I was reading about your stereo set-up, specifically your battery set up and had a few questions. Are you running 2- 6 amp golf cart batteries in series? How do you go about charging your batteries each night? I am looking into doing something like that, but I leave my boat in the water (anchored on the beach) and wouldn't trust running an extension cord into my boat to charge the batteries. I saw the other option on this site that had both batteries on a switch so the alt could charge either sets of batteries (2 starting and 2 golf cart). What recommendations would you make?
[ January 22, 2003, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Coach ]
I'm also interested in this. Series increases the amperage not the voltage, correct?? Are there any diagrams to show the wiring for this? I would like to hook these up to a switch to go back and forth from the engine batteries to the stereo batteries. Is this possible?
HOOTER SLED-:
Series increases the amperage not the voltage, correct?? Series increases the voltage. Parallel increases the current.
I am running, specifically...
2) 12 volt Marine deep cycle Trojan batteries for my engine systems, and basically everything stock on the boat, as well as the neon.
4) 6 Volt Trojan T-106 Golf Cart deep cycles. These batteries are running huge figures on reserve capacity, and have proven to run for a whole day/night without needing a charge.
Philosophy: I wanted my starting batteries to have no draw except mandatories, so I isolated them by only having them start the boat and run boat related systems. They are on a Perko switch, so I can run either or both for this purpose. My motor is highish compression, and I have run into a starting issue every single time I ran a sandbar for more than an hour before this configuration (2 Interstates were not cutting it) In addition, once voltage was below 10 volts, my Motorola alternator saw a fault in the system and would not charge, so it made it twice as bad. In fact, my stereo could prevent the motor from firing if it was played while travelling in this situation because of the MSD ignition's draw.
To rectify this, I got the Trojans for one, which have proven to be superior batteries all around. Second, I began to run the four 6 volts, running two pairs in series, and then the two pairs in parallel (see diagram). This is a true stand alone system, providing power only to the amps and stereo. Neon is not on this system, as I didn't want lights dimming when the bass hit (which happens)
Charging: My style of river running precludes the need to run a charging system for the four stereo batteries. My M.O. is usually to get in, idle for 2 or three minutes to get oil temp up a little and hammer down for 7-15 minutes to get to either a sandbar or bar. I sit there for 6 hours bumpin and draining batteries, and then drive 7-15 minutes back. I clean the boat for the evening, and then take off around 10:00 pm for the night evolution which requires a 10 minute cruise up river, and a 3 hour float down river... followed by another 10 minutes of running. So, doing the math: A maximum of 50 minutes of broken up charging... and 9 hours of stereo crushing 75 amp draw max battery use. NO charging system in the boat will allow me to be topped off by the end of the night, ready for the morning. So, I needed a serious charge overnight. Also keep in mind, four huge batteries divide the charge between them, so it is important to have the charge from "both ends" of the rig, so that no one battery gets charged more than another. (Having the current have to go through every battery physically, not by cables)
What I bought was a Sears fully automatic battery charger that charges at 60 amps. That is 15 amps per battery, and takes about 5 hours to top off from a long day out. I imagine it could run off of a generator, but it would have to be one that could turn 35 amps (there is a step-up going from AC to DC... I don't know the specs)
I have been very pleased with the result. The stereo plays all day, and it charges automatically at night. I have a large 100 ft ship to shore cable that occasionally has gotten wet in the middle charging from a pier or whatever, but no real problems. For the most part, I just pull it out and plug it in. Sandbar music all day is worth it!
Diagrams and pics to follow...
Nubbs:
Series increases the voltage. Parallel increases the current. "Boys have a penis... girls have a virgina"
[ January 23, 2003, 09:18 AM: Message edited by: Froggystyle ]
CAN WE ALL SAY, 'THE SHIT'!!!!
HC and I got a chance to check out his system. Very, very nice/clean set up and even sounds good too wink
This man knows his shit. Keep it rolling Froggy!
Thanks MS HotC...
Here is the pics.
As you can see, the batteries are wired in series, then in parallel. To describe, please note the different colors on the battery drawing and letters/numbers circled....
Consider only batteries 1 and 2 for now. The negative from #1 is negative. The Positive from #1 is positive, but it is linked to the negative from #2 by the blue wire. Think of this as a jumper wire. #2 has negs and positive, but the only one we are concerned with is the positive, as the negative is jumped to #1. Now... Think of these two as one battery. This one battery, made up of two 6 volts is a 12 volt battery. "A" and "B" are the terminals of this 12 Volt Battery.
Do the same to Batteries "3" and "4". Now you have two 12 Volt Batteries essentially. When Battery "1/2" is wired in parallel with "3/4" (Positive to positive, neg to neg) you get a 12 Volt battery with twice the amperage (what I needed) If you were to run them in series, you would get 24 Volts, but the same amperage as each 12 volt. (Nubbs was right on...)
Since I needed 12 volts to the stereo, I ran them parallel, and you can see the wiring between terminals "A" and "C" for negative, and "B" and "D" for positive, both of which go to the stereo load, and is the proper location for charging the system. If you were to charge from "A" and "D", you would charge it properly that way as well. What wouldn't work right would be to charge from "C" and "D" for example. Batteries "3" and "4" would get all the power, and until they were topped all the way off, Batteries "1" and "2" would be neglected, as the current would travel straight into the batteries they were attached through.
Did I lose anyone?
So in synopsis... you charge off of "B" and "C", not off "C" and "D", and with the battery terminal "AB" giving you 12V, you can apply Preparation "H" to [i]Midas 22[i] and make One Billion Trillion Gazillion Boop Bop Verzillion Gillion..... yen.
[ January 23, 2003, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: Froggystyle ]
Another option to the charging thing. I run two Optima's on mine with a Honda 1100 Watt generator which exhausts out the rear of the boat. It's connected to a battery minder which I've run all day (6 hours) without draining to the point of not being able to start. Last summer I was having distributor problems so didn't want to run the boat much and just sat in a cove providing the stereo. Can't hear the generator at all and I have 1300 watts powering 2 12" subs and 8 6x9's. The generator is about the size of a 5 gallon gas can. I can provide details and pictures if interested.
Please do!
Since I needed 12 volts to the stereo, I ran them parallel, and you can see the wiring between terminals "A" and "C" for negative, and "B" and "D" for positive, both of which go to the stereo load, and is the proper location for charging the system. If you were to charge from "A" and "D", you would charge it properly that way as well. What wouldn't work right would be to charge from "C" and "D" for example. Batteries "3" and "4" would get all the power, and until they were topped all the way off, Batteries "1" and "2" would be neglected, as the current would travel straight into the batteries they were attached through.
Did I lose anyone? Yes you did. It shouldn't matter what terminals you charge from, as long as you go across 12 volts. You can charge from AB, AD, CD, CB, or the +/- leads to the stereo equipment. Why do you say you must charge off BC?
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