Battery for Fish Finder

[Lipripper92592]

This one is going to get a bit "techy", so for those who don't like our modern innovations, move on to the next post. For those that do, here's what's to follow:

When I first started fishing LJ, my yak was overloaded with gear, I think I brought everything but the kitchen sink. As I fished it over and over, and with the nagging from some good friends, I started narrowing down what I brought, thus lightening the load, and making my day that much more enjoyable. Plus it's a lot less stuff to wash down/put away when I get home.

I recently upgraded to a HDS7 touch and my battery would cut out at around noon thirty. Way to early! A few friends have the 7 touch and are using a 18-20amp hour lead acid battery. This thing is a beast. My 6'1" 150lb frame hates any unnecessary weight. So off to looking at possible solutions that would work for me.
All-battery.com had a solution for me, they are based out of Fremont, so somewhat "local" not some East Coast setup.

I needed at least 12 hours of runtime, because nothing bites for me unless I've been on the water for at least 10 hours...some luck I have!
I went with a 17.6amp hour Lithium Ion pack which is made out of approximately 24 18650 cells that also has a built in PCB board which limits input voltage/amps balances the cells, and limits output amps to 9.
The pack cost approximately $130. You will also need a charger that is capable of charging LIPO packs. There are several charging profiles for the various lithium chemistry packs, but most of these hobby chargers will charge all the packs out there, PB, NMH, LIPO, etc. These chargers run from $15 to $300, depending on available options and features. A $50 charger will give you about all you need and then some.


Some are going to cry "foul" and say this a fire/explosion just waiting to happen on the water. Well if that is how you feel, please leave your cell phone in the car, because my friend, that has a 3.6 volt lipo cell in it as well. It also has a PCB board installed, but is optimized for energy density, not battery health/life which is why your phone heats up when it is being charged. The lipo pack is charged when nominal voltage is 12.6 for this 3S configuration pack. The 3 indicates the number of cells.

Using the suggested 80% rule, I should get about 14.8 amp hours out of this battery before I need to charge it. Lead acid batteries can be discharged to about 60% before damage can begin. So you'll get about 20% more runtime out of a Lithium battery than you would out of an equivalent amp hour lead acid.

I have the battery housed in a waterproof box, with waterproof leads and plugs. It will be bolted to the sail mast in my PA 12.

Possible Pro's
1. Once of the Highest Energy Density batteries available
2. Commercially used in all aspects of industries
3. Fast charging rates
4. Light weight

Possible Con's
1. Fire hazard if improperly charged/discharged/cared for.
2. Cost
3. Properly understanding the battery chemisty/reaction
4. Can not be charged on a PB battery charger.

Most of know LIPO incidents are user error. Meaning most packs that have had issues have been improperly charged/discharged, do not have a PCB installed, have been damaged, but user continues to use the battery. Most of this happens in the RC world.

Properly charging this battery is key! The user should always follow the manufactures recommendations for charging and discharging. Always charge on a fireproof surface. (you should do this for all batteries as all batteries are subject to runaway during the charge cycles). And if you want that extra level of security. Always charge it in a LIPO bag, this is a fiberglass bag that is fireproof. ($15)

IF you STILL think LIPO batteries are unsafe, check out the youtube videos of the torture testing of LIPO's. Some of the lipo's tested did not fail until the charge rating was 5x the manufactures recommendations. They really had to try to get these to fail.

If you have any questions, or comments, just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.
Portable Power in the Palm of your Hand

[rossman]

A good number of the community did a group buy on this technology a couple years ago:

http://www.bioennopower.com/collecti...ifepo4-battery

Actually most got the 6v model for bait tanks. Same pros and cons except probably a bit larger and not quite the fire Hazzard as far as I can see. I have the 12 v 12 amp hour model and can easily run my Elite 5 for 14 hrs on a charge. Actually I have never seen it read under 13 v under load so I am not sure how long it will go. I think I paid around $150 for it including charger. Give us an update after a couple months

[YakDout]

Originally Posted by rossman

A good number of the community did a group buy on this technology a couple years ago:

http://www.bioennopower.com/collecti...ifepo4-battery

Actually most got the 6v model for bait tanks. Same pros and cons except probably a bit larger and not quite the fire Hazzard as far as I can see. I have the 12 v 12 amp hour model and can easily run my Elite 5 for 14 hrs on a charge. Actually I have never seen it read under 13 v under load so I am not sure how long it will go. I think I paid around $150 for it including charger. Give us an update after a couple months

I too have the biennopower 12v 12aH for my FF and like it. Definitely more life than my comparable SLA. Wouldn't mind getting the 6volt soon for bait tank.

[ful-rac]

Iv'e been using a tenergy lithium ion battery for 5 or so years now, a 14v 13000 mah. It's my original battery I bought when I had my first kayak back in 09'. Hasn't caught on fire yet, or gone bad on me.