1989 Hunter 30 Batteries

[Jim Grant]

I just finished installing a 8 disk cd player and an autohelm 4000 on my boat. I expect to use both while sailing to various bay destinations. My question: I'm a little worried about battery capacity or I should say longevity. On my boat there appears to be only room for two batteries. One house and one starting. If I use the autohelm and stero all day, and the stereo all night as well as lights pump etc. I'm worried that I will not have enough juice to run the anchor light all night. Another battery is an option, but where, seems like a pain as well. I could run the engine before bed but recently I read that it wasn't good to run my 2gm20f with no load for an extended period of time. If I do decied to add another battery don't I have to replace the existing house battery so the new 2 battery bank matches. Option 3 would be replacing the existing battery with the best quality battery I can find to go in it's place. Does anyone have suggestions? Option four would be to hum and steer myself, if that's the case I should have saved the $1500.00 I just spent not to mention all the time getting the equipment installed. Thanks in advance.

 

[Johnny G]

It's never enough

Jim,Just went through all this myself with additon of refrigeration. If you do the math to figure your total 12v power consumption you would have a better picture of what upgrades you need. I added a high-output alternator with one of those smart regulators to gain better charging efficiency. This upgrading thing just seems to go on and on. Isn't this what boating is about? One big caveat - be sure no crew member leaves the master swith on "both" while you are enjoying all your 12 volt conveniences.Good luck

 

[Dave Swanson]

In the same boat

I have the same boat, 1989 Hunter 30, with 2 group 24 gels installed. They were installed by a previous owner and are close to 5 years apart in age. I am also considering an upgrade, so I will be watching responses to your request. Good luck.Dave