12v mod for a CPAP machine

The Fuse is really nice and comes with 3 dual port USB charging stations.   This is great for iPhones and other electronics but not great if you want standard 12v power for other things.

My wife uses a CPAP machine at night.  She has a REMstar 510M BiPAP machine.  The great thing about this machine is that it is 12 volts.  It consumes a max of 3 amps of DC.   The machine uses an AC adapter in the house to get this power.  In the motorhome we already have 12v DC power, so no need for an adapter. Just plug it in, but where?  There are no 12v outlets.

Well the USB socket actually uses 12v power as input and steps it down to 5v in the plug.  So I started looking for what it would take to convert this plug to a 12v plug.  I could have gone with something interesting like a power pole plug like Ham radio operators use but I decided that a standard cigarette lighter plug would be the easiest.

The tools I used included a Phillips head screwdriver and a volt meter.  I purchased a Blue SeaSystems 12 Volt dash socket from Amazon.  Designed for marine applications it matched the size and shape of the USB plug that we were replacing.  One thing with the marine application is that it is designed to be either screwed in or sandwiched in with the faceplate on the outside and a nut on the backside of a panel.   For our application in the Winnebago you need to use the nut to hold the faceplate on since we are just attaching it using screws.

I was a little apprehensive doing this job not knowing what to expect.   I knew it would be easy to back out if things got complicated. Well I was pleasantly surprised when I took the outlet loose and saw the professional job of wiring that the Winnebago craftsman did.  Wires expertly crimped and organized.

The process was rather simple.  I took the screws out and lifted the USB socket out.  Took note of which were the positive and negative wires (and double checked with the meter).  Turned off the power to be safe.  Pulled the wires with the nice right angle connectors off the old USB socket and placed them on the new 12v socket.  Turned back on the power.  Tested that it was working and then reattached it to the wall.

We were done.  Took maybe 10 minutes.

To answer some other questions for CPAP users.  My wife found a wire basket from amazon to hold the CPAP machine and hooked it over the wire shelf.   it is a Spectrum Diversified 56377 over the cabinet grid basket.   Everything fits nicely and can be moved out of the way during the day.