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Old 02-19-2015, 09:36 AM   #1
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Inverter Question

The GF and I both use CPAP machines at night. How can I determine if the 1000 watt inverter in the new MH will provide adequate power for both units, and for how long, without depleting the house batteries?

Yeah, I'm a newb
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Old 02-19-2015, 09:41 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtnfan View Post
The GF and I both use CPAP machines at night. How can I determine if the 1000 watt inverter in the new MH will provide adequate power for both units, and for how long, without depleting the house batteries?

Yeah, I'm a newb
You need to know the power requirements of both units and the total amp
hours of your battery system.
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Old 02-19-2015, 09:58 AM   #3
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Some of the CPAP machines have DC power in. If you do, it would be better to run off that. You still need to know the power draw as stated above to answer your question.
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Old 02-19-2015, 10:32 AM   #4
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Almost everything electric powered has a watt rating somewhere on it.


If you find it, double that number for two. That's the minimum watt inverter you need. Add about 25% for insurance.


Now the watts you are using, plus 10%, can be converted into amps. Watts / Volts = Amps

Knowing the amps it is using, you add up the hours it will be running to get AH (amp hours).

Next is to find out how many amp hours your battery bank has. Take that number and cut it in half, so you only use half of your capacity, and not damage your batteries.

You also need to factor in everything else, using power while you are sleeping, and any power you used, since fully charging them.

EX: each uses 200 watts. 400 watts / 12 volts = 34 Amps. 34 amps, times 8 hours sleeping = 272 AH. So you need at least a fully charged bank of batteries equal to 544 AH for the night.

That would be a bank of 6, 6 volt batteries or 3 LARGE 12 volt ones. Hopefully your machines use less watts then my example.

Good luck
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Old 02-19-2015, 01:57 PM   #5
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Thanks, twinboat. You provided very succinct, helpful info. I didn't see any power info on the units, so I'll have to check the instruction books...wherever they are. Thanks, again.
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Old 02-19-2015, 02:14 PM   #6
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cpap

my wife and I both use cpaps and we sleep parked off the grid when travling and have no problem running the machines through my inverter I know that thay run on 12v I just have not done the wiring.checked power rating on mine is 12v-5amp
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Old 02-19-2015, 02:22 PM   #7
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Mtnfan,

If the machines use a little wall block plug, they have a watt or amp rating on them.

Good luck
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Old 02-19-2015, 04:33 PM   #8
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The consumption ratings listed on devices is a good initial guide to power usage, but often is not correct.

A killawatt meter gizmo is very handy to have. Plug the killawatt gizmo into a 120vac outlet, then plug the device in question into the killawatt gizmo. It will show the watts/amps being drawn. It can also show the usage over time (kilowatt hours) which is valuable for devices that cycle on and off, such as a refrigerator.

About $30 from Amazon, Home Depot, etc.
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Old 02-20-2015, 01:05 PM   #9
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Each of the following - my Respironics System One series 60 , my old M Series Pro, and my wife's Resmed S9, each using the humidifier will operate on a 300 watt inverter - singly, not all at once. Resmed used to require a pure sine wave inverter while Respironics did not.
Since we are now out of the game RV wise I have not checked to see if Resmed still requires a PSW inverter or not. Running a 12 volt line was not easy in my particular motor home and using an inverter was.

The current pulled depends on the average pressure (average for an autopap, constant otherwise) and the humidifier settings. The current required listing seems to be a maximum rating not necessarily what you will use.
I used to be able to get an eight hour nights use from two six volt Trojan batteries (in series of course). Might have gone longer but never tried.
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