what size battery for FF?

[Southerly]

what size battery's are you guys using to run FF? 7, 12, 15 ah? anyone using 17ah?

[Redfish12]

I have this one - http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabel...h-All+Products

I think I charge it once or twice a season and I have never had it die on me. I usually just leave it on overnight and then recharge if I know I've used it for a long time with out charging and I intend on going on a full weekend trip. I didn't take my fish finder out for most trips last year, but for new water or anything with out visible structure it is a big help!

[tufnik]

I have a black and white screen on my FF, so the power draw is minimal. I use a lightweight 3.2 AH lipo batt. Lasts about 4-5 outings. Each outing is about 6 hours.

Do you know the amp draw on your FF? You can figure out what you need so that you don't have to carry a bigger battery you don't really need if weight/bulk is a concern.

[nay_sayer]

what size battery's are you guys using to run FF? 7, 12, 15 ah? anyone using 17ah?

I have a B&W ff and I power it with 8 AA batteries in a $2 holder from radio shack. It weighs nothing and I have never had the batts go dead even after three 6 hour trips in a row. They may have lasted longer but I changed them for the next trip to be on the safe side.

Space and weight are big considerations on my yak so I was willing to pay the extra battery cost in the long run so that I could save the space where the battery box goes and save the weight of the battery setup. I keep my battery holder setup in one of the small cell phone/passport dry bags from Basspro and tuck it in the front hatch with the transducer.

[Southerly]

yes, i did calculation that gives very long life with 12 ah batt at .650 Amp draw.

but what throws me is the short life of my old battery, and a website that said regular batt's shouldn't be regularly discharged below 80% of their capacity. in other words, divide that long life calculated above by 5. that leads to pretty big/heavy battery to fit 5-6 hr trips.

fwiw, that same site also said deep-cycles should not reg'ly be used to below 50% capacity.

i don't think that's what ruined my old 7ah since i was using it for a B/W lcd display. guy at the shop said drying out is a failure mode and suggested not leaving it on the battery tender full time.

i think i'll recharge the new battery asap after use, then take it off charge. but top it off 1/mo if it's not getting used.

i could still exchange the 12 but will probly just keep it if no one's having troubles at that capacity.

[J.A. Veil]

I use a 7amp-hr battery. I was getting two 3-4 hours trips on a charge, but recently I seem to get only one and a half trips, then it fades out on me.

I will keep using it until I can't get a single trip worth of power, then will replace with a 7 amp-hr or the next size up, as long as it fits in the plastic Tupperware box I use.

[moc]

I have a 12ah battery. It will last one trip then I would have to recharge it. My Hummingbird FF 597CI HD has GPS and I think the GPS eats up the battery to the point that I may get 4 to 5 hr out of it. I was looking into a 15ah battery the next time that I get a new battery.

[CB kayak 02]

I've had a 7ah that like REdfish would only need to be charged 2-3 times all year w/ a BW ff. I also have a small 1.4ah battery that i use sometimes and it lasts suprisingly long as well.

[DOGFISH]

I use a Humminbird 385Ci. I have been using a 10ah battery. I would get about three trips out of the battery before needing a charge. These being 6-8 hour trips. The 385 has a smaller screen. A larger screen size and being color eats up much more power. No doubt that more electronic features will use more power.

[ronaultmtd]

I bought a Cabela's 9ah 12 volt battery last spring for $19.99 (on sale), charged it up once when I first got it and fished all year long including a trip a couple of weeks ago to Mattawoman Creek catfishing using my Cuda 350 FF/GPS combo unit- and It powered the unit fine- I'll recharge it again before I go out again, but I think that is pretty decent battery life-

[OBX_RAT]

I use 2 12v 7ah, one for the sounder and the other for my deck lights and bait tank live well. Works well for me.

[Tall_Timbers_Kayaker]

Everyone,

I have a Lowrance X4 Pro black and white fish finder. The spec sheet says it draws 170 mA with the light off and 240 mA with the light on. I also have a Lowrance M68C GPS/Fishfinder on my boat. To my surprise the current draw on that color unit is the same. Doing some quick math though a 7 Amp Hour battery should last about 29 hours between charges which hits me as a whole lot of paddling. Turn the light off and it goes up to 41+ hours.

I also know that I get about 12 to 16 hours from a set of AA cells (8 in a Radio Shack holder). The X4 Pro shuts off at about 9 volts. I am not sure how long it takes to run a 12 lead acid battery down to 9 volts.

As an electrical engineer I am finding this debate somewhat amusing as I really don't have a problem charging a battery once a week or so.

TTYaker

[moc]

mAmps use goes way up accordingly........Black and white FF >>>> Color FF >>> Screen Size LCD >>>> GPS ......... wow .

[Tall_Timbers_Kayaker]

Moc,

I hear you but I was way surprised when I checked the specs. Lowrance B&W X4 Pro and older Lowrance M68C GPS/Fish Finder that is color - same draw. As I said, I was really surprised. Now I agree, go to a big screen, high power processor, and add backlight I bet it gets up towards 500 mA to possibly and amp. At an amp you are down to 7 hours with a 7 Amp Hour battery.

Later,
TTYaker

[Southerly]

my new FF spec is .650 A with backlight off. it has led backlight and i couldn't find an actual spec for that but setting it to bright makes the display easier to see. i saw some aftermarket automotive LED brakelights spec'd at .040 A and thought that might be reasonable estimate.

calculations aside, my 1 yr old old 7Ah-rated battery is only able to run it for 45 mins. = time to replace battery.

i'm guessing that allowing a lead/acid battery to recharge via its internal chemical reaction is not as good as putting it on recharger? i'm not sure what to make of the suggestion that habitually discharging below 80% capacity will ruin a regular lead/acid battery.

so i really appreciate the practical experiences of people. in that respect, it seems like many people experience degraded performance over time. i'd say that's been my experience since i was a little kid, disappointed with the short life of d-cells in my toys.

but i have had good luck with automotive batteries lasting 8+ years (especially since quick-starting fuel-injected eng's). i think their type/sizing has been eng'd/tested, and they are generally maintained near full charge.