Adding a third battery help.

[Wakeman22]

I am upgrading my sound system and while on the lake this weekend I noticed while floating and playing the stereo load that the battery lost power in a short time. Now I know that adding a second battery will help but I am at somewhat of a loss on how to hook it up and also how to add in an onboard charger.

I have the typical setup. One starting battery on a switch and one for the stereo and accesories. I have plenty of room on the starboard side to add another. How do I wire this into the system and what gage wire should I be using for the positive and negative connections? Will my current alternater be able to handle the extra load? I think that I will be limited to group 24 batteries as the current one looks to be the largest that can fit in these locations.

[Wakeman22]

Bump

[chpthril]

First thing I would do is double check that the "House" battery is indeed a deep-cycle. If its ever been replaced, its not uncommon for it to get replaced with a cranking. Having a deep-cycle will help in the amp hour dept.

2nd, if it is a deep-cycle, how old is it? The battery's age and number of cycles have a lot to do with how close to a full charge it will reach, thus how long it will last while under load. Less then 4 hours and you should see a Dr.

If the battery is more then a season old, then I would just replace it at the same time you add one. Once connected together, batteries equalize. So if you connected a new battery that is capable of holding a full charge to an old one that only capable of 50% of full charge, you then bring the new one down.

The easy part is wiring in the new house battery. Connect them + to + and - to - with 1/0 since they are across the transom from each other.

[dingleberry]

Regarding adding an onboard charger - it will help to maintain your batteries (make them last longer), keep them topped off so you have the maximum amount of amp-hours available for each use, and it will ease the load on your alternator since it won't always have to try to recharge the whole battery system.

Get a decent 2- or 3-bank smart charger that will initially charge the batteries when plugged in, then it will transition to a maintenance level once fully charged. If you get a 2-bank charger, connect one output to the cranking battery and the other output to either of the house batts (because it will see and charge your two house batteries as a single larger battery). If you get a 3-bank charger, one output goes to each battery.

[b/w05]

Has anyone had EXPERIENCE with adding a third battery to thier house battery (deep cycle) with the third battery being a Kinetik battery? I have heard pros and cons on this setup. The dealer I bought my Kinetik from also does a lot a stereo installations says it is perfectly fine. Had this set up in my last Tige and seemed to work great.

Just wondering if anyone had similar experience?

I am also thinking about adding an onboard charger and would like to save a few bucks by only getting a 2 bank charger and set it up as recommended above.

[shawndoggy]

If you are wiring two in parallel on the house bank, as chpthril explained, you want the batteries to be exactly the same. Same age, same battery type. Buying an expensive kinetik battery and then wiring it in parallel with your old worn down house deep cycle is a recipe for "meh."

[b/w05]

My house battery is a brand new (from the Tige factory) deep cycle Interstate.

[shawndoggy]

My house battery is a brand new (from the Tige factory) deep cycle Interstate.

The adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is also true with multi-battery battery banks. As chpthril explains, the stronger battery will discharge to the same level as the weaker battery. So you'll always get 2x the weakest in a two battery bank, for instance.

Best bet would be to buy a second of the exact same battery you have, because then the two are matched (neither stronger, neither weaker).

[Wakeman22]

Thanks chp. I believe you are probably correct. I believe the interstate is the cranking battery and I believe the house was replaced with a walmart and probably a cranking battery. I will have to investigate it further. It only lasts about 45 minutes or so. I guess I need to see a specialist.