Let Talk Batteries....

[petrey10]

Alright I was thinking today about how awesome its going to be to sitting in party cove listening to my new system in my Tige and realized.... What am I going to do if I run my batteries down? Do I have good enough batteries to sit in party cove for a few hours at a time and not drain the batteries? Well I thought I would post on here and see what you guys use for batteries. I currently have dual batteries without a perko but my new system will have a perko installed and the same two batteries. It may be time to replace my batteries because I just bought the boat last summer and doubt the previous owner spent the dough on batteries. Do I get interstate, optimum marine, stinger, kinetics? Will I need to upgrade my alternator? Do I need a good battery charger? I guess I should have asked these questions when I got the system but it didn't even cross my mind below is my setup


Two KMT6s powered by 08zx450.2
4 KM6000s and one 10 Sony Xplode powered by 08zx700.5
Cheapo head unit that will get upgraded later

[talltigeguy]

There are as many answers as people when it comes to this and it makes my head spin, honestly.

A few points seem to stick out to me as more important:

I like AGM type batteries, because acid won't spill, and they are supposed to withstand a full draw down many more times than even most deep cycle lead acid batteries can do.

A good charger will make the batteries last longer. Something you can plug in when you get home and top the batteries off.

You should have some sort of isolator so that you can draw down one of the battery banks and still have enough juice to start the boat and get you home at the end of the day. There are enough options here to make a man dizzy as well. A simple Perko switch works fine as long as you remember to turn the switch.

If you usually sit at the party cove and have a big system, be prepared to have a boatload of batteries to power it for hours (literally). Some guys have 7+ batteries in their boat for the really big systems.

There is a good start of random thoughts.

[petrey10]

Thanks for that... I have a perko switch that came with my purchase from CHPTHRILL... I was wondering how many batteries I will need because I wouldn't classify my system as really big, maybe above average but not really big.

[talltigeguy]

Might help to calculate an RMS wattage output to put it in perspective. I am running about 1900 Watts RMS. To me, that is a good midsize system.

[petrey10]

well im dumb how do I do that?

[Jason B]

I would recommend using as many batteries as you can afford and can afford to allot the space to. If you're talking about 3 amps and one battery....good luck. I have 4 90$ deep cycle batteries from autozone and 3 big amps. I can easily do 3-4 hours on the water. I do not know exactly how long it will play as I've never tried it. I have a total of 480aH with my stereo bank.

I also hooked up a disconnect to 3 of the stereo bank batteries and a Blue Sea add-a-battery kit with ACR to the fourth battery in the stereo bank. This allows me to charge at least one battery with the boat running so I never run completely out of tunes. My starting battery is seperated from discharge with the ACR.

[petrey10]

again i have two amps... I don't really want to pile 4 batteries in my storage area so that the other thing that is in there is batteries. I am looking for what is needed to play the system for around 4 hours without having to worry about the battery being dead. I will have a separate battery for starting which is why I have the perko switch

[chpthril]

Got your email, and will put some thoughts together on this for you. Need to crunch some numbers on your system, but please dont buy any Optima batteries....they are the MC of batteries........all hype and over priced

[Jason B]

oops sorry, thought I read 3 amps. Anyhow, you should be able to get by with three deep cycles then-- I would think.
You're going to have to use some storage space for batteries. There is no way around that. Period. Stereos take power, power comes from batteries, batteries take up space. Period. I use the compartment under the backrest of the bow seat in front of the driver. I found this was my easiest space to live without. You can use the more expensive AGM batteries and that will allow you some flexibility/creativity in how you mount the batteries, but that's about your only choice.

[RID22]

If you want to run your stereo full blast for days and never worry about your boat starting, you have to run golf cart batteries. Everything else is a compromise. I substituted batteries for two summers than finally just bit the bullet and installed golf carts. We never had an issue again. Fortunately, if the boat batteries die, you can start and run the boat of the golf carts or vice versa. If you have the space and $1000 burning a hole in your pocket, it's the only way to go.

It's more than just my two cents because it cost me a lot of money to finally figure this one out.

[petrey10]

golf cart batteries huh? Thats interesting and a great idea...


CHPTHRILL- thank you!!!!! And I won't run out and buy anything till I hear from you

[chpthril]

The thing about 6 volt golf cart batteries is that they are big and heavy and it takes 2 wired in series to get 12V, but the Ah's do not sum.

[River Runner]

Get one of these and bring your charger along.

You can crank your tunes all day and night!!!!!!!

[talltigeguy]

If you want to run your stereo full blast for days and never worry about your boat starting, you have to run golf cart batteries. Everything else is a compromise. I substituted batteries for two summers than finally just bit the bullet and installed golf carts. We never had an issue again. Fortunately, if the boat batteries die, you can start and run the boat of the golf carts or vice versa. If you have the space and $1000 burning a hole in your pocket, it's the only way to go.

It's more than just my two cents because it cost me a lot of money to finally figure this one out.

I always thought lead acid golf cart batteries were cheap, no? Why would you need $1000 for golf cart batteries?

The other advantage to AGM is the ability to turn them on their side like someone said above.

I posted a link in the finds from Ebay and Craigslist thread to a Kinetik hc1800 battery for $169 shipped from Sonicelectronix.com. The 1800 is supposed to mean they are capable of powering an 1800 watt system. I don't know for how long, but seems like a pretty decent power plant.

My best guess at your system is that you are at 1650 watts RMS. It will depend on how efficient the amps are if you are pulling a lot of amp hours to get that many watts.

[off2board]

A close friend of mine, who used to work at a car audio store installing systems, and who now works for a car company in thier research and develpment department for audio has a pontoon that he built up. Now...I cant say exactly how many watts he is pulling (not as much as mine ) but I do know he was 2 subs, and 6 6x9's and 3 amps pushing it all. He has 5 normal marine batteries tide together in parellel and runs the all day long (and we have spent many a hours on the boat pushing it) At the end of the day, he plugs his poon in and recharges. (obviously his evenrude isnt going to charge that) (I dont have that luxury). So if you have access to plug in and charge your stuff...that will be the ONLY way you can run all day long and not have to worry about it. Unless you have a smaller system and you are not pushing that many watts.
I agree with others about optima though. They suck. I used them for about 5 years before I new better. Dont get me wrong..they work...but definately not worth the price.