First trip for a sleep apnea sufferer.Help!

Billy Boston · Apr 25, 2016

We have just bought a T5 Cali DSG 180 2011 Cali having had a wonderful T25 for the last 20 years.Now gifted to our youngest son.I have had sleep apnea and successfully used a leisure battery in the old van using clips.
I need some advice about how best to power my sleep machine DC 24 volts when wild camping.I want to avoid the clip situation as we have dogs roaming about the van.
It has been suggested by the company that produces that I use the connection for the cigarette lighter.I am concerned however about the prospect of draining the battery .
Obviously I am not going to be running the engine to save the battery.
Any other sleep apnea sufferers or folks that can advise on whether it is worth the risk of running the machine for 8 hours then charging up the battery by moving on swiftly. I've no real understanding of using the extra batteries in the van .Ideas!
Thanks for your help.

Kmann · Apr 25, 2016

I guess it is better to use the cigarette outlet connected to the leisure batteries? And as supplement you might find the solarpanel an option? http://www.solarcampersolutions.co.uk

If you use the leisure batteries, you do not run the risk to run flat, with a dead starter.

WelshGas · Apr 25, 2016

I'm no auto electrician but if your machine requires 24v how does that square with the 12v system in the California .
All 12v sockets behind the front seats run off the Leisure Batteries. Using the engine to re-charge will only take the Leisure Batteries to 80% of full charge. Using a Mains Hookup or Solar Panel can take them to 100%.

The electrical system on the California SE is as follows:-

3 Batteries .
! Engine Battery that starts the engine and powers 1 or both 12v sockets on the Dashboard.

2 Leisure Batteries, 1 under the Passenger front seat and 1 under the Rear Storage cupboard accessed via the boot and a panel on the L side. These batteries are wired together and monitored, approximately, by the Central Control Panel above the windscreen. These batteries run the fridge and Auxiliary Parking Heater , lights in the rear and 12 v sockets behind the front seats. They also power the 240v Inverter socket on the B pillar behind the front passenger seat.

On Mains hookup the 240v socket on the side of the kitchen unit is powered and also a built in Battery Charger that charges the Leisure Batteries and trickle charges the Engine Battery.

You can wire a Solar panel to charge the Leisure Batteries.

MattBW · Apr 25, 2016

You would need to know how much power the device uses per hour (amp) to calculate if its useable via the 12v socket. If you can find that useage information it will help.

Running a 24v converter would be required and would probably further effect the useage. I don't know enough about these however to advise sorry, maybe an electrician can advise?

MattBW · Apr 25, 2016

Found this:
Electrical power is volts multiplied by amps so that 40 amps drain from a 12v battery is 480 watts. But 480 watts is also given from a 24v battery by a current of only 20 amps. Therefore, for a particular power, the higher the voltage, the lower the current.

The amount of energy in the batteries is amps X hours X volts. Consider a 12v 60 Ampere Hour battery. Clearly this is exactly the same as two smaller 12v 30 AH batteries in parallel. But the total amount of energy in these two will not change whether we connect them in parallel or in series. So a 12v 60 AH battery can store exactly the same energy as a 24v 30 AH battery.

briwy · Apr 25, 2016

How do you power the machine at home. Does it have a 24v power supply that plugs into the mains. If so, it may be possible to use the inverther socket in the Cali but as Matt has said you would need to check the power requirment. I belive the inverter has a max power rating of 150w.
How did you power it in the T25, did you have two 12v batteries wired in series to get the 24v.

CALI FATE · Apr 25, 2016

i think you have won the trickiest question of the week competition - and its only Monday

WelshGas · Apr 25, 2016

Billy Boston said:
We have just bought a T5 Cali DSG 180 2011 Cali having had a wonderful T25 for the last 20 years.Now gifted to our youngest son.I have had sleep apnea and successfully used a leisure battery in the old van using clips.
I need some advice about how best to power my sleep machine DC 24 volts when wild camping.I want to avoid the clip situation as we have dogs roaming about the van.
It has been suggested by the company that produces that I use the connection for the cigarette lighter.I am concerned however about the prospect of draining the battery .
Obviously I am not going to be running the engine to save the battery.
Any other sleep apnea sufferers or folks that can advise on whether it is worth the risk of running the machine for 8 hours then charging up the battery by moving on swiftly. I've no real understanding of using the extra batteries in the van .Ideas!
Thanks for your help.

What machine are you using Make and Model number?

El Greco · Apr 25, 2016

I use a ResMed S9 Escape unit. Without the humidifier, I believe the unit consumes about 1A + 24V. You then need to add the losses of the mains adapter or the 12V/24V adapter.

Two years ago we hired a Cali for a trial and I asked ResMed about power usage. I only remember that overnight use of the CPAP machine would have made a small dent in the capacity of the two leisure batteries. To reduce the impact, I bought a 12/24V adapter (~£58) as it was more efficient. In the event we had mains hook up therefore it didn't matter so I used the mains adapter.

If you are using a modern CPAP unit, I wouldn't be too concerned with using it over one night.

Billy Boston · May 15, 2016

Thanks to everybody for all their help.
Apologies for not getting back sooner.
I have solved the problem-invested in a RESMED Power Station 11Battery pack.You get 3 nights sleep with it.It takes approx 3 hours to recharge.Specification about the size of an iPad and a pound in weight.
I use a resmed escape 9 sleep apnea machine.

El Greco · May 16, 2016

The battery pack is a good solution but expensive if I remember rightly. It is excellent if you are away from any other significant source of power such as when camping (tent). When a small battery can give 3 nights use, imagine what 2 leisure batteries can provide! I am sure you will be well served by your choice and it is independent of the Cali