CPAP Alternative Power Option!

Just thought I'd post it here rather than try to find the original thread.

Not sure how much power those things use but even if it only allows you to slightly reduce idling... what about creating your own power setup? Inverters and batteries can be purchased and wired up. Battery / batteties can charge while driving (hard wired or cig. lighter type outlet). It can be isolated from the rest of the electrical system. Biggest trick would be a device to cut over to APU power when needed. Pretty sure that is possible too.

OR... what if you just used this system as a backup power system to insure a way to be able to start the truck? A marine type manual battery disconnect could be flipped to start the dead truck battery.

I know this shouldn't really be the driver's problem. Just throwing out some ideas.

Of course anything needs to be well secured and safe. (Sealed batteries best, not too in the way and of course no exposed connections etc.).

Maybe shop and DM can brainstorm and provide a 3rd power source scenario...

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

As a company driver who must have a clap or bipap, it would be the company's responsibility to provide an APU.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Lol bumpy roads and a trainee. a clap. No clap needed.

That's exactly what I got from Schneider. My truck batteries wouldn't run the cpap all night when it was cold out, so they gave me a canvas carry bag with a battery in it (car battery size), a charger, and a small power inverter. During the day I would plug the inverter into a 12 volt outlet and plug the charger into it to charge the battery while I was driving, then at night I had a female 12 volt connector with battery clips, and the 12 volt power supply which came with the cpap machine. Worked great. The battery would actually run the cpap machine for several nights without recharging.

That's exactly what I got from Schneider. My truck batteries wouldn't run the cpap all night when it was cold out, so they gave me a canvas carry bag with a battery in it (car battery size), a charger, and a small power inverter. During the day I would plug the inverter into a 12 volt outlet and plug the charger into it to charge the battery while I was driving, then at night I had a female 12 volt connector with battery clips, and the 12 volt power supply which came with the cpap machine. Worked great. The battery would actually run the cpap machine for several nights without recharging.

Thanks Kurt. Pretty much what I thought though several nights of power was more than I hoped fot. Not crazy about battery clips but a pigtail and plug (thinking Battery Tender for motorcycles setup) could impact that one!

Not exactly rocket science here!

Marc, why would you need such a complicated system if the truck had an APU?

And any addition to a Schneider truck has to be approved by the company or the driver could very well lose his job.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Marc, why would you need such a complicated system if the truck had an APU?

And any addition to a Schneider truck has to be approved by the company or the driver could very well lose his job.

Bruce... a bit confused.

That's pretty much what Kurt said Schneider provided to him.

If a car-sized battery (which can be charged from a "cigarette lighter outlet) and small inverter (which all fits in a small bag) can run a CPAP for 3 nights and Schneider actually provided one to one of their drivers... I don't really see the issue. Didn't realize the relatively low draw. Simpler the better.

CPAP:

Constant Positive Airway Pressure

CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Or....the company could just install an APU and not deal with that. In the other thread, Raptors equipment isn't functioning properly which is why hes at a terminal. We get it marc, you're itching to get back at it. However, you're trying to "fix" things that aren't really an issue.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Marc, I wasn’t at all criticizing your idea. But if a truck had a factory inverter it’s a moot point. Do we know if Kurt’s truck has one? I’m assuming he got the battery pack kit because he doesn’t have A/C power in his truck. Am I misunderstanding the issue here? I’m glad you brought this up because I’m facing the dreaded sleep study on 4/22.

My truck did not have any AC power.

I should probably have said that it wasn't so much that the truck batteries wouldn't run the cpap all night. Sometimes they wouldn't last all night without running the cpap, like if I tried to cook something after I stopped, or if I forgot to turn the headlights off for a couple hours after stopping. I know my truck had 4 batteries wired in parallel, which seems like a lot of power even if they aren't "deep discharge" batteries like you'd ideally want to use to run things with an inverter. So I kind of suspected that the actual problem was that one or more of the batteries wasn't working 100%, but they didn't want to replace them as long as the truck continued to start. But I could be wrong, I don't know.

Anyway, I think if a truck is having problems with power lasting all night, it might make sense to have a battery dedicated to the cpap. I know at Schneider they monitored usage and if you missed more than 3 nights out of 10 you couldn't drive until you caught up, so it was important to be able to use it.