda-safety-cpap-cle...aviolet-light/

[1] FDA Safety Communication ➥ https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/...p-machines-and

[2] FDA Consumer Update ➥ https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consum...t-fda-approved

Sorry, for the interruption. Continue on, with your regular broadcast.

[Paradoxus]

No experience, but it depends how many amps it draws and how many amp/hours your battery bank has.My guess is you could run it easily through an inverter off the batteries.

[AndyEss]

A CPAP, especially without its heater/humidifier accessory on, draws very little power. The CPAP power supply/documentation lists power requirements.
Boats are reputed to live in areas of rather high humidity, so the humidifier (power sucking) accessory is unnecessary IMO.
The other guests on this trip should be reimbursed by the CPAP user for the unnecessary generator rental.
Do you really think a CPAP needs 5 to 50 hp to run?

[AndyEss]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Speaking of CPAP machines (I'm getting fitted for mine on Friday, so Maggie asked me to check out sanitizers - SoClean O3 vs Lumin UVC)

No home CPAP cleaning devices, that use ozone gas, or UV light have been approved or cleared by the FDA.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released (Feb. 2020) a safety communication [1] and consumer update [2] to inform patients and health care providers about concerns related to CPAP cleaning devices that use ozone or ultraviolet light. CPAP is a common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
The FDA reported that devices claiming to clean, disinfect or sanitize CPAP devices or accessories (such as masks, tubing, headgear) using ozone gas or UV light are not legally marketed for this use by the FDA in the U.S. According to the FDA, it is unknown if these CPAP cleaners are safe and effective.
To ensure the safe and effective cleaning of CPAP devices and accessories, the FDA recommends that consumers and health care providers follow the cleaning instructions provided by the CPAP manufacturer. These directions normally include regular cleaning with soap and water.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)
➥ https://aasm.org/fda-safety-cpap-cle...aviolet-light/

[1] FDA Safety Communication ➥ https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/...p-machines-and

[2] FDA Consumer Update ➥ https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consum...t-fda-approved

Sorry, for the interruption. Continue on, with your regular broadcast.

I’ve found running some vinegar through the CPAP air lines does a good job (in my experience) of keeping things hygienic. And I don’t think running the humidifier accessory (which introduces excess moisture allowing mold to grow) is a necessity on most boats.

[ohdrinkboy]

Originally Posted by AndyEss

I’ve found running some vinegar through the CPAP air lines does a good job (in my experience) of keeping things hygienic. And I don’t think running the humidifier accessory (which introduces excess moisture allowing mold to grow) is a necessity on most boats.

I've been using this for 3 months. Really pleased and portable. https://respify.com/products/respify...waAtt4EALw_wcB

I've run mine on the boat from a small inverter....turn off the humidifier and the power draw is small.

[docwood]

Thanks everyone for input. Also found an old thread that addressed CPAP. It appears unless vessel has really crappy batteries that CPAP over niight should not be an issue. I barely got through the amps/volts stuff in college physics...lol.. so just wanted some actual trial by fire experiences from others. Personally with air and generator running this last cruise I badly missed the only noise at night being the subtle lapping of the water against the boat.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by AndyEss

A CPAP, especially without its heater/humidifier accessory on, draws very little power. The CPAP power supply/documentation lists power requirements.
Boats are reputed to live in areas of rather high humidity, so the humidifier (power sucking) accessory is unnecessary IMO.
The other guests on this trip should be reimbursed by the CPAP user for the unnecessary generator rental.
Do you really think a CPAP needs 5 to 50 hp to run?

This, we lived aboard and cruised for three years with two CPAP’s run every night, the combined power draw of both CPAP’s was much less than our Engle.


However our CPAP’s are actually 12VDC machines, the power brick converts 110VAC to 12VDC, plugs are available to use 12VDC directly, converting 12 to 120 and then back to 12 is inefficient and should be avoided.

On edit this site and others I’m sure sells 12V power plugs, most are simply plus with no voltage conversion. Buying batteries is foolish and stupid expensive and then of course they have to be recharged, so it’s much better to run off of the bank direct.
https://www.cpap.com/plp/cpap-dc-cables/ZT0zMTI

Ours use this plug which you can see is simply just a plug
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/dc-...eries-machines

[AndyEss]

my CPAPs are unfortunately 18Vdc native devices. I did get some buck/boost voltage converters from Marlin P Jones on this trip back to the US, and at somr point in my life will get to wiring them up and trying them, but that is really, really far down on my boat to-do list.
I’ve got a rusting mast step (really, really dumb/near criminal construction decision at that Taiwanese boatyard many, many years ago) to deal with in the very near future.

[tenchiki]

I got one of those $400 CPAP batteries... The instructions clearly say to disable the hose heater and the humidifier when using the battery. My machine uses a 24v power brick, so buying the battery (with a 12v charger adapter) was the quickest alternative.

[sailingabe41ds]

Hi...
Lets start with how many Amp hours you have. I have 440 amp hours and I can safely use my CPAP for 6-7 hours including the humidified warm air without any problems. I may start with 85% battery reserve at night and by the morning it will be down to about 68%....I have a Xantrax monitor. I use the boat inverter...but I have heard of people bypassing the inverter and getting CPAP machine that directly connects to the 12v outlet.
Hope this helps...

Abe

[cal40john]

I bought a travel CPAP. Mine is the Z1 version of this
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/z2-...specifications

Draws 20 - 30 watts. I don't need an entire briefcase sized container to pack it.
It's not as good as my home machine, but it works and I get my sleep while travelling or on my boat.
You can buy an expensive battery for it that is a bit bigger than the CPAP itself.