Hi everyone,

I travel on biz all the time. For the first time in almost 3 years, I left today for a 3 night trip without my Fisher and Paykel power cord. I was really concerned. The engineer at the hotel (a wonderful Marriott in KCMO) brought me an identical cord and with it, much relief. Does anyone know if there is any downside to using this for the next 3 nights? I figure it's better than no CPAP at all. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Call F&P and see what they say.  I've always been afraid of doing that.

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Nope, no problem at all.  The cords used on F&P and most other CPAPs are common IEC standard cords.  

You can buy standard IEC cords for US$5-$10; a blessed "CPAP cord" costs a fortune.  If you travel overseas, you can go to an electrical shop in a foreign country and get a proper cord that will plug in the local outlets.

The actual name for the connector used on most CPAPs is an IEC type C7 Connector.   Many laptop computers use a cord with a C7 connector.

Some of the older CPAPs used an IEC type C17, which can be replaced with a C13 connector -- C13 connectors are used by most desktop computers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_connector


C7 plug which is used on most CPAPs

To Bearded One,

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. Very helpful! I'm not the most electrically oriented person so I appreciate your clear explanation and picture.

The cord provided by the hotel worked just fine last night and they said I could keep it. I have a plan to avoid this from happening again.

Take care!

Jeff

Something I have found to be useful is a "packing list" that I have written on a 3x5 index card and keep in my bag.  Before i go anywhere I check the contents of the bag against the packing list.

Example packing list for a F&P case:

Machine
Water chamber
Power cord
Hose
Mask
Extension cord
3-way adapter
Rx meds:
   Flonase
   Coumadin
   Valium
etc.


It is nice to be able to leave a hose, power cord, extension cord, and 3-way adapter in the bag all of the time

I meant I've always been afraid of not packing the power cord.  Good idea Bearded One.

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

The cord on my laptop computer power supply works on my CPAP and vice versa. I have never forgotten the cord for either, but it's nice to know that I have a "cross-backup."