Beefing up house battery bank ?'s

[bryce2320]

My current system consists of (1) JL 1000/1 slash series amp running a JL 13.5W7 and a syn 4 running 3 pairs of xs-650s. I will be order a pair of rev 10s and another syn-4 before the end of the month. I've had the boat out a couple times since I got all my upgraded system put in. Currently i have 2 batterys that i got new at the start of the summer, 1 on each side of the rear bench seat. I also have a perko 2 battery switch that the batterys are wired to. Both are Super Start batteries from Oreillys which may be my first problem. I've been researching and I'm thinking about replacing one of the Super Start batteries with 2 Interstate 29 and making that the house battery bank. Im probably going to be docked jamming the radio from 2-5 hours. The other weekend I had the switch to one battery and the sub kept shutting off because the battery was to low, but the boat would still start off of it. I also have already upgraded the alternator to a 140 amp which should be plenty if I add a charger?

1) Would 2 Interstate 29 batterys be sufficient for a battery bank?
2) Since I already have a perko switch is an ACR needed?
3) What would be the best charger for the $$$ to go with?
4) Does it matter which battery I make the house bank because one battery has a bunch of ground cables going to it and the other only has leads going back to the perko.

Any advice on getting the battery bank built up would be great.

[boatwakes]

Don't use starting batteries for deep cycle bank duties. Look at the amp/hour rating on whatever deep cycle battery you choose. That rating shows how long it takes with a 25amp load to pull the battery down to 10.5volts. With the Perko switch you must switch to both when running the engine to charge both batteries and then switch to one or two for dockside hangout. If you want to avoid doing that, just get the ACR too. Any MARINE charger with 10amps or more charging capacity is sufficient for shore charging. Both batteries must have sufficient size negative cables going to the engine block and other than that you can make either one your house bank, but use deep cycle for both batteries. You may also need to add a capacitor to you system to help the amp but it's the battery type thats causing the cut out. BTW the 140amp alternator is ridiculously oversized for your application, even a stock 55amp would be able to keep up with load demands.

[chpthril]

1) Would 2 Interstate 29 batteries be sufficient for a battery bank?

There is no exact answer. Too many variables such as amp efficiency, tuning, music type, volume level, battery condition, etc. A pair of Group-29 Interstates would give you 200Ha.

2) Since I already have a perko switch is an ACR needed?

No, an ACR is not needed. In a basic form, and ACR does automatically, what a dual-battery switch does.

3) What would be the best charger for the $$$ to go with?

A good rule of thumb for a stereo bank thats going to get deeply cycled often, get a charger that will deliver around 10% of your batteries' Ah.

4) Does it matter which battery I make the house bank because one battery has a bunch of ground cables going to it and the other only has leads going back to the perko.

With all things wired correctly, both battery banks and all electronics will share a common ground path to the engine. Now, depending on the size of your factory engine ground cable, you may need to run a redundant cable from the house bank's - post to the engine.

There is a reason your sub amp is dropping out, and a CAP is not needed to fix it.

[bryce2320]

Ok thanks for the input guys. Chp, I remember u saying ditch the cap and build a battery bank. I guess ill starring off with 2 interstate 29s and see how they do and get a 20Ah charger. What gauge wire is sufficient to the block? Chp, are u a distributors of shore chargers?

[bryce2320]

P.S. the sub amp only cuts out when the sub is hitting really hard at a high volume. I assume its the cranking battery I have for bank now?

[chpthril]

IIRC, your 04 has 2/0 gauge for the main ground and main B+/starter cable. Did you upgrade the alternator cable when you stepped up to the 140A?

Although the stereo load will be drawing directly off the battery, via the GND cable connected to the amps, and not through the ground plane connected to the block, there will be added load the original ground cable. The 3 new amps and 2 large deep-cycle will be demanding more then what the original alternator was seeing. Since you've upgraded the alternator, there is potential for its output to exceed the intended design of the original cabling. This includes both the main alternator cable AND the main ground cable. It takes both to complete the circuit and both share the load.

[bryce2320]

I'm goin to upgrade the alternator ground wire just to b safe because I'm pretty sure its pretty small.,I just got the 2 batteries which will b 230 AH. I'm trying to figure out how long it'll last with a 1000/1 jl and a syn 4 playing 3/4 the way up. Is there a formula?

[Bruizza]

You should get several hours out of 2 group 29s. I can get 1.5 hours out of 2 group 24s with 3 syn 4s, 1 syn 2, and an RE audio 3000.1 amp. I'm running right around 4500w RMS so considerably more than you. That is considerably more watts than you are running and my batteries are smaller. Mine are also Interstate brand.

[bryce2320]

Thanks Bruizza. I'm running 1800 RMS for now so i would think i could get 3-4 hours pretty easily im hoping. I'm waiting for my box to dry and I'll hook both batteries up and hopefully the JL slash amp will quit shutting off at a loud volume. Bruizza, do you have pics of your amp rack or racks?

[Bruizza]

I can ask the shop to take some and and them to me. I dropped it off up there to get some work done on my cover. They amps are mounted in dry storage. The syn 2 is mounted to the sub box it pushes though as we ran out of room in dry storage.

[bryce2320]

No hurry but itd b great to see how you guys did that many amps. Ill have 4 by next summer and I need a whole new amp rack design. Thanks alot