Subwoofer draining battery

[Ryan Pittman]

Everytime i go out we throw the anchor and crank the radio for hours at a time...never had an issue until i just installed an amplified bass tube...when i try to start the boat, battery is to low to start...guess the sub is draining the battery...whats the best solution to make sure i can jam out all day and still be able to start the boat when its time to go home

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Everytime i go out we throw the anchor and crank the radio for hours at a time...never had an issue until i just installed an amplified bass tube...when i try to start the boat, battery is to low to start...guess the sub is draining the battery...whats the best solution to make sure i can jam out all day and still be able to start the boat when its time to go home

Do you have an isolated start battery and a house battery?

 

[Ryan Pittman]

No i have everything hooked to one battery...theres 4 wires connected to the neg term on my battery that come from the back of the boat...not sure what they are for...

 

[Bluewater272]

Hands down, time for a second battery. Maybe get one of those compact jump packs to get you through the rest of the season if adding another battery isn't in the cards right now.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

A jump pack may cost the same as a second Duracell AGM from sams club! There’s your ticket.

 

[Gym]

I would go 2 batteries & a jump pack. The jump pack pulls double duty as it's your backup in the boat in the summer and your truck in the winter. Is any of your stereo hardwired to your battery or is everything switched?

 

[Jgorm]

The sub is probably hooked up wrong and staying on all the time. It should be fed by the amp turn on lead (blue).

 

[PaulyB]

Subs definitely draw more power. Time for another battery....

 

[BlkGS]

More batteries is a good start. I'm going to be adding an amp and sub to my boat, and while I already have dual batteries, I've been thinking of adding a third battery, and having it set up with 1 starting battery and 2 house batteries. My boat doesn't have any real way to charge it, I keep a solar panel charger plugged in to it, but I don't know how much of a charge that actually puts out, I doubt it's enough to really recharge the batteries with any sort of speed.

 

[Gym]

More batteries is a good start. I'm going to be adding an amp and sub to my boat, and while I already have dual batteries, I've been thinking of adding a third battery, and having it set up with 1 starting battery and 2 house batteries. My boat doesn't have any real way to charge it, I keep a solar panel charger plugged in to it, but I don't know how much of a charge that actually puts out, I doubt it's enough to really recharge the batteries with any sort of speed.

You are correct grasshopper. The solar panel will keep your cell phone powered, not your boat battery unless you leave it on an unused battery for most of the day. It will not keep up with an "in use" battery. You guys that are shaking the lake and causing tsunamis with your overpowered music rings really need jump boxes for protection. Because if you don't you'll only be cool till the music dies.

 

[BlkGS]

I mainly got it to try to keep the batteries from draining while it's holed up in the dry racks. I've got a little ump pack that I should probably start bringing with me for actual peace of mind.

 

[viggen]

Improper wiring/amp not turning off doesn’t sound like the problem since from the OP’s description, this occurs after being out floating cranking some tunes

You can calculate how long it takes to drain your battery so you can get a idea of how long you can crank the music before you need to recharge the batteries

As stated you need 1-2 additional batteries, depending on how powerful the sub amp is and also how long you want to listen to music will determine if 1additional amp is enough or if two should be added.