Camping and CPAP

[Cliff]

Are there any folks with sleep apnea here? I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine. I recently bought a rechargeable CPAP battery pack for my unit that's a real game changer for me. Its the Maxoak K5 battery bank. It weighs about 4.1 lbs and if I turn off my heated hose and water reservoir on my unit I can get 4-5 nights out of it while camping. I was initially going to purchase a conventional generator like the Bluetti or Jackery units, but they weigh around 15 lbs, and while more versatile for general use, I wanted the Maxoak because it was small and light enough that I could fit it in my backpack if need be. And it was about $200 cheaper than the other generators. I'm leaving for a 3 night trip to the St. Joe to fish this coming week and I'm looking forward to using it again. Here a link to a review: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...7ACFAAED5971B3C52CA27ACFAAED5971&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

[MELinOre]

Excellent write up!

I have been camping an average of over 30 nights per year since being diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (overnight study in a hospital with up to 120 apnea's per hour) in 2007.

I have two Group 27 Deep Cycle batteries in the camper that are dedicated to my CPAP use.

There are a number of options that us "hose heads" can avail ourselves of, which allow us to keep on keeping on.

 

[RCF]

But... But... loud snoring keeps the bears away....

 

[Cliff]

But... But... loud snoring keeps the bears away....

Or......maybe it attracts them

 

[NRC]

Or......maybe it attracts them

Lonely she bears looking for a mate.

 

[Josh]

Lonely she bears looking for a mate.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

I use 2 systems while camping. I have 2 big 6V batteries wired in 12V. I turn off my humidifier and bought the 12V plug. With the 12V plug it draws less power then using a 110 plug with a converter. I have went 3 weeks in my camper on one charge. 18 nights, using lights in camper, recharging cells and Bluetooth speaker, and still above 12V on meter after 18 nights.

I use an RV 12V battery if I'm tent or hammock camping. Again no humidifier and using a 12V plug. I can usually get 5-8 nights out of a charge.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

Battery system in my camper

 

[Cliff]

I use 2 systems while camping. I have 2 big 6V batteries wired in 12V. I turn off my humidifier and bought the 12V plug. With the 12V plug it draws less power then using a 110 plug with a converter. I have went 3 weeks in my camper on one charge. 18 nights, using lights in camper, recharging cells and Bluetooth speaker, and still above 12V on meter after 18 nights.

I use an RV 12V battery if I'm tent or hammock camping. Again no humidifier and using a 12V plug. I can usually get 5-8 nights out of a charge.

Thanks Jerry. That sounds like an awesome system and if I was not as concerned with size and weight I would look into this.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

Thanks Jerry. That sounds like an awesome system and if I was not as concerned with size and weight I would look into this.

I'm not doing any backpacking anytime soon with my back. But a small motorcycle battery with a solar charger worked for multi day float trips. I'm looking into the travel CPAPs. I do travel overseas and would love to sleep on the flight over. Supposedly their small batteries will go a few days on a charge with the travel CPAP. If I do buy the whole unit I'll buy the solar with it as well. I've seen the travel system at my doctors office and the whole unit, in the travel bag, is pretty small. For a good night's sleep in the field, or travel, I'm willing to give up some space.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

Excellent write up!

I have been camping an average of over 30 nights per year since being diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (overnight study in a hospital with up to 120 apnea's per hour) in 2007.

I have two Group 27 Deep Cycle batteries in the camper that are dedicated to my CPAP use.

There are a number of options that us "hose heads" can avail ourselves of, which allow us to keep on keeping on.

I'm in same boat. I too was at 120 occurrences an hour. My CPAP was literally a life saver.

 

[Cliff]

I'm not doing any backpacking anytime soon with my back. But a small motorcycle battery with a solar charger worked for multi day float trips. I'm looking into the travel CPAPs. I do travel overseas and would love to sleep on the flight over. Supposedly their small batteries will go a few days on a charge with the travel CPAP. If I do buy the whole unit I'll buy the solar with it as well. I've seen the travel system at my doctors office and the whole unit, in the travel bag, is pretty small. For a good night's sleep in the field, or travel, I'm willing to give up some space.

I agree wholeheartedly. In 2007 I traveled abroad and left part of my then-huge CPAP unit home, and due to my itinerary and locations I was unable to have the part sent to me, or purchase one. Basically went two weeks without my CPAP. I was a mess when I got home, just running on adrenalin. Likewise, I used to go on week-long kayak trips in Lake Mojave, Lake Powel (back when it actually had water) and the state of CPAP's and mobile batts were virtually non-existent. The availability of these smaller units and power banks is wonderful news for us who suffer from sleep apnea. I'm also a passionate upland bird hunter with a bird dog and for the past few years I have elected to go to motels instead of camping so that I could plug-in. This year it's going to be nice to be able to camp out there with this Maxoak power bank for my CPAP. As for smaller travel CPAP's, this is the one I'm looking at, the Resmed AirMini: https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-...cts-list/cpap-machines/airmini-portable-cpap/

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

I agree wholeheartedly. In 2007 I traveled abroad and left part of my then-huge CPAP unit home, and due to my itinerary and locations I was unable to have the part sent to me, or purchase one. Basically went two weeks without my CPAP. I was a mess when I got home, just running on adrenalin. Likewise, I used to go on week-long kayak trips in Lake Mojave, Lake Powel (back when it actually had water) and the state of CPAP's and mobile batts were virtually non-existent. The availability of these smaller units and power banks is wonderful news for us who suffer from sleep apnea. I'm also a passionate upland bird hunter with a bird dog and for the past few years I have elected to go to motels instead of camping so that I could plug-in. This year it's going to be nice to be able to camp out there with this Maxoak power bank for my CPAP. As for smaller travel CPAP's, this is the one I'm looking at, the Resmed AirMini: https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-...cts-list/cpap-machines/airmini-portable-cpap/

That's the unit I want. My doctors office has a tricked out one with the hard carry case with battery and solar charger. Wish I had jumped on their sale. Whole combo was $500. Had a 7 day battery. I was surprised how small the battery was.

 

[Gary Knowels]

I have mild sleep apnea, except when I sleep on my back and it worsens to high. I hammock camp which means I want to sleep on my back. A year ago I bought a setup for backpacking where I knew I'd need to get 6-7 nights out of it. When I looked around, most CPAP manufacturer batteries would only cover 16-24 hours of sleep and we're quite heavy. So instead of going that route, I searched for the travel CPAP that consumed the least energy. I came to the Z3 auto, no heated tube, no humidifier, just providing the pressure I need to sleep well. I also bought a power bank with a 12v auto port. Then I custom ordered a usb-c to barrel connector of appropriate size and power rating. Finally I bought a 12v auto plug with usb-c port that is a voltage amplifier. It took a lot of research and calling to nail all the requirements. With the lightest nasal pillow mask, the whole thing came out to 5 lb 4 oz. That's damn heavy in a backpack, but it will power my CPAP to my needs for ~55 hrs if I don't charge anything else with the battery. As I only sleep 7 hrs a night, I can get 7 nights and 7 days of cell phone charge out of it.

 

[Peyton00]

My wife makes it easy for me, she brings earplugs. She likes to sleep with ear plugs, she traveled so much for work for so many years, she always used earplugs and continues to do so today.
I never bring my CPAP machine on vacations or road trips.

 

[Gary Knowels]

My wife makes it easy for me, she brings earplugs. She likes to sleep with ear plugs, she traveled so much for work for so many years, she always used earplugs and continues to do so today.
I never bring my CPAP machine on vacations or road trips.

I wouldn't be able to enjoy a vacation without it as I would be exhausted. 1 night without and I feel fine, 2 nights and I'm run down, 3+ nights I'm quite unhappy.