Power cut the other night - worrying!

[andysnorer]

We had a power cut the other night, which lasted from seven in the evening and just went on and on. So, we had to go to bed, and I was dreading the fact that I could not use my CPAP. I think that I was even trying not to fall asleep, but the warning signs were there, and every so often I would make that telltale grunt, and my wife would say - "You were snoring!"
She wasn't annoyed by it though, because she appreciates what it is like for me, and we were both worried, but I was drifting in and out of sleep, until at around 1230 I suddenly woke up to find the bedroom light on (I had deliberately done this, in order that it should act as an alarm and it worked). My throat was sore, and I cannot tell you how relieved I was to put the mask on and settle back down to sleep.
Has anyone else experienced this, or does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with the situation, because it looks as though the future is going to bring a lot of power cuts.

Andy

[Fredxx]

Simple answer is to get a battery!

I know from experience of power cuts and failed machines how much of a deal it is for me to sleep without the machine, so I did something about making sure it is rarely going to be a problem.

I have two machines, one is the NHS supplied F&P box which lives by the bed and runs from the mains only. My second machine is a DeVibliss Sleepcube, which can run from mains or 12v. I also have a CPAP battery from Intus. If my main machine fails I can just use the second machine, or if there is a power cut I can use the second machine and battery.

Side benefit are that when I travel I don't have to pack and unpack my main machine all the time, plus I have been able to go on holiday to places where there isn't mains power available (a boat on the Norfolk Broads for example). The down side is having to deal with the sleep clinic when they check the machine and it says I am not using it 8 hours a night, 7 nights a week. My clinic took a little convincing that, when you combined the information from both machines, that I was fully compliant.

[andysnorer]

Simple answer is to get a battery!

I know from experience of power cuts and failed machines how much of a deal it is for me to sleep without the machine, so I did something about making sure it is rarely going to be a problem.

I have two machines, one is the NHS supplied F&P box which lives by the bed and runs from the mains only. My second machine is a DeVibliss Sleepcube, which can run from mains or 12v. I also have a CPAP battery from Intus. If my main machine fails I can just use the second machine, or if there is a power cut I can use the second machine and battery.

Side benefit are that when I travel I don't have to pack and unpack my main machine all the time, plus I have been able to go on holiday to places where there isn't mains power available (a boat on the Norfolk Broads for example). The down side is having to deal with the sleep clinic when they check the machine and it says I am not using it 8 hours a night, 7 nights a week. My clinic took a little convincing that, when you combined the information from both machines, that I was fully compliant.

Cheers Fred, that is great advice. So, am I correct in assuming that it will run off a standard 12V car battery or does it have to be a bit more precise than that? I was also thinking about investing in a diesel generator for when "armageddon" comes, but realistically if we did have a series of power cuts then a generator may be a good idea.

[Fredxx]

The car battery is a bad idea. Car batteries are designed to operate on a shallow cycle. This means they last best if they normally are almost charged, if you put them through deep cycles (i.e. drain, charge, drain, charge) their life is pretty short.

There are however better options. The first is to get a caravan "leisure" battery. Those are designed to operate on deep cycles and so will keep working for a load of re-charges. If I remember right, the life of a leisure battery is about 20 times as many recharges as the equivalent car battery (but don't quote me on that!)

The alternative is to get a specialist battery such as the "super CPAP battery pack" which is Lithium Polymer battery, so a lot smaller and lighter, although more expansive of course. The question you need to ask is whether you want the power source to be a portable and easy to move about lithium polymer option, or one of the heavy luggable caravan batteries.

[Tom @ Intus]

Simple answer is to get a battery!

I also have a CPAP battery from Intus. If my main machine fails I can just use the second machine, or if there is a power cut I can use the second machine and battery.

The SleepCube is ideal for that, as it has auto switching. That means you can plug it into the mains and the battery, and if the mains power were to cut out it would automatically switch to the battery supply uninterrupted. When the mains power is restored, it switches back.

Very simple but clever idea, it may be replicated on some other machines but the only machine that SleepCube I know has it.

[Tom @ Intus]

Cheers Fred, that is great advice. So, am I correct in assuming that it will run off a standard 12V car battery or does it have to be a bit more precise than that? I was also thinking about investing in a diesel generator for when "armageddon" comes, but realistically if we did have a series of power cuts then a generator may be a good idea.

Hi Andy, which machine are you using? Some may not run off of 12V power natively so will need a bigger capacity battery, but if it can run off of 12V then you can get a far smaller one.

A Mini 12V Battery could be a good option for you as a backup. It's very small (smaller than a pint of milk) but will run for around 10 hours on a single charge. As a backup for the odd night when required it should be ideal - assuming your machine does has a 12V option (most do these days). You can find out more here.