www.iFourWinns.com

I'm sure it'll vary but what's everyone's safe feel for running the radio on battery while anchored? I'm a bit a paranoid and haven't gone more than 30 mins before I fire up the engine quick to recharge.

I need to bite the bullet and do the dual battery setup.

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2005 Horizon 210, 5.7L Volvo

Really...it depends on if you have any amps or not. If you have a stereo with one or more amps, your listening time may be reduced. If you are running on just the stereo power, I would say several hours, assuming you have a charged, healthy battery. Before I added my amps, I had listened for probably 5 hours with no trouble. With my amps, I still have not ran a battery down yet, listening to mid/high volumes.

Keep in mind the following:

1. My boat has an onboard charger that is plugged in at all times when at home (during the week).
2. I DO have 2 batteries and a Perko switch.
3. My amps are VERY efficient.

Bite the bullet and add the battery...the peace of mind is priceless.

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

Agree with above!

You can look on battery, see what it rated for amp/hours, then look at stereo, what is its max consumption? Do the math, error on conservative side to leave enough amps to start boat.

If you have only a head deck powering 4 speakers, with a good battery you can listen all day!

Always carry jumper cables! In case you need to flag someone down!

Really get a second battery

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

I need to bite the bullet.

I do have an amp unless the Sat radio is what I'm seeing behind there.

THe kids are enjoying music too much while we're out there so I need to do dual batteries.

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2005 Horizon 210, 5.7L Volvo

Dual battery setup ought to be around 100 bucks or so.... run one battery into the ground, and then you can switch batteries to fire up the motors!

A stereo without an amp will run a LONG time on a battery. several hours. It's when you start adding in the amps, cell phone chargers, lighting, and other stuff.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

To me, multiple batteries are a MUST if you're going to try driving accessories for any duration without the engines running.

Using an add-a-battery setup like one from Perko is a good way to do it. Some systems require manual action to properly re-charge the batteries, while others have ways to do it automatically.

It's also important to have one battery whose primary purpose is starting the engine. That way you'll always have a way to get it started. Some systems go so far as a to have a parallel starting switch than can combine power from multiple batteries. You don't want to end up in a situation where something like bad weather creeps up on you and you can't get restarted in enough time. Jumper cables won't be of much help in that sort of situation. Not to mention the considerable risks of sparks from the cables in the engine compartment.

Be aware that you GREATLY reduce the lifespan of a battery by running it down. There are cut-off circuits designed to kill power should the drain go below a certain voltage (like around 10-11 volts).

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Heres what my friend uses because he only has 1 battery.
http://www.prioritystart.com/

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97 205 Sundowner

Do bite the bullet!

Having said that, I've sat on the hook for hours with the stereo & amp running non-stop and never had a problem with starting or even noticing a difference in cranking.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

As others have said, the dual batt setup is the way to go for sure. That being said, I too have sat for hours with the music cranked and not had any trouble starting the boat. (fyi - I have a 5 channel amp running 6 speakers and a sub.)

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2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB