Best Stereo Battery Question?

[ralphsmithiii]

I keep seeing this thread pop up. I have two g31 interstate AGMs (one for start and one for house). The Duracell g31 AGM at Sams is one heck of a deal and when on sale unbeatable IMO. Are the insanely expensive g31 agms going to outperform the Duracell? More than likely, but not by more than 10%. I would just buy two of the Duracells for price of one really high end AGM given that choice. Keep in mind true deep cycles are great too but they require refilling of electorate and are not sealed which in my opinion is not a good choice for most here. As for what is really needed will depend on how long you float or if you have very high draw items like ballast pumps. Last season I had 800 watts worth of amps running two sub and some cabins but no towers. I also have a 1500 watt inverter, and 3 ballast pumps on board. The inverter powers a 20% duty cycle 200 watt refrigeration compressor (approximate numbers on this), a ninja blender as needed, and even powered my boat lift when the power was out at my marina. I was able to float for 3-4 hours playing tunes at a moderate level with the set up after having filled and emptied ballast bags on just the house g31 agm. After three seasons one of my batteries would not charge above 10.8 volts. This is after losing power at my marina multiple times last year and the inverter auto switching from shore power to battery power which feeds the refrigeration compressor. The inverter has an auto voltage cut off a little above 11 volts. This happened a couple of times where the power was off for days. Then a freak storm hit the marina right around when I got my lift installed and I was forced to use the inverter to power the lift which draws about 800-1200 watts for minutes as a time. I was not able to charge the batteries back up except by running the boat for months as it took the marina a while to get everything fixed. The marina has now redone all of the electrical and those problems should be a thing of the past. All of this abuse is likely what killed that battery and hurt the other one to the point where interstate did replace both for me under warranty.

I think a single g31 AGM will run up to 2000 watts of variable load (normal level audio, blender on short bursts, low watt/low duty cycle item on an inverter) for many hours just fine. Once that load becomes a more constant load (ballast pumps, audio cranked for many hours) that is when you may need two. With a second group 31AGM as the start you can always combine the batteries to get more juice for running ballast pumps splitting the load between the two or get more pay time out of your audio system at the sand bar. Having a third g31 AGM will certainly help some of the bigger systems play for many hours at the sandbar. There is no way that stators are going to recharge two large depleted batteries without hours of run time with the stereo basically off. A shore charger, suit case inverter generator, or larger solar panels will be needed. 2-12 hours for the powerful shore chargers should be enough for them to top off the batteries fully depending on DOD.

@Mainah

Question as I relates to this, unless it warrants its own thread.

I'm leaning towards building my own custom solar charging solution. I've got the parts I want to use including a 100w panel and the controller you posted somewhere on these forums: Amazon.com : EPEVER Dual Battery Solar Charge Controller 20A 12V 24V Duo-Battery Solar Controller for RVs Caravans and Boats : Garden & Outdoor

If I tie that controller into the two batteries, is that essentially the same as having a dual-bank charger and thus I should still do the DVSR engine mod? I'm assumign yes to the mod since the controller has overprotection and such but wanted to be 100% before I got cutting wires. I think I'll have a pretty simple yet super effective solar panel solution for those of us who are off-grid with no way to plug in our boats and recharge the batteries. Still probably going to swap out the Deka's for the group 31 AGM's at SAM's club for piece of mind but will run what I have for a few outtings since they are 1 year old and see how they do.

 

[Mainah]

@Mainah

Question as I relates to this, unless it warrants its own thread.

I'm leaning towards building my own custom solar charging solution. I've got the parts I want to use including a 100w panel and the controller you posted somewhere on these forums: Amazon.com : EPEVER Dual Battery Solar Charge Controller 20A 12V 24V Duo-Battery Solar Controller for RVs Caravans and Boats : Garden & Outdoor

If I tie that controller into the two batteries, is that essentially the same as having a dual-bank charger and thus I should still do the DVSR engine mod? I'm assumign yes to the mod since the controller has overprotection and such but wanted to be 100% before I got cutting wires. I think I'll have a pretty simple yet super effective solar panel solution for those of us who are off-grid with no way to plug in our boats and recharge the batteries. Still probably going to swap out the Deka's for the group 31 AGM's at SAM's club for piece of mind but will run what I have for a few outtings since they are 1 year old and see how they do.

That is the controller I would use. I would make sure to set for 50/50 charging because if not getting enough juice will only charge one. Also find the recommend float voltage for your batteries and set the controller to the battery type that is at or under that float voltage. Very important for agms as they have a high absorption rate and over voltage will harm them.

 

[ralphsmithiii]

That is the controller I would use. I would make sure to set for 50/50 charging because if not getting enough juice will only charge one. Also find the recommend float voltage for your batteries and set the controller to the battery type that is at or under that float voltage. Very important for agms as they have a high absorption rate and over voltage will harm them.

And to clarify, set for 50/50 charging = DVSR mod?

 

[ralphsmithiii]

And to clarify, set for 50/50 charging = DVSR mod?

Nope, I found the manual. You mean set this to 50/50, I believe.

Still, should I do the DVSR mod with this setup?

 

[Mainah]

Nope, I found the manual. You mean set this to 50/50, I believe.
View attachment 92131
Still, should I do the DVSR mod with this setup?

Absolutely. Otherwise the batteries will be combined by the dvsr defeating the independent banks.

 

[Stantm]

I just carry a lithium back up pack just in case I run out of juice when at my favorite place with my Pandora. I just dont like to loose a lot of real estate carrying another big bulky battery.

 

[Rod5]

So what did you go with and why?

One of my group 31 agm interstates dropped a cell while float charging this winter 2 months shy of the 3 year warranty and interstate did a straight up no cost replacement through the auto shop less than 2 miles down the road. Still not as good the x power or odyssey spec wise but being able to drive 1.6 miles to the closest auto shop that sells interstate for a free in warranty replacement was pretty cool.

By the way I ended up going with the biggest group 31 Optima marine blue top. The reserve minutes and amp hour ratings were not that far off either the X2 or Oddesy. But the expected life longevity is what I went for. Haven’t stress tested it yet all day on a sandbar or beach yet.

 

[osuart]

I keep seeing this thread pop up. I have two g31 interstate AGMs (one for start and one for house). The Duracell g31 AGM at Sams is one heck of a deal and when on sale unbeatable IMO. Are the insanely expensive g31 agms going to outperform the Duracell? More than likely, but not by more than 10%. I would just buy two of the Duracells for price of one really high end AGM given that choice. Keep in mind true deep cycles are great too but they require refilling of electorate and are not sealed which in my opinion is not a good choice for most here. As for what is really needed will depend on how long you float or if you have very high draw items like ballast pumps. Last season I had 800 watts worth of amps running two sub and some cabins but no towers. I also have a 1500 watt inverter, and 3 ballast pumps on board. The inverter powers a 20% duty cycle 200 watt refrigeration compressor (approximate numbers on this), a ninja blender as needed, and even powered my boat lift when the power was out at my marina. I was able to float for 3-4 hours playing tunes at a moderate level with the set up after having filled and emptied ballast bags on just the house g31 agm. After three seasons one of my batteries would not charge above 10.8 volts. This is after losing power at my marina multiple times last year and the inverter auto switching from shore power to battery power which feeds the refrigeration compressor. The inverter has an auto voltage cut off a little above 11 volts. This happened a couple of times where the power was off for days. Then a freak storm hit the marina right around when I got my lift installed and I was forced to use the inverter to power the lift which draws about 800-1200 watts for minutes as a time. I was not able to charge the batteries back up except by running the boat for months as it took the marina a while to get everything fixed. The marina has now redone all of the electrical and those problems should be a thing of the past. All of this abuse is likely what killed that battery and hurt the other one to the point where interstate did replace both for me under warranty.

I think a single g31 AGM will run up to 2000 watts of variable load (normal level audio, blender on short bursts, low watt/low duty cycle item on an inverter) for many hours just fine. Once that load becomes a more constant load (ballast pumps, audio cranked for many hours) that is when you may need two. With a second group 31AGM as the start you can always combine the batteries to get more juice for running ballast pumps splitting the load between the two or get more pay time out of your audio system at the sand bar. Having a third g31 AGM will certainly help some of the bigger systems play for many hours at the sandbar. There is no way that stators are going to recharge two large depleted batteries without hours of run time with the stereo basically off. A shore charger, suit case inverter generator, or larger solar panels will be needed. 2-12 hours for the powerful shore chargers should be enough for them to top off the batteries fully depending on DOD.

Need to replace my battery. So with the standard radio a single 31 AGM above would do the trick and be better than stock. To many upgrades underway and the boat is only 24 hours old just trying to find to best replacement/upgrade for my ‘15 AR192

 

[redthumper9]

I love using the "Duracell" branded batteries for Sam's Club. They are rebranded Deka batteries which have been regarded by many as some of the best deep cycle marine batteries. The group 29's can usually be bought for around $100. I run a BIG stereo and have never had to look elsewhere.

 

[osuart]

What all do you run on yours? I’m just planning on the factory radio and charging an iPhone etc.
Do you know the specific battery model you have or is it just ag 29?

 

[JBehrens]

+1 for the Sam's Club Duracell group 31, powers the stereo for a week at a time no problem. Single JL M600/6, rest of the setup is in the signature. Any decent AGM should have no problem running factory stereo and a phone.

Duracell AGM Deep Cycle Marine and RV Battery , Group Size 31 - Sam's Club

Buy Duracell AGM Deep Cycle Marine and RV Battery , Group Size 31 : Marine Batteries at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com