Battery idea!

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by Jim Day

What most people do not realize is that a Lead acid battery drops voltage in a curve so when you run a finder on one it usually stops working when the battery is about 2/3 through it's discharge, because by then the voltage output is too low for the finder.

In contrast NiMH batteries hold their voltage flat until completely discharged, so you actually get more time as you can use the full capacity (ah) of the battery.

Like I said works for me wouldn't even consider using a lead acid (sla) for my finder at this point. I use a lead acid for my bait tank 6v 12 ah, but I have had to replace those twice since I switched to the NiMH for my finder.

It just lasts and lasts and lasts.....

Jim

This is great information Jim. I never thought of the discharge rate curve before.

You are absolutely right about the lead acid batteries voltage dropping to a point where the FF will not work. At this point there is still plenty of juice left to run a bait tank pump but not the electronics.

I can usually get about 8 hrs out of my 7ah battery before the screen goes dark. Leaving the unit off for a while will coax a bit more life out of the battery but not a lot.

Do you have a reasonably priced source for the scooter batteries that you use? What is the typical cost?

Bob