TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

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rlown
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TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by rlown »

I don't use one, but I know some who do and this one seemed light enough for those challenged by the need of the machine.

https://www.respshop.com/blog/2013/03/0 ... p-machine/
Recently I was contacted by an adventurer, who posed a very interesting question. How can I use my CPAP while on a 500 mile walking and hiking pilgrimage? I instantly thought of a battery pack, which is very common nowadays. He already had that in mind, but his worry was more of how to charge the battery pack. He was heading to Brazil and wasn’t sure if he would have access to electricity every day, in order to recharge the battery. Diving deeper into this matter we started talking about the Transcend II Travel CPAP Machine, which remarkably has a Solar Charger available. How could he use this while hiking and trekking on his journey?

Upon further investigation, we located the specs of this Solar Charger for the Transcend II Travel CPAP Machine. The dimensions while rolled and folded are 10.5 in. x 3.5 in. x 2 in. (267 mm x 89 mm x 51 mm) making it very portable and will fit in most bags. The weight is merely 1 lb. (.45 kg), so with the Transcend II Travel CPAP Machine @ .94 lbs. and the Overnight battery @ .6 lbs., we have a total of 2.54 lbs. of added weight to his pack. The Overnight Battery will give him 7-9 hours of operating time @ 14 cm H2O. He clarified that this was acceptable in size, weight and length of operation for his travels but still pondered how to charge the battery during the day while he was hiking. We found the unfolded dimensions to be 30 in. x 21 in. (762 mm x 533 mm). Next we discussed if this Solar Charger could be applied to his back, unfolded to charge while he was hiking.
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Re: TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by Wandering Daisy »

My husband has been using a CPAP for several years now. He can go without it for a week with no problems. He does start snorting and snoring at about 10 days out. His doctor says it is fine to go off it now and then. Another fellow I know used a CPAP for many years and then just went off it, and no further problems. Each case is different.

How about incorporating the solar recharger into a shade umbrella?
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Re: TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by rlown »

suggest the umbrella idea to them. You never know.. Would seem hard to have trekking poles in hand and a shade umbrella unless the umbrella is attached to the pack. Is that what you meant?
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Re: TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by Tom_H »

Thanks for posting that Russ. I will have to check into this. It's surely lighter than the big air mattress I was taking so I could side sleep.

I can't use my CPAP when my asthma flares up as it feels like my lungs are being ripped apart. I doze off and instantly awaken hundreds of times and feel constantly exhausted during the day. I am supposed to use the machine at a pressure of 16, but have been getting by with it only at 12 lately. This uses a fair amount of amps in a night. I use mine with the built in humidifier on lowest setting and have to use distilled water in it. Without the humidifier I get a sore throat from the drier compressed air. An ear, nose, throat doctor talked me into 5 throat surgeries to stop the apnea and snoring. Over a 2 year span she cooked my soft palate three times with a microwave probe and twice with a laser, (and did another microwave treatment inside my nose as well) only to tell me the palate had gotten too thin to do any more and the problem was worse.

I am surprised to hear of all this being so light in weight. I would never guess such a small battery could hold that much juice (must be lithium) and could recharge with such a small panel. I had resigned myself that my BP days were over. I will have look into this. It was really kind of you to post this. I appreciate it.
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Re: TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Backpackers who use umbrellas use one trekking pole when carrying the umbrella, or just do not use trekking poles. I do agree that hanging on to a heavy umbrella all day may be tiring. My little umbrella (just bought it) only weighs 5 oz. I have yet to try it out.

Seems like solar chargers are getting better, batteries too. I also read that some new devices/methods are being developed that will make the CPAP obsolete.
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Re: TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by rlown »

Open trail, I now like two trekking poles, if I can get into a rhythm. I'm hella fast downhill on trail and only have fallen a couple of times. I cannot do a rhythm with one pole or hold a "kite" err, umbrella in the air as I hike along.

And Tom.. Don't hang up the pack yet!! :)
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Re: TRANSCEND II TRAVEL CAMPING AND HIKING CPAP MACHINE

Post by noura »

In general, you thing that takes up the most battery power is the humidifier and heated hose. Disabling those will drop the battery usage down enough that that you can supposedly get 2.5d on the LiIon cpap batteries they sell. Those are the smallest option, and sized at <100Wh to make them ok to carry on an airplane. They tend to be the most expensive option unless you're building a much larger system. Medistrom sells a "co-pilot" which is a second LiIon battery pack so you can connect them both, doubling the life, but nearly doubling the price. Resmed's equipment is 24v, and Phillips and many others are 12v, so these tend to be specific to the brand.

There are alternative camping/backup LiIon batteries like some others have listed. They can be had at sizes larger than the 100Wh cpap specific ones, but likely can't be carried in the cabin on an airplane at least. You'll want to use the DC Adapter for your CPAP machine with these, the AC plugs have to convert DC->AC->DC and lose around 30% efficiency. These are also often cheaper than the CPAP specific ones, and often have optional solar charging systems.

The cheapest option that can last a week is the U1 AGM lead acid batteries that are often used in power chairs, with the right charger and DC converter. Much heavier, but a lot more power.

I went camping for a single night with the Medistrom 24 with the Resmed S10. The battery is small and relatively light, it fit in the upper pocket of the travel bag for my cpap. I bought the cover for the S10 to put in place of the humidifier tank, probably unnecessary. I disabled the heated tube in the settings. It charges using the S10 cord, designed so you can leave it in-line at home to use as a battery backup. It used about 1/3rd. It also has a usb port to charge your phone and a light to help with hooking everything up at night.

It came with adapters for the S9 and S10, not the AirMini. The adapter for the AirMini is another $50, ugh.

Key insight: I really needed a pillow to use my Swift FX nasal pillow mask, I didn't bring one, and it was really annoying.

So, if it's only a couple nights or you can charge it somewhere and the price isn't an issue, I'd recommend the CPAP specific batteries.

If you want to power more things or go a bit longer, the portable "generator" LiIon packs are nice, though you probably need to be careful with reviews and fakes, and you definitely want to get the DC adapter for your unit.

The Lead Acid (AGM) packs will get you more bang for your buck at the expense of having to assemble a kit and way more weight, but are probably the best choice at over a week.
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