Deep Cycle Battery Run Time

[Thermobrett]

I have the standard deep cycle battery in my SX195. How long can I run the radio at the beach before I need to be worried I won’t have the cranking amps to start the engine? I usually start the engine and run it about every 15 minutes to put a charge back on it. I carry a jump box with me in the event I have a dead battery or a fellow boater needs a jump.

 

[fatboyroy]

don’t you have house and start battery? I play my radio 6 hours when fishing but I occasionally move spot. Longest I played continously without moving is 3 hours And still have 12.6v . The reason you have separate house/start battery is when u lose track and drain house u can still start the boat

 

[Thermobrett]

don’t you have house and start battery? I play my radio 6 hours when fishing but I occasionally move spot. Longest I played continously without moving is 3 hours And still have 12.6v . The reason you have separate house/start battery is when u lose track and drain house u can still start the boat

My boat just has a single battery. Usual voltage when running is 13.5v and average when I go to start it is 12.6v.

 

[I_squared_r]

These motors require very little power to start. I can recall draining the battery to the 11v range and it still started, but with a slow crank. I've had 6+ hours of loud music playing, JL amp pushing a 10" subwoofer, and it didn't kill the batteries. It may vary for other people because everyone has different batteries of varying conditions. The important thing is that you put the battery on a proper charger between outings because the boat's alternator doesn't have a very strong output

edit: also, if you're running a single battery then annually test your battery. My #2 battery is at least 5+ years old and cranks much weaker than my #1 battery. I wouldn't trust that battery for anything more than running the stereo.

 

[fatboyroy]

Id Add a 2nd battery if I were you, but U have the jump box so you should be good if u don’t want to add

 

[Dave burke]

Do you have any amps as part of your sound system? If not, and your battery is good, I’m sure your good for a few hours. I wouldn’t start the engine every 15 mins. That’s harder on the battery than playing music for sure.

just make sure your booster pack is charged and you’ll have a good back up plan just in case.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I have the standard deep cycle battery in my SX195. How long can I run the radio at the beach before I need to be worried I won’t have the cranking amps to start the engine? I usually start the engine and run it about every 15 minutes to put a charge back on it. I carry a jump box with me in the event I have a dead battery or a fellow boater needs a jump.

If you add a Victron smart shunt you can easily keep track of Ah used as well as voltage. Super simple to install, download the app and configure it per the instructions.

Keep in mind that you can only use 50% of the Ah in a lead acid battery without accelerating wear. As @I_squared_r says, important that you properly charge the battery between outings. Install a NOCO, Pro Mariner, or MinnKota onboard charger and plug it in when you get home and leave it plugged in until you go out again. I don’t know about the other chargers, but the MinnKota has the ability to run a manual equalization on the battery which should be done regularly if yiu are discharging the battery deeply. I was running the manual equalization once a month on my lead acid batteries as I was using my batteries frequently and pretty hard.

 

[Dave burke]

If you add a Victron smart shunt you can easily keep track of Ah used as well as voltage. Super simple to install, download the app and configure it per the instructions.

Keep in mind that you can only use 50% of the Ah in a lead acid battery without accelerating wear. As @I_squared_r says, important that you properly charge the battery between outings. Install a NOCO, Pro Mariner, or MinnKota onboard charger and plug it in when you get home and leave it plugged in until you go out again. I don’t know about the other chargers, but the MinnKota has the ability to run a manual equalization on the battery which should be done regularly if yiu are discharging the battery deeply. I was running the manual equalization once a month on my lead acid batteries as I was using my batteries frequently and pretty hard.

interesting. Can the Victron monitor both batteries? Thx

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

interesting. Can the Victron monitor both batteries? Thx

Sort of … one smart shunt will monitor the Ah usage, KWh usage, voltage, charge cycles, graphically show amperage and voltage over time of one battery…. There is a port wherein a second batteries’ voltage can be monitored It is labeled “start” battery.

I‘m thinking of adding a second smart shunt to my house battery and I will be able to monitor the start battery voltage as well as the house batteries full stats. I currently have the one for the trolling motor battery which so far has worked awesomely. I began boating his season in April and am currently on boating day 24.. average time on board is 12 hours. I use my trolling motor almost exclusively during those hours and having the smart shunt has made it very easy to manage / monitor my troller battery bank.

After finding this device, I cannot imagine not having it as part of the battery management, it takes all of the guess work out of what is going on with your battery. They are typically $135, you’d have to make up perhaps one battery lead, a couple of screws, and about 10 mins to download the app and configure it if that long. The app will go back to 100% after a charge and then constantly update the state of charge and all other stats while in use. Of particular interest is that it will measure down to I think 1 milli Amp in terms of usage, so no more guess work on trying to figure out how much your amp is drawing etc..

Not my best work, but it should be there for as long as I want.



A few partial screen shots..

 

[Dave burke]

Sort of … one smart shunt will monitor the Ah usage, KWh usage, voltage, charge cycles, graphically show amperage and voltage over time of one battery…. There is a port wherein a second batteries’ voltage can be monitored It is labeled “start” battery.

I‘m thinking of adding a second smart shunt to my house battery and I will be able to monitor the start battery voltage as well as the house batteries full stats. I currently have the one for the trolling motor battery which so far has worked awesomely. I began boating his season in April and am currently on boating day 24.. average time on board is 12 hours. I use my trolling motor almost exclusively during those hours and having the smart shunt has made it very easy to manage / monitor my troller battery bank.

After finding this device, I cannot imagine not having it as part of the battery management, it takes all of the guess work out of what is going on with your battery. They are typically $135, you’d have to make up perhaps one battery lead, a couple of screws, and about 10 mins to download the app and configure it if that long. The app will go back to 100% after a charge and then constantly update the state of charge and all other stats while in use. Of particular interest is that it will measure down to I think 1 milli Amp in terms of usage, so no more guess work on trying to figure out how much your amp is drawing etc..

Not my best work, but it should be there for as long as I want.

View attachment 183999

A few partial screen shots..

View attachment 183998

View attachment 184000

View attachment 184001

Very helpful. Thx