How long does your House battery last on Float mode

[Merlion]

Guys, wanted to do a quick poll to see on average how much juice your House battery gives you on the following conditions:

*Starting with a fully charged Battery
* Engines off (Float Mode)
* Music ON (amps; speakers, etc)
* no other major systems on (no lights, etc)

 

[Mjolsen74]

great question.

I've noticed a few times lately that I have had low battery after 4 hrs but I believe it's caused by not enough engine time running to re-charge (stator's suck) and that my solar panel isn't in the sun when my boat is stored so it never keeps charged. I now bought a ProMainer ProSport 20 to charge the night before outings when bring the boat home to clean and pack.

My 2019 242x is only 1 year old this month but I think my house battery is bad as it charges over night and seems to drop to 12.1 volt within an hour of use.

mike

 

[Merlion]

great question.

I've noticed a few times lately that I have had low battery after 4 hrs but I believe it's caused by not enough engine time running to re-charge (stator's suck) and that my solar panel isn't in the sun when my boat is stored so it never keeps charged. I now bought a ProMainer ProSport 20 to charge the night before outings when bring the boat home to clean and pack.

My 2019 242x is only 1 year old this month but I think my house battery is bad as it charges over night and seems to drop to 12.1 volt within an hour of use..

mike

Best thing to do is buy a battery multimeter. I also have a 2019 242x and found that Connext doesn’t always give you an accurate reading. The multimeter will let you know for sure the exact voltage

 

[Crob83]

great question.

I've noticed a few times lately that I have had low battery after 4 hrs but I believe it's caused by not enough engine time running to re-charge (stator's suck) and that my solar panel isn't in the sun when my boat is stored so it never keeps charged. I now bought a ProMainer ProSport 20 to charge the night before outings when bring the boat home to clean and pack.

My 2019 242x is only 1 year old this month but I think my house battery is bad as it charges over night and seems to drop to 12.1 volt within an hour of use.

mike

I can tell you I have a dual battery setup, and have yet to ever need the 2nd battery. I am lazy and don't want to switch it to my deep cycle and have just kept it on the crank battery while listening to music. I have done that for 5 or 6 hours multiple times and the boat fired right up with no issues. I need to start switching it thought so I don't burn my crank battery out sooner then I should. I do put it on a battery tender brand charger after every use and leave it until my next outing

 

[topherbd16]

In my 18 212x with added JL amp and tower speakers on top of stock Wetsounds/Polk setup, I can go 6+ (haven’t tried more yet). But I upgraded batteries from two group 24 lead acid to two group 31 AGM. Probably overkill, but I was paying for peace of mind. Goal achieved. I charge them when in my driveway or in storage. But, it’s only been 2 weeks since the battery upgrade. 3-5 years from now will let me know how well the investment is working.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

In my 18 212x with added JL amp and tower speakers on top of stock Wetsounds/Polk setup, I can go 6+ (haven’t tried more yet). But I upgraded batteries from two group 24 lead acid to two group 31 AGM. Probably overkill, but I was paying for peace of mind. Goal achieved. I charge them when in my driveway or in storage. But, it’s only been 2 weeks since the battery upgrade. 3-5 years from now will let me know how well the investment is working.

@topherbd16 .....AGMs are AWESOME. I had 5 series 31 AGMs from West Marine in a cruiser a couple of years ago and they were BEASTS. There are now new kids on the block called TPPLs which are AGMs with thin plate technology that stacks n even more lead plates in the battery and they are even bigger beasts!

 

[jEt_jAk]

Never ran it down but have gone over 2 hours. Using Odyssey AGM. Not cheap but one of the best battery’s on market that I could find.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Guys, wanted to do a quick poll to see on average how much juice your House battery gives you on the following conditions:

*Starting with a fully charged Battery
* Engines off (Float Mode)
* Music ON (amps; speakers, etc)
* no other major systems on (no lights, etc)

@Merlion before I start is your forum name a reference to the famous Merlion (water lion) in the harbour in Singapore? If so, cool! Another option for members worrying about depleting their batteries is something I purchased yesterday - a super small super powerful mini lithium battery booster. The one I purchased is a NOCO GB40 Boost Plus. It puts out 1000 amps and states it will boost a 6.0 liter gas and 3.0 liter diesel. That's pretty impressive. It weight less than a loaf of bread and is a quarter the size and will fit almost anywhere on the boat. We bring it on and off the boat each time and it is super peace of mind. Its literature states it will easily start a battery with only 2 volts showing but does have an over ride feature to boost a battery (personally I don't like the idea) with o volts showing. Not totally on topic but in the ball park?

 

[minn19]

My boat is only a couple of months old, but it has lasted over 4 hours a couple of times. Then it only takes a couple of hours on a tender to charge back to 100%. These are dealer provided Interstate batteries. Don’t know the model numbers, but I know the house one is weaker than the starter in CCAs etc.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

My boat is only a couple of months old, but it has lasted over 4 hours a couple of times. Then it only takes a couple of hours on a tender to charge back to 100%. These are dealer provided Interstate batteries. Don’t know the model numbers, but I know the house one is weaker than the starter in CCAs etc.

@minn19 ....when you up-grade look at AGM batteries. I would recommend the series 31 size. If you want THE total beast of batteries it would be the AGM TPPL (thin plate technology). there are lots of sources including Sams Club, West Marine etc.

 

[WREKS]

This article was brought to our attention by @Beachbummer: Battery charging. I found it very helpful.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

This article was brought to our attention by @Beachbummer: Battery charging. I found it very helpful.

@WREKS .....thank you for the link to a very comprehensive article originally posted by @Beachbummer . The article, nonce again, shows the need for a modern charger that can properly '"stage charge" the new technology batteries. I have always liked ProCharger.