car vs boat stereo

[fieromx3]

trying to research but not finding anything solid...

is there any current draw differences between a car deck and a marine deck?? wondering what the difference is between a car and boat purpose deck...

as far as i read in some places, some boat audio decks have a coated circuit board and more resistant to saltwater etc.

do they make boat decks as well because the amp draw is lower??? my brother has a nice car deck that i can have for free, has 2 actually but i cant find what amps they draw. they are both jvc and 1 has a 10amp fuse and the other has a 15amp fuse on the back if that makes any difference? i dont want something that draws alot as my alternator on my engine is only 6 amps

 

[joed]

Re: car vs boat stereo

The draw of a radio is partially dependent on how loud you run it. Also be aware some radios draw power even when off to maintain preset stations. You don't want that as it will draw down your battery when you are not using the boat.

 

[azboater2]

Re: car vs boat stereo

Three things are different.

1. the circuit board is coated to prevent corrosion as moisture always gets into it.
2. Usually the oversampling is higher in a marine unit, providing better skip performance on rough water. Ever noticed how some car units skip when you hit a little bump? Put that unit in your boat and it will suck.
3. Marine units are white

 

[fieromx3]

Re: car vs boat stereo

never thought of the skipping with a car deck :/ that was a pretty good point lol

 

[jkust]

Re: car vs boat stereo

If you are looking for free stuff, what's the difference? Other than a constant current draw that may or may not exist. My marine deck retains the pre set's so how is that being accomplished? I store the boat in the winter, bring the deck face inside, and disconnect the battery but the pre sets are there in the spring. If it is in a covered location, and the current draw situation is ok, it will likely last at least a few years even in a marine environment allowing you to save up for a marine unit. Also then I never even use the cd player in my marine deck. I plug in one of the many mp3 devices I bring onboard since everything from the gps to the two cell phones to the ipod play music through the system.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: car vs boat stereo

Eventualy the marine audio makers will smarten up and add SD ports to thier players.

 

[120_i/o]

Re: car vs boat stereo

I never messed with a marine head unit, but I used to be into car audio. The marine version sounds like it has a built in battery to hold memory of some sort? The car units do not. They have two power leads, usually one is marked red, and the other yellow. One of the wires goes to directly to the battery (wich holds memory), and the other goes to ACC.

As fuses go, neither radio with the 10, or 15 amp fuse will draw a solid 10, or 15 amps. The fuses are for circuit protection of the unit, and vehicle wiring. Most head units dont have much power even if they say high power on them. As far as ur 6 amp charge goes, thats enough. The head unit will be running off of the reserve on the battery. The charge circuit in the motor does just that, charge the battery, not run the radio. WATTS/VOLTS=AMPS MY .002 pesos

 

[fieromx3]

Re: car vs boat stereo

thanks for the replies. im not out looking for free stuff as i kinda like spending money lol but my brother has a really nice deck and if i was able to get it for free then heck why not right? spend the money on something else to benefit the boat alot more.
yes i know the audio runs off the reserve but with the audio going, gauges, fish finder, occasional bilge pump and stuff i didnt want the battery to be drained completly dead if i was on the water ALL day which is why i was asking about current draw.. a deck running at 7-8 amps should be good but if one was draining at say 15-18 amps that would start to worry me

 

[Slide]

Re: car vs boat stereo

thanks for the replies. im not out looking for free stuff as i kinda like spending money lol but my brother has a really nice deck and if i was able to get it for free then heck why not right? spend the money on something else to benefit the boat alot more.
yes i know the audio runs off the reserve but with the audio going, gauges, fish finder, occasional bilge pump and stuff i didnt want the battery to be drained completly dead if i was on the water ALL day which is why i was asking about current draw.. a deck running at 7-8 amps should be good but if one was draining at say 15-18 amps that would start to worry me

To find the average draw of the HU, find the continous/RMS wattage of the receiver, multiply it by the number of channels, and divide it by average battery voltage (12.6V). Look in the manual for any other continuous draw by the receiver - this will just be lights, controls, etc., so it's probably <<1A. For example, running 2 channels at 10w RMS will give you less than 2A average draw.

 

[120_i/o]

Re: car vs boat stereo

I cant agree more with safety being first, so I can see ur concern!! Ok, Maybe you might want try one of these solutions then?

1 You could take the hot lead off the batt., and put a multi meter inline with batt, and the main lead to check current draw. Most multi meters have an ammeter built in, and should be good to 10 amps. (check owners manual) If u dont have one, harbor frieght has them for a couple bucks.
2 You could install a permanent ammeter, then you can monitor current draw/charge all the time.
3 Turn your radio down whenever possible!
4 All of the above.

 

[jkust]

Re: car vs boat stereo

thanks for the replies. im not out looking for free stuff as i kinda like spending money lol but my brother has a really nice deck and if i was able to get it for free then heck why not right? spend the money on something else to benefit the boat alot more.
yes i know the audio runs off the reserve but with the audio going, gauges, fish finder, occasional bilge pump and stuff i didnt want the battery to be drained completly dead if i was on the water ALL day which is why i was asking about current draw.. a deck running at 7-8 amps should be good but if one was draining at say 15-18 amps that would start to worry me

Does your fishfinder have a battery guage and alarm that tells you when you are running low? I'm with you on spending money also.

Also marine head units do have USB ports or did the poster above really mean SD port?

 

[fieromx3]

Re: car vs boat stereo

I am not sure, its a Lowrance M68C with GPS. I have never used it before so I don't know if it has one lol i was planning on getting a analog voltmeter anyway from Teleflex to keep an eye on the voltage at all times to be safe but i would still like to be able to be on the water for like 9-10 hours and not have to worry alot about the battery being drained dead from a high draw electronic like the HU. After all there will be the fish finder, HU, required lights, gauges going.

and thank you SLIDE i will try and calculate it, i got the HU from my brother so i will look it all up and see what i come up with!

 

[fieromx3]

Re: car vs boat stereo

so BTW i did the calculation and added 1 amp to the total for amp draw and i got 7.3 amps. so i can safely say that the fishfinder, HU, lights and gauges will consume up to 20 amps max?

the battery i had planned on is the optima SC34DM and the specifications says amp hours at 25 amps is 120. so does this mean with a 25 amp draw the battery will last 120 hours before falling below 10.5 volts from a fully charged state?

 

[120_i/o]

Re: car vs boat stereo

Sounds like guessing to me? NO way to tell UNLESS you do an amperage test, as I posted earlier. Lcd fish finder wont use much, gauges wont use much, HU some. Lights, bilge, starter, and so on will. A voltage gauge will only tell the batt's. voltage state, so it's not exactly going to show discharge.

Lets say for grins n giggles you have an ammeter in line. It will run all the time, even with engine NOT running, so even without a charge going in, it will show how much discharge is comming out.
Ok, so lets say you have a draw of 10 amps, and only a 6 amp charge going in. The difference will be negative 4 amps DIScharge. The gauge will reflect that, and allow you to prepare your electrical usage accordingly, where as a voltage gauge will NOT show that 4 amp discharge, but WILL in fact still show 12 volts, unless the batt. is already dead.
If your draw is only 2 amps, and your charge is 6 amps, the difference will be 4 amps positive charge, and the gauge will reflect that. I would say that maybe even install both, then all ur bases are covered.

 

[fieromx3]

Re: car vs boat stereo

i know voltmeter wont show an amp draw... but wont a voltmeter show when the battery is becoming dead? say when it reaches 11 volts you know the battery doesnt have much juice in it left? i was going to install a voltmeter so i know when the battery is almost dead i can pack it in early and head back to the dock.

sorry if i sound so dumb ive never been good at electrical but i am knowledgeable when it comes to mechanical

i did the math of what slide told me and 7.3 amps is what i came up with. the 20 amps is a guess but i wanted to make a guess where the amps are probably going to be alot higher than it really is to be on a safe side of things.

back to my other question to of amps hours.. i have read and i believe this is what it means that a current draw from this optima sc34dm of 25 amps the battery will last 120 hours before dead at 80F right?

 

[120_i/o]

Re: car vs boat stereo

Sorry I cant answer your question about the batt. maybe somone else can? Yes the gauge will show you when its dead as I just explained, but an ammeter should help you try to prevent that.

 

[fieromx3]

Re: car vs boat stereo

thanks for your help 120_i/o

 

[120_i/o]

Re: car vs boat stereo

Anytime

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: car vs boat stereo

Also marine head units do have USB ports or did the poster above really mean SD port?

I ment a SD card slot , usb drives stick out and will get hit and broken eventualy, DS cards slide in and are not exposed.

the battery i had planned on is the optima SC34DM and the specifications says amp hours at 25 amps is 120. so does this mean with a 25 amp draw the battery will last 120 hours before falling below 10.5 volts from a fully charged state

that would be 120 minutes not hours, and below 50 %

but wont a voltmeter show when the battery is becoming dead? say when it reaches 11 volts you know the battery doesnt have much juice in it left? i was going to install a voltmeter so i know when the battery is almost dead i can pack it in early and head back to the dock.

You can use a volt meter or a percent of charge meter bouth will work fine. I use the percent meter, its easer to read.

This chart shows voltages and 50 % on a deep cycle battery is optimum recharging point. When you go below that it damages the battery and shortens its life and I am sure on a starting battery it is a much higher percent.




grins , I have a 800 watt system on mine

 

[NYBo]

Re: car vs boat stereo

so BTW i did the calculation and added 1 amp to the total for amp draw and i got 7.3 amps. so i can safely say that the fishfinder, HU, lights and gauges will consume up to 20 amps max?

The gauges should only be powered when the motor is running, so their small amount of current draw is a non-issue.