Capacitor in boat?

[Bryan]

So I've got this sub/amp setup built that I can move in and out of my Yukon with ease... I'm thinking I'm gonna put it under the helm of the tige for this summer, until I can get something built in his winter... My question: is it okay to run a capacitor in a boat or should I unhook it? I didn't know how it would react to the switching on and off of the batteries or if it would interfere with any electrical systems... I feel like it drained the battery in the Denali one time and I couldn't figure out why, didn't happen again.. Don't need that happening in the boat.


Sorry for sideways pics... Don't know why they loaded that way

[chpthril]

I would bypass it in a boat application. Yes, with the battery switch off, the cap will dissipate over the storage period, thus require charging back up once the batteries are brought back on line. If you think a CAP is needed in a boat, the answer is more battery Ah.

[Bryan]

That's pretty much what I thought, it's useful in the car but I already have two dedicated batts for stereo... Thanks for the quick response. Will defiantly nix the cap...

[chpthril]

The job of a CAP is to stiffen the amps input voltage for short periods of sag, like when when a heavy bass note hits. It can certainly help for SPL burps and such, as well as with dimming lights in a car. In a boat, we dont have to worry about dimming headlights and its not uncommon to have hours of engine off play time. In the party cove scenario, a CAP does nothing for us, because its only as good as the static voltage level of the batteries. It wont extend play time by one second, but feeds off what battery Ah there is.

[Bryan]

Great info... It's awesome to be able to get input from an audio genius every now and them...

[Bryan]

Ok.. different question, same sort of topic.. This boat has three batteries wired through a switch, one designated cranking and two for the stereo and other accessories. These two batteries are wired together + to + and - to - so my question is: the previous owner has hard wired in two small battery tenders, one to the crank batt and one hooked to the 2 batt setup. Will one tender charge both of those wired like that or should I get another tender to hook to the other battery? The tenders are just the small black box style, Schumacher brand..