What battery for extened stereo play?
 

I have looked all over and keep finding different answers.
I'm looking to replace the battery that I use for stereo only and can't decide on a deep cycle or a large starting battery. I have 3 subs and 6 mids that are powered by 2k watts worth of amps. I'm looking to get 4-6 hours of radio play out of this setup.

I have plenty of room and have also considered running 2 large starting batteries in parallel to extend the play time. Anyone have a similar setup that can give me some advice I would appreciate it.



Current setup
Battery selector switch
Battery 1-Stereo- Red top optima
Battery 2-Strating battery

I have the same amount of speakers running on 1400 watts. I run it off of 2 group 31 starting batteries, have played it all day without any problems. I still have 1 battery for each engine isolated via charging relay. Been told that running deep cycle batteries will burn out standard alternators pretty fast.

Add a Kinetic Battery. Depending on how hard your drive the amps will depend on how much battery life before recharge. But the Kenetic will slow the process substantially. I run a Kenetic ( the Kenetic as the main stereo system battery ) and 3 other deep cycle batteries and I run well over 5000 watts thru 4 sets of Kicker components and 4- 10" subs. All alpine & Kicker stuff. 3 amps running it all. No problems...... All zero & 4 guage cabling for power and 14/2 & 12/2 for speaker wiring.

I am using a Interstate "deep cycle" battery, just your typical ugly battery. Mine lasts a 3-4 day weekend. It is a stand alone for stereo only, not connected to the charging system. Typically deep cycle batteries require 1hr of charging for every 1hr of play time, with a charger designed for deep cycle batts. Mine is on it's third season....going strong.

+1 on the Odyssey batteries. No other battery comes close IMHO. Interstate falls on the other end of that spectrum in my experience.

Really? I've had GREAT luck with Interstate batteries. That's the only battery that we could get three seasons out of that we've tried so far. I've never used Odssey, what is their cost in relation to an Interstate?

It's tough to get batteries to last through a MI cold winter, after not using it for 6 months. I guess I could pull them in the winter time, but it is a huge PITA, especially with the electronic hatch actuator.

Kinetic. Just installed mine this weekend.

My stereo: (2) JL Audio subs, (4) MB Quartz 6.5 inch marine speakers and (4) JBL 6x9 speakers. (1) 500 watt amp and (1) 750 watt amp...(1) 4 farad capacitor.

Batteries: (2) Die Hard Platinum deep cycle batteries and (1) Blue Top Optima which is my primary stereo battery. Ive wired one of the platinums in parallell with the blue top. I set my batteries to ALL.

Ive been using this setup for the last 2 years and can run the stereo LOUD for hours and hours. Ive never had any issues with dead batteries and have outstanding sound.

Kinetic or stinger

Golf cart batteries.... I'm a Stinger battery dealer, and I say golf cart batteries.

I had two brand new Interstates and they would get sucked dry over one night of stereo, lights, and two fans running while I slept. Couldnt start the motor the next morning and needed a jump. Since I bought the Odyssey's I have been able to do all of this plus easily start my motor the next morning on ONE battery...didnt even need to switch on the second. Yes they are more expensive, but the performance is much better and I have been told by several that they last alot longer as well.

What model battery?


Should I buy deep cycle or standard?

deka intimidator.....i run 2 of them in my jeep with 4k+ watts of power daily on stock alternator and they have held up incredible....blow away my optimas i had before....

I use the 34M-PC1500 . They perform both starting power and deep cycling capability. My local battery vendor turned me on to them. I buy a crapload of gell cell batteries (different type and manufacturer) for all of the fire alarm and security systems we install/service. Besides having rave reviews from customers he said they had a pair of oddball size versions that sat on the shelf for three years. One day a customer came in that had to have them "right then" as he was in a big hurry. They put them in his diesel truck and they worked perfectly even though they had never been charged since they left the manufacturer.

This suprises me as well. granted I can't speak for the new Interstates and I am not turning over nearly the motor most of you guys are (I only have to turn over a 400+HP 10.5 compression 355), but the Interstate in my boat was in it when I bought the boat 7-8 years ago (and it was not new then) and it has not failed me yet. The last few years I have kept it on a battery tender while not in use but previously it just sat during the winter months and then I would stick it on the charger the day or day before I was planning to use it the first time.

If all you are doing is relying on your battery to start your boat Interstates are fine. The topic of this discussion is "What battery for extended stereo play" which Interstates fail miserably IMHO. My Baja and MasterCraft were both delivered with two new Interstates each and in both boats they gave around a third of the play time (if that) of the Odyssey batteries. I can now run my stereo, lights, and 12v fans with confidence that I won’t be stranded the next morning :)

If you are using it strictly for playing the stereo with the engine off, Reserve Capacity is the determining factor for how long it will last:

Reserve Capacity (RC) is a very important rating. This is the number of minutes a fully charged battery at 80 ° F will discharge 25 amps until the battery drops below 10.5 volts.

There have been a lot of good suggestions on brands in this thread. You might also look at RV batteries if you are talking about really extended play time.

Edit: The other thing to consider is how much amperage your amplifiers are drawing. If they are class A/B amplifiers, they draw quite a lot of current. If you look at Class D amplifiers, they draw considerably less amperage for the same power. If you are upgrading your amps, I'd look into Class D's like the Alpine PDX series.

I run 2 Group 31 Deka (same manuf. as Interstate) wired parallel on position "2" of my battery switch. We run the Boat on a group 27 Interstate (position "1" on the switch). THen when anchored and time for tunes, we switch to position "2" (the 2 group 31 batteries). We can run 16+ hrs at a very loud level (and still able to start boat). Then when it is time to leave, switch to position 1 and go. When at the docks, all 3 batteries are hooked to a onboard charger. My on board charge will charge them back to full capacity overnight so we are ready to jam the tunes the next day.

My setup is 1 Kenwood 1800watt Class D Mono Amp powering 1 Kicker L7 12" sub, 1 Kicker 100x2 amp powering 4 Kicker 6.5 speakers in the cockpit (speakers are wired parallel @ 2 ohm load) and 1 Kicker 250x2 powering 2 DC Gold 6x9 speakers mounted in the transom.

I think the problem here is not with the manufacture of the battery but the "type" of battery being used. Most likely the Interstate batteries you had in your MasterCraft and Baja were dual purpose batteries (starting/deep cycle). Not a true "house" battery. The Odyssey battery you installed is most likely a tru deep cycle "house" batteyr, which has much less cracking amperage and a much larger "reserve" capacity. To my knowledge, Interstate doesn't make a true deep cycle "house" battery. They are dual purpose batteries. Deka makes the true deep cycle "house" batteries. Interstate and Deka are of same manufacture.

Also as probably mentioned, Optima makes a decent cranking battery and an OK Deep Cycle battery. But if you are running anything over a couple hundered watts, go with something else. I have had very good luck with the Deka Deep Cycle Batteries, I have a friend with 2 Kenitics in his F-150..... Keep in mind, your Alternator will NOT be able to keep up with the charging needs of a large capacity deep cycle battery (unless you have upgraded your alternator). A stock alternator will keep them charged fine, but will not be able to bring them back up after hours of stereo play. So you will need some sort of on board charge while at the docks (or on the trailer).

Another thing that helps is an isolator. It will allow all batteries to be charged when the boat is running but will separate the starting battery when the boat is off so it is not drained.

Something like this:
http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=14844

A perko switch is fine but how many times do you forget to move it when you stop? With an isolator you don't have to remember.

Really you just have to determine how much amperage your devices are drawing which will tell you how many and how big of batteries you need to sustain that for the length of time you want.

You never want to try and charge a true deep cycle battery with your alternator after it has been used for many hours. It is too much load for stock alternator. That is why I do NOT use an isolator and use a switch.

It is certainly a load but I've not ever had a problem in years of running this type of setup. I am only running one group 31 battery as my accessory battery. I suppose it depends on if you're running multiple secondary batteries and how large of a stock alternator you have.

Your point is well taken, though. It is something to consider.

Odyssey doesn’t make a distinction between cranking, deep cycle, or "house". If you go to their website and check the specs you will see they do both very well ;) The difference between them and Interstate is the technology used. Their absorbed glass mat construction and quality materials used is the difference thus the price. Looking at the Deka website it looks like they have very similar technology (absorbed glass mat) and I would imagine a very comparable battery performance wise. I am unable to see the connection to Interstate though. Both websites claim different manufacturing in separate states from what I see. Not that it really matters. Bottom line is that I make no claims that Odyssey is the only choice as there are other good manufacturers out there. It’s just that I have experience with the Odyssey brand and they smoke the Interstates performance wise. From what is mentioned on this thread it looks like one cannot go wrong with either the Odyssey or Deka and I think it is great that both are made in the good ole USA :coolcowboy:

I think you are correct. It appears they are not of same manufacture. They are distributed by the same company........ My bad!!!

Yes, my Deka is AGM and my Interstate starting battery is lead/acid. WHile my Interstate can run my stereo of a couple of hours, my Dekas blow it away as far as stereo goes. But the Interstate, cranks the boat better as it has more CCA. I have never used Odyssey Batteries, but I would assume technology is similar so I would expect them to perform similar to the Deka.

THe Optima is AGM as well, but it is too small to hold up to extended use (not enough reserve).

I am more confused now that when I started reading the first post !!!

It is rather simple. For extended use (stereo), go with a dedicated AGM True Deep Cycle Battery such as Deka, Odyssey, or Kinetic. Not a dual purpose battery. The larger the reserve time the longer your battery will last, but the longer it will take to charge. In most cases as your reserve capacity increase so does the size and weight. Go with a dual purpose/starting battery to run and crank the boat.

Now I get it !! Thanks very much !

I've been using the group 24 Duralast Dual Purpose Marine Batteries which are manufactured by Johnson Controls and sold by AutoZone for only $79.99 ea. I run the stereo, LED's & TV/DVD player quite a bit and have never had a problem starting. The reserve capacity on these batteries is listed at 140.

The Odyssey 34/PC1500 has a reserve capacity of 135 and a price tag of $278.18.

The Odyssey is probably a better battery, but the "reserve capacity" seems to be the all important number here for extended battery life from use of accessories, so the Duralast seems to be a pretty good value... You could buy three of them for the price of one Odyssey and still have enough money left over to fill the fridge on the boat with beer!

cabellas agm 7 years 4 big amps on sale

Take those specs with a grain of salt. Remember those Pyramid amplifiers that supposidly had 1000 watts of power for less than a hundred bucks? lol The Odyssey's spec wasnt much different than the Interstates if I remember correctly ;)

deep cycle for long slow drain!