How many amps does this stereo amp use per hour??

your Renogy 100 watt solar panel under ideal conditions puts out 5.29 amps I would try two panels.
Mel

I have a sony Explode head unit. Un amplified. You know just an 89$ replacement stereo that is about 5 years old

It claims 52x4 watts output. and sounds surprisingly good powering two kenwood 6x9s, even though they are underdriven.

At near max volume but below distortion levels, when playing reggae, which is heavy on the bass, I will see abou 9 amps draw. perhaps this is an average, with the bass thumps drawing more juice briefly. This level of volume is obnoxious for anybody within the range of a well thrown baseball.

But for simple listening of Country music at volumes that are not going to cause neighbors 10 yards, or even 100 yards awayto curse you and your ancestors siblings, pets and relatives, I highly doubt you are going to come close to anywhere near the 600 watt rating. I suspect at comfortable volume, you will not be drawing any more than 5 amps at 12.6vDc.

The wattage rating on stereos is marketing, rarely actual consumption, and if it does approximate max consumption, it is the abolsute maximum it is capable of, at max volume and only when driving a deep bass note.

Crack a cold one, bring up some Townes Van Zandt's version of dead flowers, ort Blaze Foley's 'clay pigeons' and don't worry about the Stereo's amp draw unless you are only running one group 24 battery that is 4 years old and never saw a true full charge in any of that lifespan.

Leaving 3 incandescent bulbs on inside likely consumes more battery power.

Rynofire, do you feel your question has been answered to your satisfaction?

It's in the manual...

bisaacs wrote:
From what I can tell, the 600 watts are audio output, not power draw....

As pointed out above, the acoustic power will be something under 4 Watts...

From what I can tell, the 600 watts are audio output, not power draw. Wouldn't this wattage be based on the voltage supplied to the speakers which is constantly changing?

Personally, when I want to know what something is drawing I simply measure it. Get an inexpensive volt/ammeter from Harbor Freight and hook it in series with your positive battery wire. Keep in mind that these cheap meters are for measuring small currents so make sure everything in your camper is off when you hook it up.

Next, with the meter switch on "amps" take note of the reading when everything is off. There will be some parasitic draw from things like the radio memory and CO detector. Now, turn on your stereo and you can watch the amperage on the meter change as you adjust the volume. Subtract your initial reading of the parasitic draws and you will then have an accurate reading of exactly how much your stereo is drawing.

You can do the same thing for other appliances in your camper such as lights, fans, furnace, etc. Just don't turn on anything like a 12V refrigerator (other than the display board when it's running on propane).

Having said all that, I have a 130 watt solar panel on my roof an I never run out of juice--just be careful with that furnace; perhaps run it sparingly when getting ready for bed and in the morning.

Sorry to be long winded, hope this helps!

Bob

Rynofire wrote:
can figure out how much solar I need to recharge batteries.

200 to 400+ watts solar depending on time, volume and sun.
Too many variables to be definitive.

2oldman wrote:

Rynofire wrote:
I just asked a simple question to get in the ballpark.

Your best bet is to do as suggested earlier: try this at home and see how long it takes to recharge. All other answers are too technical and probably incorrect.

And yes, amps is not "per hour." An Amp-hour is the proper term.

at least someone here reads all the posts.. :)
The ONLY way to get in "the ballpark" is use it, recharge, and watch the clock, period

I was recently shopping amps for a similar application. Almost all the brands I looked at included that information in the owners manual spec section. It can be found online usually too.

I can tell you with some experience that my stereo has yet to put a dent in my two 6v batteries available power. We occasionally watch movies that go through the stereo system which includes a powered subwoofer. My meager 150 watts of solar are all I use to charge the batteries, and they easily keep up with this kind of use (that includes powering the TV, blue-ray, etc).

It might not be a bad idea to just get a simple voltage gauge and experiment with it a little bit.

Rynofire wrote:
I just asked a simple question to get in the ballpark.

Your best bet is to do as suggested earlier: try this at home and see how long it takes to recharge. All other answers are too technical and probably incorrect.

And yes, amps is not "per hour." An Amp-hour is the proper term.