Okay, okay, Bill and Pablo are correct. One should be proactive. I guess I was real lucky to get through the storm so unscathed. My wife is a local newspaper reporter and had to write about some of the power outages, so I stand soooooooooo corrected. I guess I would have had a real problem if I lived just 5 minutes away at Bill’s Mom’s place.
But Bill why so expensive of a suggestion? At the same website I found this one for $250 or the model just above it for a few dollars more, or this digital inverter generator or the model above for $380 and up. each should be good for at least one tx, and as long as the is gasoline available a couple of day outage should be handled without too much difficulty.
Everyone’s situation is a little different. If in your area you are out of power frequently for several hours or more, I would seriously look into a small generator.
For us, we only have brief outages. My wife wants to have enough power to complete dialysis and return her blood from the machine. If weather or other problems have us without power for days, our solution is to pack up the NxStage and head for someplace that isn’t having power problems.
[quote=Rich Berkowitz;14339]Okay, okay, Bill and Pablo are correct. One should be proactive. I guess I was real lucky to get through the storm so unscathed. My wife is a local newspaper reporter and had to write about some of the power outages, so I stand soooooooooo corrected. I guess I would have had a real problem if I lived just 5 minutes away at Bill’s Mom’s place.
But Bill why so expensive of a suggestion? At the same website I found this one for $250 or the model just above it for a few dollars more, or this digital inverter generator or the model above for $380 and up. each should be good for at least one tx, and as long as the is gasoline available a couple of day outage should be handled without too much difficulty.[/quote]
[B]Now that looks like something more fitting for my budget…
Yes; I too was looking at the portability of the NxStage and if and when power was to be out for a while, Pack up my supplies and the machine and travel to a site that power was available…
Hey; did I get blown out of the water, since I am not the one on dialysis my partner was very uncomfortable with this idea. When you think about it, if my life depended on this dialysis being preformed I would NOT be very happy either… So after some research and this thread I decided to get a UPS (OPTI-UPS ES1500C) back-up unit and also a gas generator (Colman 1850Watt Sport Generator)… and a long extersion cord that runs from my patio to the NxStage and Pureflow that is connected to the UPS… With this set-up the battery back-up UPS will run the system while it gives me time to get the generator started and run the long extension cord to the UPS… and will be able to continue with the treatment and terminate when it is apporate to do so.
Yes; it costs a few $$$$'s but the peace of mind is worth every penny… The UPS is here, installed and it works great… BUT… looking at the literature that came with it it states that “We do not recommend the use of our UPS product for life support equipment or direct care where failure of a UPS product could cause failure of, or diminish effectiveness of the life support equipment or patient care.” Since I am using it as a temporary power source while I get the generator started it should be alright and if it was to fail I would have to return the blood manually… The Generator is in transient but when it arrives I will check out my system. With my emergency battery back up lights and now back-up power for the System One and Pureflow We should be set for any emergency… Here in Calif we live in earthquake country…
OK I am new at this nx stage (started xmas week at home) and in my area - central ohio, we get ice from time to time. I also asked my trainer about UPS systems, and the best reply I received from her was not to use a power strip.
OK…
Digging in the manual after I came home I found in the tech specs, the power requirements of 600VA. Like several others have said, I went to the web and looked at the UPS’s from APC. I decided that I wanted a little run time, so I went to the local computer store (Micro Center) and chatted. They had an APC unit (back-ups xs1500) with 1500VA available for $200. It also included the additional battery pack to give a PC 300 minutes runtime. This thing weights in at about 50 pounds, so you don’t want to ship it if you could avoid it, and I like to buy locally if I can.
Well, we all know that the numbers on the UPS box are at best a fiction. So after I got it charged, I turned off the alarms (via software and a USB connection to my laptop) and brought up my cycler. During the initial priming routine, the cycler pulled something around 90 watts (not VA). When I brought the pureflow online, it increased the load to a total of 180 - 210 watts (I think it varies depending on the heater in the pureflow).
The basic test I did was to establish a prime in the cycler, and the clamped off the green clamp coming out of the pureflow and started it. After pulling the plug on the UPS from the wall the cycler and pureflow ran for 80 minutes.
I think in my case that will allow me to run for the vast majority of MY outages. We have under ground service from the local substation and typically come up in minutes after most outages. In 10 years, we have had only 1 outage greater than an hour, and that was due to a cable frying under ground that needed replaced. Even that took the power co only 14 hours to replace, and most of our local friends still had power, so we would have had a place to pick up and move to.
I was concerned at first about what I would do if there was a power outage. I could not get a straight answer from NxStage on this subject. Finally spoke to someone there that said if it was him he’d purchase a UPS, but he offered no info on the specifications etc… So , we wound up buying a $200 model also as after that they jump up to about $1000. Then, one day we ran a test to see how long it would keep the Cycler powered up, by unplugging the Cycler from the wall to run on the UPS alone. This was without the PF as we use bags. It gave us about 80 min. too. Don’t know if it would be any different if a tx was actually running as far as taking more energy.
So, a UPS might get one through the end of tx depending at what point the outage occurs. Should it not last until the end, the alternative is to do a manual rinseback and start a new tx the next day. Same thing, if one does nocturnal extended length txs. One can either run a short tx the next day or wait until the next evening and run nocturnal as usual. I did not want to have to do this, but unless one can afford a more powerful backup, this is the way it must be.
The ups software reported that it was dead, and the cycler & pureflow had shut down. When I plugged them into the wall again, it went through the power recovery routine. The ups had to charge again for 10 - 12hours.
Like Jane notes, I would not want to start a treatment on the ups, but with an hour to play with to wait on the power co, I can run as long as possible, and then cut it short. It will get me through most of my biggest threats - all those d***ed squirrels chewing on a transformer someplace…
At one place we used to joke that the power co kept a bucket of road kill on its service trucks just to have a reason if someone wandered by a site to ask what happened. We did just that one afternoon when we had an outage, and it was a little rodent…
Update on UPS and generator with long extension cord…
This set up works great. Using a OPTI/UPS Enhanced Series 1500C and decided to get a generator inverter (Cleaner Power) Duro Power DP1250i. I now have a routine of on the first week-end of each month to do a fire drill… unplug the UPS, let the alarm of the UPS go off then walk down stairs into the garage and get my generator and take it out to my patio, start it and pull the long 50’ power cord from it to the unplugged UPS and make sure that the system one and pureflow runs for about 5 minutes… have not had a problem … Generator usually starts within 5 pulls of the recoil starter. Really is a good system as we on nocturnal can continue for a few hours with this set-up… I will have to run the generator till the gas tank is empty and see how long this set-up will continue to power the cycler and pureflow. in the past the power outages usually lasted less than an hour… usually call the power company (with our good ole bell telephone or cell) as your new digital phones need power to work and they will give you an estimate as to when power will be restored.
You’re setting a great example - I need to make a decision and set something up. As a self dialyzor it would be hard for me to switch over to the generator in the midst of a treatment without an expensive automatic system. I may have to make do with a UPS alone and rely on my neighbor’s offer to use his generator if the power was out for an extended period.
Setting something up and then testing the system is best practices,thanks for the update. I’ll be interested in hearing how long a treatment you get out of a tank of gas.
Hey Bill, there is a way to set up a system for folks like you without spending alot of money. Your genset needs to have an electric starter to begin with. For afew dollars you can add a remote start just about anywhere you like. Add one of those baby monitors, so that when you use the remote start you can tell when the genset starts. One can also add remote gauges(if your genset has any) to monitor the well being of the genset. Obviously, you will need a way to unplug the cycler fom one outlet to an outlet powered by the generator. Good Luck.
You should just get a UPS and the battery back up should run your system for some time letting you plan your disconnet without having to do a manual rinseback. after you do the rinse back you can contact the electric co and find out when power should be back… If it is for less than half an hour I would stay connected and when power is restored continue with the treatment if you had way too much fluid to remove…if not take the rest of the day off and go somewhere and dialize another day…
HemoHelper
[QUOTE=Bill Peckham;15484]You’re setting a great example - I need to make a decision and set something up. As a self dialyzor it would be hard for me to switch over to the generator in the midst of a treatment without an expensive automatic system. I may have to make do with a UPS alone and rely on my neighbor’s offer to use his generator if the power was out for an extended period.
Setting something up and then testing the system is best practices,thanks for the update. I’ll be interested in hearing how long a treatment you get out of a tank of gas.[/QUOTE]
