Second time electricity stops while dialysing

[cassandra]

Real strange, this is the second time that I'm nicely cycling away, and the power disappears. Pitch dark (nocturnal) this time I made sure I knew where my glasses were so I could see something when the power comes back on, but how would I know the power comes back on? Anyway it did after less than a minute I think. But lesson learned, get a flashlight or something battery powered with you when D-ing in the dark. I think I'll just continue with the session (why not take a risk? My HB is fine anyway. And my heartrate feels back to normal now.
There was now warning, caution or alarm, just the normal power failure on the Pureflow and the cycler went in 4/7 0/0 and I could press the kidney again. Anyone had this? I'll call Nxstage tomorrow cos forgot phone too.

Love and luck, Cas

[PrimeTimer]

One time we lost power during treatment caused by a storm but the power only blinked off and then right back on. Was surprised we didn't get any alarms on the cycler, it just continued running when the power came back on. But, if it had gone off for more than just a "blink" I would have performed a manual rinseback.
 
I keep 3 flashlights at our "treatment" area at home; 1 small one to help hubby see his buttonholes better during self-cannulation, 1 medium one for him to hold for if the power goes off and one large one that can sit and light up the room like a lantern.

I might add that altho hubby doesn't do "nocturnal", we do his treatments after work in the evenings and whenever the power has gone off it is dark as night inside our little apartment. I am the paranoid type, I always check the weather report and radar on the internet before treatment and if we get storms and the lights start flickering, we end treatment early. There's been a few times when I have taken him off just in the nick of time before the power went out. Only one time did it go out unexpectedly during treatment. If we ever lose power while we are sleeping, sometimes it is the "silence" that wakes me up but other than that, I have no way of knowing how long the power was off.   

[Simon Dog]

http://www.amazon.com/Powerout-Power-Failure-Alarm-Safety/dp/B00IA9BF70

[cassandra]

Thank you both for the tips. For the moment I will keep a closer look on weather forecasts (I used to, but it slipped) and will buy a couple of flashlights.

Thanx my darlings, love and luck, Cas

[Charlie B53]

This isn't near as much problem for me being on PD.  The PD Cycler will 'hold' memory up to 4 hours.  Or so I am told.   We've had a few outages, mostly litle flickers, but once in a while it can be minutes.  Even had a few up to an hour, but those were before I started using the Cycler.  Didn't bother me a bit doing manual PD.

I never thought of it, but.......

I have an un-interuptable power supply for my computers.  Any time the power winks it beeps an alarm, if the power actually drops it instantly fills in so none of the computers flicker or shut down unless I select the 'shut down' option on power failure.

This is an old piece.  I've had it maybe 14 years.  The expensive gel cell batteries are stupidly expensive, and obsolete, so I use two group 31 truck/tractor/marine batteries wired in series to get 24V.   I can run all three computers, monitors, printers and scanners for maybe a week (?)  I don't really know.  The batteries I use are at least 5 times to capacity of the originals.

Point being....  I could run a cord to my Cycler and CPAP and never know the power fased.

I bought the unit used from a computer repair shop that took it in on a trade for work and never had a use for it.    I did!

[PrimeTimer]

http://www.amazon.com/Powerout-Power-Failure-Alarm-Safety/dp/B00IA9BF70

Thanks for sharing that. We don't do nocturnal but if we ever do, we're not doing it without one of these!

BTW, hope that cute little creature is from another planet and not some dust mite you've collected or a parasite. 

[Charlie B53]

I thought every one had seen a 'Flying Spaghetti Monster'.

I don't know how Simon managed to catch one.  He must have been ready with a large fish net.  They are way to fast for me to even get close!


He may have baited it with garlic toast!

[Vt Big Rig]

I thought every one had seen a 'Flying Spaghetti Monster'.

I don't know how Simon managed to catch one.  He must have been ready with a large fish net.  They are way to fast for me to even get close!

That what he tells everyone is in his arm when they ask him why his fistula arm is so bumpy!!

[Simon Dog]

I thought every one had seen a 'Flying Spaghetti Monster'.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster touches us all with his noodley appendage.

http://www.venganza.org/

[Charlie B53]

Thank you Simon for the link.  I've Bookmarked it and will share with Family.

Take Care,

Eat Well,

Charlie B53

[PrimeTimer]

I thought every one had seen a 'Flying Spaghetti Monster'.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster touches us all with his noodley appendage.

http://www.venganza.org/

Definitely would not want one around during a power outage. Things that go bump in the night could be met with a bang..

[del]

In the 9 years that hubby has been doing nocturnal Home hemo on a baby K we have lost the power once where he has had to come off the machine.  On the baby K if the power just flicks off and comes right back you can continue.  You can also manually turn the pump for a few minutes.  You can also wash back manually so you don't lost your blood.   We always keep flashlights close by.  The baby K has a battery back up so you get an alarm when the power goes off.

[cassandra]

Thanx del it looks like it's all the same with Nxstage bar the alarm when the power switches off. So I'll ask about the battery backup cos that's just plain weird, and actually dangerous?

Love, Cas

[Vt Big Rig]

I have long considered a small generator both for back up at home for doing D and for having the ability to be able to do D in our RV (travel trailer) if not connect to "shore power".

The thinking that keeps stopping me is, especially in the RV,we would need air conditioning also or we would cook in that small fiberglass box.

SO a genny big enough starts getting too heavy for a fistula arm to move around or to carry in the truck. Not to mention costs starts going up exponentially 

So I keep putting it off. This will certainly come back to haunt me some day.

[Charlie B53]

Vt Big Rig,

'House' Batteries and an inverter may be a possibility.  One would need to look at the total amp load you need and size the inverter accordingly.  Same with the number of 'House/RV/Boat' Batteries necessary to run it for the time/hours of operation.

Then you wouldn't need near as large generator to recharge to batteries.  May even be able to mount enough solar panels on the roof to recharge during the day.  Plus using a diode can charge from the tow vehicle without draining the tow vehicle battery.

We have the technology.  The costs can add up if you are not careful shopping, or have a shop do the planning and installation.

[Vt Big Rig]

 The costs can add up if you are not careful shopping, or have a shop do the planning and installation.

The very reason I have not pursued any further. Investing that money into a vehicle, that by its very nature is temporary, does not quite compute for me yet.

[iolaire]

SO a genny big enough starts getting too heavy for a fistula arm to move around or to carry in the truck. Not to mention costs starts going up exponentially 

Couldn't you install it semi-permanently on the RV (travel trailer) or truck and just run a power cord where you need it? 

In Washington state over Thanksgiving we were at my brother's in rural development and the power was out in one section of the development.  Walking around we saw a few portable generators running plugged back into the house.  To me the semi-portable generators make a lot of sense over the expensive hard to maintain house power systems that run on propane and the like.  The only advantage of the house systems is the automated start (if its working) on the power outage...

[cassandra]

When I was on the PD cycler I remember having that discussion with people from our electricity supply, and at the time didn't come further than a portable generator. The costs (or weight) of those haven't really changed much, so I stay with the solution of driving to hosp and plugging it in a socket in some deserted waiting room. And that will only be after I start feeling poisoned or desperate in some other way.
Mmm doesn't sound good at all, maybe time to start looking into a windmill.

Love and luck, Cas

[Simon Dog]

If you want a portable generator suitable to powering a NxStage cycler while on safari, a little unit like the Honda EU2000i or the Generac equivalent is pretty good, and can be carried by one hand.

If you want to plug a generator into your house, you will need a 220v unit with a center tap (many, many choices) rather than a 120v generator like the EU2000i.   This will enable you to power both legs of your house current, as well as 220v devices.    The two connection methods are transfer switch and interlock, and both make for an easy switchover when you plug in the generator and turn it on.  Avoid hack solutions like backfeeding through a male/male cable into an electric dryer outlet.   There are several reasons this is a bad idea, and it's why such cords are called "suicide cables".

[cassandra]

Thanx Simon Dog, I'll pass all this on to hubby cos this is going a bit over my head, suicide cables don't sound like the experimental type to me.

Love and luck, Cas

[Deanne]

I have flashlights that plug into power outlets. They have a bit of a night-light effect when they're plugged in and if the power goes out, they automatically turn on. I love these flashlights! They're LED so the lights are bright and I don't have to worry about knowing if the batteries are charged.

[cassandra]

Wow they sound too good to be true, where do I buy those? I'll try googling them right now! Thanx Deanne

Love and luck, Cas

[cassandra]

Found them and ordered them, thanx again

Love, Cas

[Deanne]

You're fast! I was just responding and saw that you found one. For anyone else looking, several are available on Amazon. Do a search for "rechargeable emergency flashlight"

[Vt Big Rig]

A Honda is close to $1000. Generc around $750.  Pricey.

And with the restrictions on rear  bumpers installing permanently on trailer is a task i have not figured out.