Fish Finder Battery?

[TNtransplant08]

Hey guys,

I bought a Lowrance Elite 5 fish finder/gps combo (color) and I was wondering what type of 12v battery can I get away with? Should I get a deep cycle Marine Battery, Dual Purpose, or can I get away with those smaller 12v batteries that they use for atv and such? I was at BPS looking at the batteries and the guy there thought I'd have power issues with the smaller ones, your thoughts? I figured most of you kayak guys use as small of a battery you can get away with.

Thanks

[Jdkxtreme]

I use a deer feeder battery in my kayak. I ran it all day on a charge no problem

[Transplanted Sportsman]

I'm with JD on this, I also use a deer feeder battery from wally world about $20.00, last me all day, small and light, if size /space is not an issue with you, try a lawn mower battery for a few bucks more

[Hammy]

I replaced some 12v batteries in a handi cap chair lift. Kept the batteries, thought I'd find a use for them. Here is a link to them:

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/bruno-stair-lifts-12v-8ah-wheelchair-battery-ajc-brand-replacement/249156702.html?listingId=286989542


Hammy

[txnative]

12 volt Sealed Lead Acid battery...aka deer feeder or alarm system battery. The main thing to look for is the amp hour rating. The reason the amp hour rating is important is because it determines how long your depthfinder will run on a single charge. Most depthfinders draw around 1/2 amp per hour of use, with newer multiple-function models drawing more. I would check the spec sheet for your depthfinder and find the unit's power draw. Then find a 12v SLA battery that will run long enough on a single charge to suit your needs. I use either a 7 or an 8 amp hour battery, depending on which one I've charged. My depthfinder draws 1/2 amp per hour, so a single charge gives me 16 hrs of continuous use on a fully charged 8 ah battery.

I can also power my submergible light with these batteries. They are great since they are leak-proof, waterproof, and lightweight. The 8 ah battery weighs around a pound or so.

I would also strongly recommend getting a battery charger with an automatic shut-off. These batteries will burst if overcharged.


Chris Bryant

[TNtransplant08]

12 volt Sealed Lead Acid battery...aka deer feeder or alarm system battery. The main thing to look for is the amp hour rating. The reason the amp hour rating is important is because it determines how long your depthfinder will run on a single charge. Most depthfinders draw around 1/2 amp per hour of use, with newer multiple-function models drawing more. I would check the spec sheet for your depthfinder and find the unit's power draw. Then find a 12v SLA battery that will run long enough on a single charge to suit your needs. I use either a 7 or an 8 amp hour battery, depending on which one I've charged. My depthfinder draws 1/2 amp per hour, so a single charge gives me 16 hrs of continuous use on a fully charged 8 ah battery.

I can also power my submergible light with these batteries. They are great since they are leak-proof, waterproof, and lightweight. The 8 ah battery weighs around a pound or so.

I would also strongly recommend getting a battery charger with an automatic shut-off. These batteries will burst if overcharged.


Chris Bryant

Thanks for the replys guys. Chris, I appreciate the info on the amp hour rating. I looked at the power specs in the owners manual and I'm not really sure which info I should be looking at for amp hour rating? This is the information in the Specs: Transmit Power(4000W PTP, 500W RMS), Power Requirement (10-18 Volts DC), Voltage Input (10 to 17V), Current drain (Typical: .75A). I'm thinking its the Voltage Input, but I'm not sure. How do I translate it to amps/hour?

Thanks,
Jamie

[Jdkxtreme]

The current drain is the one you need. It says it will draw .75 AMP's per hour. So if you have an 8AMP batter you will get around 10 hours of use.." I think".

[txnative]

Jdkxtreme is dead-on.

Chris Bryant

[jad2t]

Current drain is what you want to use for calculations. For 0.75A draw and an 8 Ah battery, for example:

8 Ah/0.75 A = 10.667 so on a full charge you theoretically will get about 10 and a half hours of use. This will vary and as the battery gets older you will get less usage time so I agree with Chris that you might want to go for a 10-12 Ah rated battery. If you check out Batteries Plus Bulbs, they have a fantastic selection. Look for the Werker brand SLA batteries. I also got a charger with LED indication of when it's charged up. 70 bucks total.

[TNtransplant08]

Awesome. Thanks for the answers guys. It helps a lot! Saves me some money too.

[jad2t]

Also to calculate how fast it your can fully charge up:

A 12 V, 1 A charger will charge a 12 V 10 Ah battery in 10 hours (theoretcially) and a 0.5 A charger will fully charge it in 20 hours. Keep this in mind when you buy your charger so that you plan ahead of time to start charging for the morning fishing outing.

[Reel Tune]

Good work guys. I was going to ask which model because the Elite 5HDI draws 1.1 Ah

Make sure you use an inline fuse rated at 3A between the battery and the unit.

Battery capacities are rated in AMPS, there are 1000 mA in 1 Amp

You will want a 12V battery regardless

A 12V 10Ah battery will last approximately 10 hours being used by something that draws 1 Ah, 20hours by something that draws 500mA, or .5A

[txnative]

I use the Battery Tender Plus charger. It automatically switches to "maintenance mode" when the battery is fully charged to prevent overcharging. It charges at a rate of 1.25 amps per hour. I can't recommend this one enough.


Chris Bryant

[Jdkxtreme]

I use my sons power wheels charger. I already had it on hand

[TNtransplant08]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I went to Battery Plus this afternoon and bought a 12v 12ah battery and a Battery Tender Junior (the Junior was on sale for $10 off, but the Plus wasn't) for a total of $80. Now its time to get the fish finder boat ready.

[TNtransplant08]

Good work guys. I was going to ask which model because the Elite 5HDI draws 1.1 Ah

Make sure you use an inline fuse rated at 3A between the battery and the unit.

Battery capacities are rated in AMPS, there are 1000 mA in 1 Amp

You will want a 12V battery regardless

A 12V 10Ah battery will last approximately 10 hours being used by something that draws 1 Ah, 20hours by something that draws 500mA, or .5A

I actually got the Elite 5, not the HDI version. Since its being discontinued, I got it from BPS for $300. I was thinking about getting the HDI version, but after seeing a few members mention that they don't even use the DI on their sonar, it swayed me away from it. I really wanted the SI, but that was out of my budget range.

[TNtransplant08]

Ok guys, I'm probably the least technical person on the planet, so forgive me for what may sound like a dumb question.

How do I splice together the 3 amp fuse holder onto the red wire? The wire gauge for the red wire is pretty small and the gauge of the fuse holder that the BPS guy gave me to purchase is much bigger. Something doesn't seem right. Did he give me the wrong part or is this normal?

[tkwalker]

Ok guys, I'm probably the least technical person on the planet, so forgive me for what may sound like a dumb question.

How do I splice together the 3 amp fuse holder onto the red wire? The wire gauge for the red wire is pretty small and the gauge of the fuse holder that the BPS guy gave me to purchase is much bigger. Something doesn't seem right. Did he give me the wrong part or is this normal?

The fuse holder and pigtail is for a larger current draw ... Thus a larger gauge wire . Looks to be from the pic a 12 gauge (up to 30 amps DC) ... Your Fishfinder draws very little current and usually has about an 18 gauge power source wire ( my Bird 998C HD SI) uses the 18 Gauge and a 3 Amp fuse max.

You need to go to a auto parts store or Walmart and purchase some 18/16 gauge in line splices ...They are usually a pink in color... Also they should have splice crimping pliers .... If you don't want to purchase a smaller in line fuse ... You can un-twist the strands of the larger wire ...Cut about half of the strands away ... Re-twist and then splice ...

Another option is skin the shield back further ... Twist together and solder and Wrap with electrical tape (Scotch 33) Hope this helps ... <'TK>< ;)

[TNtransplant08]

The fuse holder and pigtail is for a larger current draw ... Thus a larger gauge wire . Looks to be from the pic a 12 gauge (up to 30 amps DC) ... Your Fishfinder draws very little current and usually has about an 18 gauge power source wire ( my Bird 998C HD SI) uses the 18 Gauge and a 3 Amp fuse max.

You need to go to a auto parts store or Walmart and purchase some 18/16 gauge in line splices ...They are usually a pink in color... Also they should have splice crimping pliers .... If you don't want to purchase a smaller in line fuse ... You can un-twist the strands of the larger wire ...Cut about half of the strands away ... Re-twist and then splice ...

Another option is skin the shield back further ... Twist together and solder and Wrap with electrical tape (Scotch 33) Hope this helps ... <'TK>< ;)

Thanks for the reply TK. I'll head to the auto store later today and look for a smaller inline splice. I looked at the label for the package the fuse holder came in and it did say 30 amp, so you're right. Wonder why the BPS guy gave me this one?