Where ever she goes, these machine follows. And these has a battery life.
- BiPap Machine (2 Hrs)
- Oximeter (5-7 Hrs)
- Suction Machine (1 Hr)
- Feeding Pump (10-15 Hrs)
The most critical piece, the BiPap Machine, also has the shortest battery life. It is constantly pumping air at the preset pressure to assist in keeping K's airway open.
With a 2 hour internal battery lifespan, we can't really go far with these. But thankfully, with some tips from our support group, I was able to put together an external 12VDC power supply for the BiPap Machine. The BiPap machine, the Vivo 40, has a special connector for the external power source. It is the NL2FC connector.
I just crimped some cables and put it together with the connector. With the 12V batteries, it is good to go. Not very safe as the terminals are still exposed. Guess I will have to fix this soon :P
A single 7.2 AH external battery is good for about 3 hours for K's BiPap setting. The capacity is measured in Ampre Hour AH. The bigger the AH, the longer the battery will last. But of course, the bigger the AH, the heavier and bulkier the battery will become. After our outings, we use a 12V battery charger to charge it up.
I can't remember the details but a single battery and charger cost about $75 (or lesser). For the additional hours out and about for K, it's a small cost!
We use the portable suction pump from Devilbliss. It was a very pressured moment when we got this. You can read about it here. All pump equipment do not have a very long battery life. I haven't really time the running hour for this suction pump battery. But I think it probably can last for about 1 running hour. But as this is only used when K is unable to clear her secretions on her own outside, so far we have not gone flat on this equipment. We pray we don't. This is also her lifesaver. It has an adapter that can be charged up using the car socket. If the battery is low, I guess so long we stay in the car, we can charge it up.
I just crimped some cables and put it together with the connector. With the 12V batteries, it is good to go. Not very safe as the terminals are still exposed. Guess I will have to fix this soon :P
A single 7.2 AH external battery is good for about 3 hours for K's BiPap setting. The capacity is measured in Ampre Hour AH. The bigger the AH, the longer the battery will last. But of course, the bigger the AH, the heavier and bulkier the battery will become. After our outings, we use a 12V battery charger to charge it up.
I can't remember the details but a single battery and charger cost about $75 (or lesser). For the additional hours out and about for K, it's a small cost!
We use the portable suction pump from Devilbliss. It was a very pressured moment when we got this. You can read about it here. All pump equipment do not have a very long battery life. I haven't really time the running hour for this suction pump battery. But I think it probably can last for about 1 running hour. But as this is only used when K is unable to clear her secretions on her own outside, so far we have not gone flat on this equipment. We pray we don't. This is also her lifesaver. It has an adapter that can be charged up using the car socket. If the battery is low, I guess so long we stay in the car, we can charge it up.
For the feeding pump and oximeter, there does not seem to be an input for DC power source. But we are sourcing for a portable oximeter that probably uses AA batteries. In terms of power management, it will be easy too.
Of course with external batteries, one can go to the ends of the world. But all these have to be balanced with portability too. After all, her stroller can only have that much equipment :)
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