apologies if this has been asked - Power supply for upgraded stereo

[jp_chenet]

G'day I'm from the seychelles and recently purchased a 2007 sx210 which needed some TLC, i have little to no experience with jetski engines, luckily my ones are working just fine. Here we have plenty of sandbanks and remote beaches where its great to have a day out with good friends. I want to run a powerful audio setup in the near future but from i am not sure if the rectifiers will be able to power it, i know its best to run more than one battery but what means do you use to charge it? Are there any links with installs on that model type or similar?

Thanks

JP

 

[Speedling]

Multiple batteries is pretty common. Leave one just to start the boat at the end of the day. The charging system on the boats will do decent if you cruise a bit to your spot. You may want to install 2 big house batteries and a charger just for the stereo if you are going big and then charge when at home as well to top everything off.
There was someone that installed a pulley on the mid shaft and hung an alternator in there just to charge his system but that was a lot od work. Easier to just go extra batteries and a charger to plug in at home. Or just get used to cruising around once in a while?
I have a single house battery and single start. House has never been not enough even after sun up to sun down days with the tower speakers and two subs. I don't know if you're going for an spl competition or something but seriously 2-4 tower speakers and some subs is more than enough.

 

[Bruce]

Welcome Aboard!

Your 2007 SX210 has two MR-1 engines. The owners manual is linked to at https://jetboaters.net/threads/owners-manuals-yamaha-ar210-sx210-212x-212ss.120/

I believe the stators output around 15 amps each.

Regardless you are going to want battery power to run the sound at anchor. A 100 amp hour group 32 battery provides around 50 amp hours of capacity before damaging the battery. Your head unit likely consumes 5 amps so you could run it for 10+ hours before running down the battery. But an amplified system will use much more making multiple batteries preferable.

Personally I would not boat in the ocean without multiple batteries. At minimum you could install a small jet ski sized battery for the starting battery and use a large group 24, 27 or 31 battery for the house load. I suggest sizing your battery system to the sound system and length of time you want to play tunes.

I would also install an on board charging system to use shore power to keep the batteries at the optimal charge.

 

[Bruce]

This new BlueSeas product combines many electrical functions of a dual battery system into one https://www.bluesea.com/products/category/9/119/Battery_Chargers/BatteryLink_Chargers

 

[AndyD]

I keep one of these on the boat during the season. I've never had the need to use it (knock on wood) but the reviews and feedback I've read let me know it would get me out of a jam if necessary.

https://www.amazon.com/Brightech-SmartJump-Technology-Combination-Electronics/dp/B00K0VMXDQ

 

[jp_chenet]

Thanks for the replies, I wanted to go with a solar charger as it's difficult to get access to Power where my boat is kept, I wanted 2 subs and 6 speakers. Yes definitely getting 2 batteries, can't risk it, especially here! Would a trickle charger work fine? To top up the batteries as music plays if the engine is off? It's like a 10 minute hop to the inner islands here so not much cruising time unfortunately. I use to do Search and rescue and I've seen enough people that have endangered their lives because of stupidity and I don't want to join that list.

 

[Julian]

Solar chargers will trickle charge the batteries over days.....they won't be able to keep up with power draw from an operating stereo.

 

[Bruce]

@jp_chenet, are you thinking about adding sufficient solar panels to your boat to charge the panels or having the panels at the slip somewhere?

I use a 10 amp (135 watt) on board charger that will charge one or both batteries at a rate of 5 Ah per hour. I have two group 31 batteries. If I run them down to 50% which is a 50 Ah discharge of each battery they will recharge fully after 10 hours connected to shore power.

Solar production is typically calculated as 4 hours per day of whatever the panels are rated at. Over 10 hours connected to shore power my batteries would take on 1,350 watts. In order to produce that from solar in a day you would need 350 watts of solar panels.

I believe that fitting 350 watts of panels to your boat is unrealistic but a couple of 150 or 200 watt panels at a dock would be easy. You might be able to fit 100 watts of flexible panels on the bimini or in the bow area which would easily recharge the batteries during the week from the weekends use.

I would use a solar charge controller in conjunction with the panels to keep the batteries properly charged.

 

[Bruce]

By the way, let's keep the discussion going. This is a topic that interests me. I have a few solar systems and a large remote power supply in addition to my boat. I would be happy to recommend equipment as I understand the project better.

 

[MattFX4]

@jp_chenet multiple batteries and onboard charger is your best bet. This is my setup.

 

[jp_chenet]

thanks all, for now im going to make sure she's running perfectly mechanically before i start my plans, the thing is here in seychelles its summer all year round, and can use my boat on random days could be a 30 nm cruise or a 3nm cruise the place where my boat is kept dont offer you electricity to charge it i guess my best bet is remove the batteries and charge them at home

 

[Speedling]

thanks all, for now im going to make sure she's running perfectly mechanically before i start my plans, the thing is here in seychelles its summer all year round, and can use my boat on random days could be a 30 nm cruise or a 3nm cruise the place where my boat is kept dont offer you electricity to charge it i guess my best bet is remove the batteries and charge them at home

How many days a week do you use it?
Then we can determine how big of an array would be required.

 

[jp_chenet]

hoping for 2 days a week..

 

[Speedling]

And how many amps/watts do you plan on? How many hours of blasting it?

 

[jcyamaharider]

I can tell you that I run 3 amps, head unit, 4 cabin speakers, 2 tower speakers, 2 12" dvc subs for about 8 hours straight ( at a volume where other people can hear it ) on my 2 batteries just for the stereo and then they are dead. I have two group 29 batteries that run my stereo and a group 24 just for starting the boat. I also have a jump pack just incase.

 

[jp_chenet]

And how many amps/watts do you plan on? How many hours of blasting it?

Wanted to get 2 10 inch subs and 8 speakers, I'm not quite sure on the exact power output, like 6-8 hours generally by the sandbanks.

 

[sstegh]

at a volume where other people can hear it

Understatement!

 

[Speedling]

Wanted to get 2 10 inch subs and 8 speakers, I'm not quite sure on the exact power output, like 6-8 hours generally by the sandbanks.

So that could theoretically be 120 amps (or more) when being maxxed out for 8 hours which would be a total of 960Ah.
Now this is where someone that knows more about batteries needs to chime in. I would THINK that a battery with 900cca would be just short of that systems need by 60 amps. So you would need two batteries and would run them both half down.

However, even with a 5 minute drive to and from your spot you have a 10-15 amp charge from either engine. This is pretty significant! So lets say you make up half of what you drain (figuring worst case!) Then you are still left with 450 amps that need to get recharged properly in a couple days. 450 amps x 12 volts is like 5400 watts. If you had a total of 8 hours usable sunlight then that is 675 watts per hour. So i would say that on the safe side you need 1000 watts of panels.

I have no idea if everything i said is true as far as the cca and Ah stuff goes.
A few more disclaimers:
1: who listens to the music for 8 hours straight at absolute loudest volume being on the brink of blowing fuses?
2: you should drive your boat more than 5 minutes each trip. That hardly warms up the oil decent and it would be better for you to do a lap or something before and after the party.
3: 1000 watt solar charger may do just fine but you will also be destroying the batteries (was quickly reading on the Ah rating on batteries) and you will be replacing them prematurely.
4. Also consider one smaller panel on the bimini such as they do on the E series Yamahas.

Again, i am using worst cases and generalities and lack of knowledge to come up with this so SOMEONE tell me otherwise!

 

[Speedling]

One of the biggest "kits" i could find:
https://www.batterystuff.com/solar-chargers/11-watts-up/msk-135.html

 

[Bruce]

So that could theoretically be 120 amps (or more) when being maxxed out for 8 hours which would be a total of 960Ah.
Now this is where someone that knows more about batteries needs to chime in. I would THINK that a battery with 900cca would be just short of that systems need by 60 amps. So you would need two batteries and would run them both half down.

A group 31 battery has around a 100Ah capacity but a much higher CCA (cold cranking amps) rating. You can use 50% of that capacity before you damage the battery. Ah and CCA are not related. CCA is the amperage it can deliver for a short period of time.

Let's say the 10 inch subs were driven with 100 watts each and the 8 speakers with 50 watts each. That is a total of 500 watts which divided by 12 is 41.66 amps. Run that for an hour an you consume 41.66 Ah (amp hours).

In reality those wattages are peak ratings and most music will not be at peak most of the time so you will not really drain a group 31 battery per hour. But you could drain one over two hours. If you want the battery capacity to handle such a system for 8 hours at a time you could end up with 4 group 31 batteries at 80 plus pounds each.

Personally I upgraded to high SPL 6x9 speakers so I could maximize the amount of sound produced per Ah consumed. My two group 31 batteries can run the stereo and fridge for days between charges.