Hi ppl a friend of mine from Holland has posted on another forum https://motorhomingwild.org the following and I am asking if any member or spouses have this condition and may be able to answer his question is =
After lots of tests in the hospital my wife seems to have a serious apnea condition.
This means she will have to get a breathing device when sleeping. At first when I saw the amps of 6.67 amp / 12V at the commutator I was getting really afraid for my independency with my campervan during the darker days of the year.
Posts on a german campervan forum couldn't completely reassure me, because the answers contradicted each other in the Wh devices were using during the night. The humidfier could be responsable for most of the amps. Some user had one - other didn't.
We are considering a Resmed 9 or 10 because a friend adviced us. Amps should be low and they could be connected directly to 12V/14V (avoiding going from 12/14V-220V and back to 12V again). They even have a easy transportable version
Perhaps somebody has experience with this or other equipment like Philips or ..... We still have to have the final meeting with the specialist, so all campervan related issues for this are welcome.
John
any member have use of this equipment and can help with his question ,thanks in advance. Frank
I have the same condition and also suffer from COPD and Asthma, so a nebrulized c-pap machine is a must.
My machine is a Resimed and was provided by the NHS, my local hospital does not however provide 12v cables or recommend their use, they say for safety reasons the machine should be operated on Mains power, as there is less risk of power supply failure.
For this reason we only book onto sites where EHU is available, but never have a problem finding a site that is suitable for our needs, and also the need to recharge the batteries for my Mobility scooter which is another essential piece of kit for my day to day needs in getting around the places we visit.
If this is going to be your wife's first Cpap machine, it may take some time to find the right set up of pressures, masks, of which there are several types, or indeed machines, as some models can be rather loud when in use for a person sharing the same room to get any quality sleep whist the machine is in use.
I'm on my 4th machine now, and it's much quieter than the original one l had around 7yrs ago. I also prepare the nasal pillow type masks to the full face masks, which l found rather warm and sticky to use during hot weather.
If you need any further information then please feel free it ask and l will try and help wherever l can in answering your questions. Like wearing dentures or specicles for the first time these machines do take a fair time to get used to wearing and using, it doesn't happen overnight, but after a few weeks it does get better and the improvements to general wellbeing during the day by far outstrip the inconvenience of having to use the machine at night.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Hello Julia and a big thank you on behalf of John who is a friend of mine but lives in Holland you reply will help reassure both him and his wife I have forwarded you,r reply to him thank you again SAFE TRAVELS Frank
I àgree with Romany Girl about use of EHU mainly because of power consumption when on 12v. Nasal pillow mask also a must for me. I get through 2 each year but the machine I have is the original from 12 years ago. Tough things these Resmed machines.
Thanks for this info Doug will pass it on to John who I always thought was Dutch he smacked my hand this morning he,s from Belgium oooppps regards .Frank
Hi Frank, I too have a Resmed CPAP machine which I use every night but without a humidifier. Although we are generally hooked up to the mains I choose to use a 12 volt lead as the machine I have runs on 12vDC, no other reason except it leaves the closest mains socket free for other uses. I wonder just how many amps the humidifier draws? How many Amp/Hours is your friend's motorhome battery?
You can purchase Resmed DC leads with the correct orientation for positive and negative at the unit but they were pricey for what they are and being an elecronics engineer I made my own from bits I purchased from Maplins.
Dave.
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
Hi Dave thanks for that will send this to him also below is a post that he posted on another forum
https://motorhomingwild.org
More solar panels isn't the answer I suppose. With my 250Wh solarpanels I won't have many problems in summer I suppose. In winter this is another issue because they haven't much (except if sunny 🌞 weather in Spain) output. At the moment I have a 210Ah gel battery, which weighs around 70kg. An extra battery buffer will be too heavy.
What I am now concentrating on is:
an Apnea device that doesn't consume too much power
a 25A battery booster with temperature compensation for my house battery, which I still have to built in. While driving it will load that battery - if not ful with a max. of 25Ah instead of the normal <5 Ah which is now flowing
Perhaps an EFOY
A generator (not very sociable, so not likely)
Life4PO batteries, too blo... expensive
Leaving my wife at home 😜
I think (hope ) the last one was joke
Just read friends post regarding his wife's condition here it is, thanks again to all those lovey posters ----------
We have collected the device. It's a brandnew Philips Respironics Dream Station 220V/12V. My wife will use it in the camper van without the humidifier and in 220V mode for the moment. The 12V connection was not supplied, but it can be easily ordered. Just wondering if the electronics can withstand 14.4V when batteries are fully charge by solar or driving. Can't find anything in the manual. Tomorrow we wil test amps the inverter uses while the device is being operated with and without the humidifier.
Hi, I am the guy Frank (Doolz) is asking the questions for. First of all I'm a Dutchmen, but living in Belgium, so please be kind if my English is not perfect all the time.
Thank you for the answers so far. Time to give directly something in return for those who could end up in the same situation as us:
If 13.8V is the max. voltage for the equipment when operated on 12 V I won't bother to buy an 12V cable.
Why in this case it should withstand 14.4V: that is the highest voltage my solar equipement will load the gel batteries before going into "float" modus. I can change that ofcourse in the settings, but then the condition of my gel batteries will deteriorate faster, because not fully loaded.
It's medical equipment, brandnew and not mine, so I won't take any risks and will just operate the device on 220V because it is just draining just 0.5 - 1.1A from the battery (13.1V at the time of measuring) without a the humidifier. Losses of the inverter are included. With humidifier, same test 5.2A. Don't know if it stays that high or if it gets any lower when the water has reached a certain temperature. Not tested that so far.
Other so called "12V" equipment (non medical) in my camper van like the satellite receiver is directly connected to the 12V circuit. No problems because the specs of that equipment is 11.4V- 18V! About the same as nowadays (good quality) LED's.
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Topic: serious apnea condition please read
