Too many accesories??

[catesj]

I have a 98 Speedster with the twin 787's.
Just wondering how much electrical draw I can safety put on my boats charging system? I currently have a stereo ( hooked up through the exisiting wiring harness), and want to install a couple of lights (55watts x2) up on the wake tower.
I'm just afraid of being out some night and not having enough power to crank over the engines.
I was also toying with the idea of installing a second switched battery to run the stereo off of while docked.
Am I being overly paranoid???

 

[Jimimad]

The book says the 787's have a capacity of 180Watts. Im not entirely certain what that means in SeaDoo speak, but my electrician experience says that isnt much juice for accessories.

My advice would be to install a second deep cycle type battery and a small battery maintainer, keeping all the added accessories separate from your starting battery(ies). Plug the maintainer in when its out of the water. It may be a hassle in the broad spectrum , but imagine the hassle if you cant get her started out on the lake. You can put a TON of extra stuff on the Deep Cycle and still maintain the running lights on the boats main system. Imagine the Bass boat guys run those electric trolling motors all day on a deep cycle ( or two)

 

[Guruofsleep@aol.com]

Battery

I may be paranoid also. But I always like to have extra poower. I installed a Gel cell battery to power accessories when docked.

 

[RFoster130]

I have the same boat as you. Go read any of the post I have about the audio system and accessories. I had added a bunch of stuff. I have a stero and amp pushing 6 speakers. I also power an ipod. I originally did it with no problem with the stock battery. Just to be safe, I added a dual swicth and a deep cell battery. Then I added a voltmeter to the dash and LED lights around the interior. I have 0 electrical issues. Everything operates totally fine. I think just to be safe the extra battery is well worth the work. Took me 45 minutes to install everything including the switch. Cost was like 250 including everything.

Try to find LED lights, they dont use much power at all.

 

[ksw144]

I'm a little nervous about this also. The previous owner installed a heavy duty maintenance free (likely gel) car size battery, but I'm going to be very careful about starting the boat every now and then until I get a good idea of how long it will last.

I remember running the stereo in my old volkswagon at a drive in movie for several hours, and the car started just fine after. And that was a walmart cheapo standard battery.

If you're still using the small PWC batteries, you might look at running a full size battery as an option instead of dual batteries, or look at an AGM battery. They offer the cold cranking amps of a starter battery, and the long draw of a deep cycle.

I'll be curious how it goes. The idea of buying LED running lights for the tower is a great idea, likely just expensive.

KW

 

[RFoster130]

Just carry a jump pack with you for the first few times till you make sure.

 

[catesj]

RFoster130,
Where did you install the second battery?? Extra space is a premium on these boats. Any pictures??

 

[catesj]

RFoster130,
Where did you install the second battery on your Speedster?? Extra space is at a premium on these boats. Any pictures??

 

[RFoster130]

You are like the 10th person to ask. Iplanned on taking pics and writing up how I did it yesterday while I was at work. I had to take the boat to work with me to work on the trailer. But, the package I was waiting on with the trailer parts ended up at the wrong house. I am going to try to get it done this saturday now that I have the parts.

It fits perfectly under the oil tank,. The first time, I removed the tank and it sucked. Since then, I found a major shortcut. I will write it up this weekend.