joelc
Moderator emeritus
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2006
- Messages
- 2,835
- Reason
- PALS
- Diagnosis
- 09/2005
- Country
- CA
- State
- BC
- City
- Abbotsford
With ventilation equipment it is essential to have some form of backup power. We thought we had it under control as my vent lasts over 8 hours on its internal battery and we have 2. The vent also runs off my power wheelchair batteries. Then we have a battery powered suction machine and the lift is battery powered. We could last for over 24 hours, easily, if the power went out.
Well, the power did go out one evening and was out for 12 hours. What we failed to remember was our bed needs electricity to adjust, so I had to sleep in my wheelchair. That was not the ideal situation.
We do have a 3500 watt gas generator but that is a nuisance for my wife to deal with so will remain available for extended power outages. We needed an easy to use source of power.
Our solution was to purchase 2 deep cycle batteries and a 1000 watt inverter. The inverter is over-kill but being that large it would power almost anything. The 2 batteries give us 500 amp hours of power which is enough for several days of powering the bed, my vent and suction machine. It will also power several high efficiency lights for night time.
The cost of this was about the same as the generator but it is extremely convenient for my wife to deal with. The cost was around $500.00. We recharge the batteries with a normal vehicle battery changer. The whole setup was put on a platform with casters so it can easily be moved, the batteries are very heavy so you have to do this or it will be a stationary source of power.
We keep the batteries charged up and ready for a power outage.
The batteries are connected in parallel so they maintain 12 volts. There is also a 50 amp fuse on the “hot” lead just in case.
Well, the power did go out one evening and was out for 12 hours. What we failed to remember was our bed needs electricity to adjust, so I had to sleep in my wheelchair. That was not the ideal situation.
We do have a 3500 watt gas generator but that is a nuisance for my wife to deal with so will remain available for extended power outages. We needed an easy to use source of power.
Our solution was to purchase 2 deep cycle batteries and a 1000 watt inverter. The inverter is over-kill but being that large it would power almost anything. The 2 batteries give us 500 amp hours of power which is enough for several days of powering the bed, my vent and suction machine. It will also power several high efficiency lights for night time.
The cost of this was about the same as the generator but it is extremely convenient for my wife to deal with. The cost was around $500.00. We recharge the batteries with a normal vehicle battery changer. The whole setup was put on a platform with casters so it can easily be moved, the batteries are very heavy so you have to do this or it will be a stationary source of power.
We keep the batteries charged up and ready for a power outage.
The batteries are connected in parallel so they maintain 12 volts. There is also a 50 amp fuse on the “hot” lead just in case.