Hrs & Hrs of music with out the boat running????

[mfloski]

So check this out, during the prime summer months I go to the local hot spot on my lake and "hang out" for several hours with the rest of the lake. I have two optima blue tops but they don't last more than an hour or so on full charge. I have asked all the "punks" at teh local car audio stores in town and none have any suggestions on a way to power my stereo without relying on batteries and alternators. I came very close to purchasing a Balmar HO alternator, but it still doesn't fully solve my desire to run for extended time frames without the boat running. SO, I kept researching and came up with a solution. Thought I would run it past everyone to get your thoughts.....I will connect my stereo to an optima blue top as normal, I will then connect a Stinger SP60 DC power supply in parrallel to the battery. The power supply uses AC power, converted to DC power to run car stereos at car shows since they can't have engines running inside the building. But, since I don't have a wall outlet to plug the SP80 into, I will use a Honda EU1000 super quiet, AC generator that produces very clean AC power suitable for sensative electronics. According to Stingers Tech support crew, this setup should work perfect. One final note, do not connect the battery to the alternator! Ok, what do you think?

[01superair]

I run my system for hours with batteries and have never had a problem with it running out of juice and I have a rather large system, and by rather large I mean over 5000 watts. I run 8 blue tops and a 140 amp alternator with a battery switch so I always have starting power. I have a built in battery charger so when I get off the lake all I do is plug it in at home and it charges all the batteries one by one until it is done and I can go out and run the stereo the next day at full charge.

You should be more specific when you are asking for help, like how many watts are you running, if more batteries are not what you want to do. you can go with the Balmar to get a full charge out of your batteries when you are under power but again it depends on how much you want to spend. Are you running a batt switch, combiner , isolator or anything like this, are the two batteries just for stereo or for starting also.

[NCH2oSki]

WOW, where would you put a generator on a nautique that it would run, and not be in the way, much less the exhaust not melt the interior? What about extra fuel and the fire hazzard? Sounds like you need to trade your nauti for a party barge, or a houseboat. J/K good luck finding a solution.

[lukeduke95]

I think 01SuperAir is right on. Tell us a little about your system, if it is at all comparable to his our some of the others on here than maybe the generator setup would work well for you.

On the other hand, maybe adding a couple batteries and using a wal charger to top off the batteries at the end of the day would work better.

Remember, your alternator never really tops off the batteries, it just gets them close. That can make the difference in how long your batts last.

[mfloski]

01SuperAir, when you say you run for hours, what are we talking about? 1-2hrs or 6-8hrs??? Also, when you say you run for hours is that with boat primarily running or off? I assume all 8 batteries are hooked in parrallel? I don't run 5000W like you but more like 700W (continuous power not peak). So I am interested in your thoughts, how did you figure you needed 8 batteries? Did the number of hours to run your system without being charged enter this equation?
NCH2oSki, I understand your point, but the generator that I am reffering to would take up about as much room as 1-2 batteries. It is very small, very quiet, and very safe. It will run for four hrs on one small tank of gas.
01SuperAir, I am very interested in your comments and help on this, as the summer gets close, I need to make a decision one way or another. I fully agree that the stock boat (50amp) alternator is not enough to run, let alone charge, my optima batteries. ALL comments and help are much appreciated. Thanks,

[mfloski]

One more questions, can anyone recommend a charger for the optima blue tops that charges them to there full potential?

[Rick]

I don't know I would guess the Honda generator is only the size of 2 bluetops. Where do you put 8 bluetops?

[ryanandrews]

onmy 94 im running approx 1400 watts and i have zero problems with my two battery setup..i use a autozone marine battery for the stereo system and i use a wal mart marine battery for startup..i m running a perko switch and can run my stereo full blast for 5-6 hrs off that one battery..as it starts to run low the bass starts to cut out, so i know its time to start her up..i know its not 5000 watts but im only using an 75 dollar battery and not 8 optimos.....thats very strange...goodluck :mrgreen:

[ag4ever]

If I remember right, 01superair has one of Grant's infamous installations, and he does need the 8 blue tops to power all those JL subs.

I don't think I would run a generator on the boat personally, but to each their own.

If you are only running 700 watts, then the 2 blue tops should last about 1.8 hours for a D34M and 2.6 hours for a D31M.


Now 8 D31Ms should get you about 10.2 hours.

A 5,000 watt system running at full tilt the entire time would bring down the 8 D31Ms in about 1.45 hours. I doubt he is running a full 5,000 watts the enitre time.

Are you sure you are running 700 watts average? How long do the batteries last right now?

[Flux]

I too followed alot of Grant's posts just for curiousity. The Balmer systems will do a better job of topping off the Optima's, they need to trickle at the end. Hit up the website and you will learn a few things. You will want a pretty serious bank of batteries. Optima is not the end all for batteries, but they give you one of the best bangs for your buck and lot's of folks love them.

Chances are you are not getting them back to full capacity with a stock charging system, the Balmer system can help. You may also want to charge your boat when you get home. Chances are you are not cruising long enough after floating. Look into a trickle charger you could hook up during layups to max out your setup.

I would not want to have a generator on my inboard. You could probably get great results with a larger battery bank and plugging them in when you get home, then you will hit the lake fully charged.

[mfloski]

ag4ever & Flux...Thanks so much for the comments. AG your estimates are right on the money as far as how long my system lasts with two optimas at close to full charge. Which means your other estimates are probably right on also. That being said, 8 optimas at an average price of 180.00 each plus approximately $1500.00 to upgrade my alternator to a Balmar (which I have done masive amounts of research on after Grants post last year) totals approximatly $2940.00, not to mention I have to find room for 8 dang batteries in my boat!!!! I assume you both frown on the generator issue due to safety concerns? Check out Hondas website for there super quiet and compact EU series generators, I think you will find them less undesirable than you make them out to be. Sounds like I can go the $3000.00 route, have no storage space left, still have to charge 8 batteries at the end of the day OR spend $1200.00 and run my system for as long as my little generator has gas! Gas being the only down side that I can see at this point; you always need to refill your beer cooler so you could fill up the gas tank then.....I might take my chances with the the second option at this point. Thanks for your input on this subject, it was very helpful and informative. I will update you in a month or so with my satisfaction or my complete unhappiness (wishing I would have listened to everyones advise!). Thanks again.

[Mikeski]

Mfloski,

There are some generator threads on the hotboat discussion boards, there was a link to a thread in the past. Blue tops work great but I prefer golf cart batteries. Two golf cart batteries provide the same energy as four blue tops. They require a little maintenance but no more than your starting battery. The GCs also cost about the same as a single blue top. My 3000 watt system runs at least 3-4 hours without starting the motor, never ran it long enough to kill the batteries. The 2005 factory alternator does a great job of keeping things charged. I have a land charger but I don't often use it.

One other thing I should mention. I use class D amplifiers, they consume about 50% less energy than typical class A/B amps. You may consider changing your amps out as one of the options. Look at Alpine's PDX amps or Eclipse's XA 4000, of course use class D amps for your subs too.

My day job is managing energy, I approached the boat's electrical system like a work project. The balance of inputs and outputs is important.

Good Luck

[mfloski]

Mikeski, Thanks for the input, have to check out where to locate some golf cart batteries. My sub amp is a class D currently, but the other two are not. Need to look into that issue. Work for a Power Plant?

[gotwake]

Mike- what brand of batteries did you run? Have the same issues -
Thanks

[ffmedic74]

I would suggest just buying a party houseboat and pay the extra money for a live band!