Cpap

[Richtee180]

Hi, newbie here, just bought a 2014 Swift Challenger Sport and keeping it on a seasonal pitch all year round.
I have sleep apnea and I'm wondering if any fellow caravaners use their 12v or 240v hook ups for their machine overnight?
Thanks.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I have only seen a Canadian supplied cPap machine which ran on 12V DC either from a car, or from an in line power brick with a universal 100V to 250Vac mains supply. I'm guessing yours must be similar.

I guess you are only contemplating using sites with mains hook ups, but your unsure of the reliability of the mains supply. Where medical equipment is concerned I think your wise, as there are more opportunities for supply failures than when at home.

I suggest using the mains supply to keep the caravan battery charged, and only connecting your machine to the 12V. That way should the mains fail, you will still have the battery power to see you through the night.

 

[Richtee180]

I have only seen a Canadian supplied cPap machine which ran on 12V DC either from a car, or from an in line power brick with a universal 100V to 250Vac mains supply. I'm guessing yours must be similar.

I guess you are only contemplating using sites with mains hook ups, but your unsure of the reliability of the mains supply. Where medical equipment is concerned I think your wise, as there are more opportunities for supply failures than when at home.

I suggest using the mains supply to keep the caravan battery charged, and only connecting your machine to the 12V. That way should the mains fail, you will still have the battery power to see you through the night.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Buckman]

I have only seen a Canadian supplied cPap machine which ran on 12V DC either from a car, or from an in line power brick with a universal 100V to 250Vac mains supply. I'm guessing yours must be similar.

I guess you are only contemplating using sites with mains hook ups, but your unsure of the reliability of the mains supply. Where medical equipment is concerned I think your wise, as there are more opportunities for supply failures than when at home.

I suggest using the mains supply to keep the caravan battery charged, and only connecting your machine to the 12V. That way should the mains fail, you will still have the battery power to see you through the night.

The OP mentioned that they are keeping in on a seasonal site so there should not be any issue with reliability of the 240v supply?

 

[Hutch]

I have a friend who, when he had a caravan, used his Cpap, without problems, last year he and his wife stayed with us, for a few days and they used the front bunks and we couldn't hear his Cpap machine from the back of the caravan.

 

[Richtee180]

I have a friend who, when he had a caravan, used his Cpap, without problems, last year he and his wife stayed with us, for a few days and they used the front bunks and we couldn't hear his Cpap machine from the back of the caravan.

Thanks, did he just plug it in the wall or use your 12v?

 

[Richtee180]

The OP mentioned that they are keeping in on a seasonal site so there should not be any issue with reliability of the 240v supply?

Hi, yes it's a 16amp hook up, my cpap is rated 2-1amp, I just wondered what other people do, the machines are virtually silent you might hear something when the pressure goes up or the user gets a mask leak, it's a lot less quiet than my snoring fact, my neighbours used to hear me through the wall lol.

 

[Hutch]

Thanks, did he just plug it in the wall or use your 12v?

He just plugged it into the 230 volt supply, as we were on a hookup.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The OP mentioned that they are keeping in on a seasonal site so there should not be any issue with reliability of the 240v supply?

The OP is clearly concerned about the reliability of site 230V ac supplies otherwise he would not have asked the question, It is of course very important as its for medical support equipment.

To alleviate that concern using 12V in the way I suggested will help .

If he finds the mains is reliable then he can of course switch to 230V operation.

 

[RogerL]

The OP is clearly concerned about the reliability of site 230V ac supplies otherwise he would not have asked the question, It is of course very important as its for medical support equipment.

To alleviate that concern using 12V in the way I suggested will help .

If he finds the mains is reliable then he can of course switch to 230V operation.

Reliability is never 100% although often quite close - given that a modern caravan has the equivalent of an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) by using mains to charge the 12v battery and then run devices at 12v so it would seem to me to be a "no-brainer" to use this for medical support equipment.

 

[Richtee180]

Reliability is never 100% although often quite close - given that a modern caravan has the equivalent of an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) by using mains to charge the 12v battery and then run devices at 12v so it would seem to me to be a "no-brainer" to use this for medical support equipment.

Would there be any risk of it running the battery flat though, or does it take a lot of power drain to do that?

 

[otherclive]

Would there be any risk of it running the battery flat though, or does it take a lot of power drain to do that?

It all depends on the size of the battery, the state of charge, and the power consumption of the device. What is the power consumption of your devise, and does it run continuously?

 

[Richtee180]

It all depends on the size of the battery, the state of charge, and the power consumption of the device. What is the power consumption of your devise, and does it run continuously?

The maximum power usage is 75w and I use it for 7 to 8 hours max.

 

[ProfJohnL]

If max power is 75W then on a 12V supply it will draw 6.25A from the supply. If that load was put onto a typical 110Ah battery it would last realistically for over 12 Hours.

However since 2000 most built in chargers in caravans are rated to 8A or more so assuming the caravan is hooked up to the 230Vac mains and it's set to charge the battery, there should be no problems with the Cpap flattening the battery overnight, and if it did reduce the battery charge it will simply replenish during the day.