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Old 01-15-2015, 01:02 AM   #1
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PowerPack for CreamPuff Campers

I am spending WAY more time on research than on our actual camping. We like to spend long weekends at State/Nat'l parks. With our two deep cycle batteries we can power our lights; water pump; furnace fan, etc for several nights; and have some left over for playing a few movies, etc.

We are evidently too urbanized (aka Klutzy) to figure out the 12 V thingee but would like to have some add'l power for laptops; and a C-pap (and maybe another small appliance). Can someone suggest a type of powepack that would give us this peace of mind? Something we can charge at home and plug a c-pap into without buying adapters; converters; inverters; copious amounts of vodka, etc in order to use the darned thing? If it can be recharged with a portable solar panel, that would be the icing on the cake for us.

Do these things exist? and maybe not weigh more than 40 pounds? Thanks for any help you can provide.
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Old 01-15-2015, 06:01 AM   #2
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The question you ask is complex. You will spend considerable time determining what your needs will be and what it will take to achieve them.

You will need to know what the current (amps) needed by each device you use and how long you will need to operate them.

You will need an inverter to run any devices that need 110V. It also sounds like you will need a generator to recharge the batteries each day during the generator run hours permitted.

Use this link to educate yourself on what you will need to know and consider.
12 Volt Side of Life
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Old 01-15-2015, 07:23 AM   #3
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I recently purchased a rechargeable (120/12) power booster pack. It has the cables to jump a car battery, air compressor, cigarette lighter, usb port, etc. I have seen some that have a 120V invertor and plug for using small 120V devices. May help you.
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Old 01-15-2015, 07:51 AM   #4
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I also use a C-pap and have been looking for the same type devise to use while boon-docking or when stopping at a rest stop to catch a few Z's. If you read your 120V C-pap manual, you'll discover that it (and any medical devise) should only be run off "Pure Sign Wave" power - like what you have in your home. That probably means a pricey PSW inverter connected to your battery pack, and recharged daily with a generator (possibly supplemented with a solar panel). Sure hope somebody in the forum has a better idea, as I'm anxious to get boon-docking!
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Old 01-15-2015, 08:10 AM   #5
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What you're asking for sounds a lot like a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) that is used to power computer systems in the case of power loss. They come in different sizes, but a big one would probably allow you to power a C-pap for quite a while.

Internally, a UPS has 12V batteries. It would probably be possible to rig the solar panels to recharge the internal batteries, but it would involve some modification.

That said, the more traditional route would be to increase your battery bank size and buy an inverter.
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Old 01-15-2015, 08:40 AM   #6
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Mu BiPap machine is actually a 12 volt machine. 120 volt AC is fed into the brick that converts the power to 12 volts. The manufacturer makes a power cord to hook directly to a 12 volt battery. They also make a rechargeable power pack (fairly pricey) to provide battery power. I would suspect that many CPap machines are similar.
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Old 01-15-2015, 08:50 AM   #7
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Serious ? Can't tell. Power pac? In my world they are called batteries and the rest is just how they are packaged. Batteries store power that can be used in 12V dc or converted to 110 using an inverter. No magic bullet here, just batteries to store and inverter to convert and a generator or solar system to recharge. In world the closest thing to a magic bullet is my Honda 2000 and a 5 gallon can of gas. With it and a little common sense I can go off grid for up to 2 weeks.
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:33 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brownie View Post
I also use a C-pap and have been looking for the same type devise to use while boon-docking or when stopping at a rest stop to catch a few Z's. If you read your 120V C-pap manual, you'll discover that it (and any medical devise) should only be run off "Pure Sign Wave" power - like what you have in your home. That probably means a pricey PSW inverter connected to your battery pack, and recharged daily with a generator (possibly supplemented with a solar panel). Sure hope somebody in the forum has a better idea, as I'm anxious to get boon-docking!
If you check closely you will find most C-pap machines work on 12VDC with an internal converter from 120 VAC. many campers just bypass the 120 part
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:37 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by giddyup View Post
If it can be recharged with a portable solar panel, that would be the icing on the cake for us.

Do these things exist? and maybe not weigh more than 40 pounds? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Since you are talking a solar panel anyway why not just go solar on your RV? Once installed it is mostly a forget about system or at worst adding distilled water to the batteries once a month.
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Old 01-15-2015, 02:51 PM   #10
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Thanks for all your replies. I was hoping for an easy answer . . something neat that I could charge and take with me. Was not looking forward to lugging another battery with me and I had sort of liked the idea of the Duracell 600, which I don't think is being made anymore.

After reading the replies, however, I now think I need to hunker down and do some homework and will check out the help links above. If I do, however, run into the magic bullet that I had been hoping for, I will let you all know. Thanks.
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Old 01-15-2015, 03:32 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by giddyup View Post
Thanks for all your replies. I was hoping for an easy answer . . something neat that I could charge and take with me. Was not looking forward to lugging another battery with me and I had sort of liked the idea of the Duracell 600, which I don't think is being made anymore.

After reading the replies, however, I now think I need to hunker down and do some homework and will check out the help links above. If I do, however, run into the magic bullet that I had been hoping for, I will let you all know. Thanks.
I can't speak to batteries and/or the two Deep Cycle Batteries, but I used to camp with my ResMed C-Pap running off one of those Booster Packs used to jump start cars. I would get almost a full night off one but would then spend all of the next day recharging the Booster Pack via my Car Running or with a Solar Panel. The CPAP came with an adapter that had Alligator Clips for the Battery and then converted it for the C-Pap to run. After a while I decided to just use an inverter off the Booster Pack so I could have 120AC going to the CPAP. Eventually I gave up boondocking in favor of having power hookups so I don't have to worry about it anymore. I had too many nights waking up because the C-Pap would stop, the Booster Pack would start beeping because of low power or the C-Pap motor would ramp up, then slow down alternating.

Would love to get back to it (boondocking) but I'd need to have a generator handy so I could recharge during the day. Having the Adapter that uses Alligator clips for the Battery, Lighter Socket on the other end allows me to plug in my Inverter to which I plug in the AC cord of my current C-Pap if I were to go that route.
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