So I’ve been on a CPAP for about 17 years now and it works wonders for me I have severe sleep apnea and my home machine auto adjusts from 14-17 which is on the higher end of the scale. I’ve been using CPAP therapy for so long now that the thought of not using it at night keeps me up. Which when I go off grid and camp or lose power at the house how do I reasonably use a CPAP without a gas generator?
Over the years I’ve tried a few different things and finally have settled on a solution that works for me and if it can help others than great.
The CPAP I use when camping is a Resmed M Series Plus with C-Flex set at 14 – This is an older machine and they can be found on eBAY and craigslist. The major advantage of this machine is that it takes 12v DC directly from its power brick which opens up a world of options. I am not using a heated humidifier while camping and I have generally not found it necessary. I do run a fleece sleeve over the hose and I make sure the nasal mask is clean every night.
First the different setups I’ve used over the last 11 years since I’ve gotten back into camping since I'm not sleeping in the truck and I don't want to run a long 12v DC extension cord I need something I can have in the tent.
Car Battery with an Inverter - While this was a solid solution since the battery will last a couple nights and the inverter as long as it is Pure Sine wave will give power the machine consistently. It’s easy to charge with a solar panel or you could swap it in your rig. The problem is that if it is not a AGM you have to be concerned about the battery tipping and spilling and I didn’t like the idea of a wet cell car battery in my tent. Also the weight of the battery can cause issues.
Goal Zero Extreme 350/Yeti 400 with and without and inverter - This solution worked fairly well for me. I like that this is a sealed AGM battery so I was less concerned about having it in the tent with me. Some people scoff at the goal zero products but I do like their construction but not the price. When using this setup, I discovered that the inverter would waste a lot of power and the 33AH battery would be drained to around 25% or less capacity. This is when I made the discovery of the 12v DC power cord for this CPAP machine. When using it straight 12v DC I would have around 70% left in the battery so I could go 2 nights comfortably without recharging. Weight is the biggest issue with this setup at 27 pounds it’s a good chuck of weight to carry around. The original battery did crap out on me after 6 years, but it is easy to replace for about 60 buck on amazon. I still carry it to power my HF radio.
Battery Power Solutions Freedom CPAP Battery – This is my current setup; this is a 97.68Wh lithium ion battery that weighs in at 1.7 pounds. The dimensions are 7.5 in L x 4 7/8 in W x 7/8 in D so it is really manageable I can store it on the glove box of my FJ60. With the supplied cord I can plug it directly into my CPAP. At my settings I use about 55% of the battery per night, plugging it into solar or into 12v DC in the rig it charges fairly quickly and is good to go the next night. The cons are that you should charge it every day on the trail, but you could use it 2 nights in a pinch (depending on your CPAP setup). It’s also not a cheap battery I was able to get it for 259.99 and if you have a FSA (Flexible Spending Account) you could use pre-tax dollars from your bank account to purchase it; which is what I did. Another reason I went with this setup is to be able to hang it from the ridge-line in my Hennessy Hammock.
Having my CPAP solutions in place for camping reduces some of the stress of what am I going to do when I go to bed. While I know this won’t help most people I hope that it can help someone.
Over the years I’ve tried a few different things and finally have settled on a solution that works for me and if it can help others than great.
The CPAP I use when camping is a Resmed M Series Plus with C-Flex set at 14 – This is an older machine and they can be found on eBAY and craigslist. The major advantage of this machine is that it takes 12v DC directly from its power brick which opens up a world of options. I am not using a heated humidifier while camping and I have generally not found it necessary. I do run a fleece sleeve over the hose and I make sure the nasal mask is clean every night.
First the different setups I’ve used over the last 11 years since I’ve gotten back into camping since I'm not sleeping in the truck and I don't want to run a long 12v DC extension cord I need something I can have in the tent.
Car Battery with an Inverter - While this was a solid solution since the battery will last a couple nights and the inverter as long as it is Pure Sine wave will give power the machine consistently. It’s easy to charge with a solar panel or you could swap it in your rig. The problem is that if it is not a AGM you have to be concerned about the battery tipping and spilling and I didn’t like the idea of a wet cell car battery in my tent. Also the weight of the battery can cause issues.
Goal Zero Extreme 350/Yeti 400 with and without and inverter - This solution worked fairly well for me. I like that this is a sealed AGM battery so I was less concerned about having it in the tent with me. Some people scoff at the goal zero products but I do like their construction but not the price. When using this setup, I discovered that the inverter would waste a lot of power and the 33AH battery would be drained to around 25% or less capacity. This is when I made the discovery of the 12v DC power cord for this CPAP machine. When using it straight 12v DC I would have around 70% left in the battery so I could go 2 nights comfortably without recharging. Weight is the biggest issue with this setup at 27 pounds it’s a good chuck of weight to carry around. The original battery did crap out on me after 6 years, but it is easy to replace for about 60 buck on amazon. I still carry it to power my HF radio.
Battery Power Solutions Freedom CPAP Battery – This is my current setup; this is a 97.68Wh lithium ion battery that weighs in at 1.7 pounds. The dimensions are 7.5 in L x 4 7/8 in W x 7/8 in D so it is really manageable I can store it on the glove box of my FJ60. With the supplied cord I can plug it directly into my CPAP. At my settings I use about 55% of the battery per night, plugging it into solar or into 12v DC in the rig it charges fairly quickly and is good to go the next night. The cons are that you should charge it every day on the trail, but you could use it 2 nights in a pinch (depending on your CPAP setup). It’s also not a cheap battery I was able to get it for 259.99 and if you have a FSA (Flexible Spending Account) you could use pre-tax dollars from your bank account to purchase it; which is what I did. Another reason I went with this setup is to be able to hang it from the ridge-line in my Hennessy Hammock.
Having my CPAP solutions in place for camping reduces some of the stress of what am I going to do when I go to bed. While I know this won’t help most people I hope that it can help someone.
