my new boat

[Nismo720]

Wow CHP, you just made my head spin a little. So I want to use Exile for my stereo. That being said the first things to get do will be the tower and in cabin. I want to do two pair xm9s with the harpoon amp, the 8 in cabins with the xi800 amp. Basically the package outlined on the web site. Next winter I want to change the sub out for the BIG 12 and xi2500.

Thinking ahead I think that two nice big batteries with a high ah are in order. I will be using a battery isolator to charge the off the alt. with a perko switch. And a charger for home.

I like the idea of a breaker at the battery vs ANL fuse. Great idea! Witch marine rate manual-reset circuit breaker would you use I see them form cooperman up to 150 amps. Was thinking I would need 200-250 amp for what I'm doing.

This will be my first boat install so looking for advice from people that have done it. So I appreciate your help. As I do more research I'm sure I'll come up with more questions. I want to do this once, know what I mean

[majestic]

You will have a great set-up for sure. I still want to see where the 8 cabins are going to go, I'm trying to figure out whet I am going to install my 6th one.

I'm not any help with the battery stuff but my install was also my first if I can pass anything along let me know.

[Nismo720]

You will have a great set-up for sure. I still want to see where the 8 cabins are going to go, I'm trying to figure out whet I am going to install my 6th one.

I'm not any help with the battery stuff but my install was also my first if I can pass anything along let me know.

Thanks majestic!
I thinking one more under the dash where the sub is, their is one there now and it's off balance to me and the othe would be under the seat behind the driver again just for esthetics. O.C.D. bro O.C.D.

[majestic]

Thanks majestic!
I thinking one more under the dash where the sub is, their is one there now and it's off balance to me and the othe would be under the seat behind the driver again just for esthetics. O.C.D. bro O.C.D.

How many do you have now? My boat came with 4, two in the bow, one under the seat and one in the rear port corner. There is a spot for my 5th under the observers seat and the 6th will go under the throttle... I think.

[chpthril]

Wow CHP, you just made my head spin a little. So I want to use Exile for my stereo. That being said the first things to get do will be the tower and in cabin. I want to do two pair xm9s with the harpoon amp, the 8 in cabins with the xi800 amp. Basically the package outlined on the web site. Next winter I want to change the sub out for the BIG 12 and xi2500.

Thinking ahead I think that two nice big batteries with a high ah are in order. I will be using a battery isolator to charge the off the alt. with a perko switch. And a charger for home.

I like the idea of a breaker at the battery vs ANL fuse. Great idea! Witch marine rate manual-reset circuit breaker would you use I see them form cooperman up to 150 amps. Was thinking I would need 200-250 amp for what I'm doing.

This will be my first boat install so looking for advice from people that have done it. So I appreciate your help. As I do more research I'm sure I'll come up with more questions. I want to do this once, know what I mean

Sorry, I tried not to get too technical.

In terms of efficiency, look at it this way. A Class-A/B amp is carbureted V8. Big, lots of power, but suck a lot of gas when towing your boat. Full-Range Class-D and G/H amps are the Eco-Boost. Plenty of power to tow your boat, but uses way less gas doing it.

In regards to advertised amp ratings. Would you pay for advertised V8 power, when all that was under the hood was V6?

Here is another way to view it. Sports car maker ABC states their car tops out at 150MPH. Sports car maker XYZ advertises their tops out at 175MPH.

ABC calibrates their speedometers using industry standards and XYZ calibrates their using thier own methods. When independently tested ABC's car does hit 150 MPH and a bit more, but XYZ came in at only 110 MPH.

It sounds like you are looking to build a battery bank that will allow you to play for a long time on the water while anchored. It takes big batteries and lots of them as the more elaborate the system gets. This is where amp efficiency can play a huge part in the overall system design. I sell/install plenty of Class-A/B amps. Im not putting them down because they are not as efficiant, but it really worth bringing into the discussion.

I stock/install the Cooper Bussmann. No need to guess on wire gauge or circuit protection, it can be calculated fairly accurately. You need to use a wire gauge and circuit protection that will adequately carry the potential load of the system, but the circuit protection can not exceed the capacity of the wire. In other words, the breaker or fuse needs to be the weak ling in the chain. If there is a short, we want the breaker to trip or fuse to pop before the wire melts.

[Wakeman22]

chp, there has been a lot of discusion on the different AMPS and I am a little illiterate when it comes to all the new stuff these days. So. Can you give a better disciption and some examples of what a class D and a class G/H amp is?

[chpthril]

chp, there has been a lot of discusion on the different AMPS and I am a little illiterate when it comes to all the new stuff these days. So. Can you give a better disciption and some examples of what a class D and a class G/H amp is?

Id rather not introduce other brand names into this thread, but I will email you a list of companies that offer Class-D and Class-G/H in their lineups. Some even still offer Class-A/B.

Almost all the major players in the mobile audio field are offer a line of high efficient amps. Heck, even some of your price-point lines have even gone that direction.

Everything from a light bulb to an internal combustion engine has an efficiency measurements. And any time we have a an electrical or mechanical device thats taking one form of energy and converting to something that needed to do "work", we have loss. It nearly impossible to have a 100% efficiant machine. Heck, even us humans produce an unneeded byproduct. We dont convert all we take in, to energy. Whats left over is a byproducts and goes to waste. With an internal combustion engine, we call it "stoichiometric efficiency". Its basically how much gas we pour into the cylinders, how much is completely burned and converted to energy that drives the piston down and turns the crankshaft.

With amplifiers, its the difference between the Ah's (battery amp-hours) consumed as compared to the wattage produced. The difference it the efficiency. With an amp, the majority of the waste, or byproduct is heat. Just like with a light bulb. The light is the "work" we want, but heat is the unwanted byproduct of efficiency. Now, with fluorescent bulb, we consume less power while producing the same amount of light. Touch a fluorescent bulb while its on, and there's the proof. Fluorescents are soo much more efficient the incandescent bulbs.

Since Nizmo is trying to calculate his total system consumption and calculate the Ah in order to build a battery bank that will sustain the system for the amount of time he needs, its completely relevant to bring amp efficiency into the discussion. In a car, 90% of the time, we will have the engine running and the alternator output to maintain the system voltage. But in the marine world, its very common for us to spend hours, sometimes 2-3 days in a row, playing the system with the engine off. During this time, we are relying on battery reserves to keep the system going. Think of the water cooler at the office. Those jugs have to last until the guy comes and takes the empties and leaves some new full ones. Those jugs do not refill them selves, and neither does a battery. They are simply a storage device.

As I have stated in other threads, I am not trashing Class-A/B amps. In not tossing them to the curb simply because they are Class-A/B. I still sell and install a lot of Class-A/B amps. They are inexpensive as compared to Class-D and G/H and there are tons of options. So its easy to find one that fits the customer needs and budget. But, its also important to think about efficiency in a marine install. Class-A/B was the benchmark, but the high-efficient amps have now raised that bar. A/B amps just didn't become "Bad" overnight, its just that the more efficient lines offer a better option.

I hope this helps

[Nismo720]

How many do you have now? My boat came with 4, two in the bow, one under the seat and one in the rear port corner. There is a spot for my 5th under the observers seat and the 6th will go under the throttle... I think.

So mine came with six. 2 are in the bow, 3 in the seating area just above the cup holders, then 1 in the wall were the sub is under the steering wheel.

So adding one more under there will make it look better and on more in the seating area again just above cup holder again to even things out.

[Nismo720]

Chp, I sent you a pm

[Wakeman22]

Thanks chp. that explains better what we are talking about. Since this is new to me I feel somewhat like needing an education about amps and for that matter battery power. I will be upgrading soon and will also want that battery bank to last longer. Being educated in a matter helps in making better informed choices. Probably need an education in ohms output, bridging and amp draw vs wattage output.