HydroGlow- Squid Fishing - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

grey zone · 05-06-2014, 01:00 PM

Hydroglows are nice. They come weighted so just put it in the water and connect it to a battery. A 12V, 7 amp hour battery will work fine. I ran a 4 foot light for about 6hrs before the battery ran out of juice. I use a seperate battery.

Dannowar · 05-06-2014, 03:08 PM

Tupperware. Foam tubing. Goop.

grey zone · 05-06-2014, 03:42 PM

Dannowar, the picture you have of yor battery storage is almost identical to what I use. I cannot say enough about keeping battries dry. Rather than using electrical tape where you have connected the Hydroglow wires to the added wires that go to your alligator clips, try heat shrink adheasive lined connectors. There expensive but worth it. For added protection you can put adheasive lined shrink tubing over those. Do anything you can to keep salt water off the copper.

StinkyMatt · 05-07-2014, 07:04 AM

Silly question....

What is the advantage of keeping the batteries dry?

Been running almost 4 years battery in the hull and no box for it......no problems.

I do spray the battery down with a hose after a trip.

grey zone · 05-07-2014, 08:48 AM

StinkyMatt, your kayak must stay pretty dry inside. I just think it's a bad idea to let anything electrical get wet especially with salt. If you keep a puddle of salt water between the terminals it causes plating and the metal from the positive terminal gets plated to the negative causing it to slowly disappear. The terminals on the 7 amp batteries are thin and if they break off the battery useless. I wipe off any salt build-up I see on my batteries with a little fresh water and then dry them. A quick rinse is not going to cause problems, it's the long term exposure. More important are the electronic connections to the battery or anywhere else. Once they get wet corrision will set into the wires and the disease will travel up them and eventually lead to low to no voltage. If you want your electronics to work well and continue to work well, keep all connections dry.

05-06-2014, 03:08 PM	#2
Dannowar Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 1,823	Tupperware. Foam tubing. Goop. __________________ "Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you’ll suck forever." — Brian Wilson

05-06-2014, 01:00 PM	#1
grey zone Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: san diego Posts: 158	Hydroglows are nice. They come weighted so just put it in the water and connect it to a battery. A 12V, 7 amp hour battery will work fine. I ran a 4 foot light for about 6hrs before the battery ran out of juice. I use a seperate battery.

05-06-2014, 03:42 PM	#3
grey zone Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: san diego Posts: 158	Dannowar, the picture you have of yor battery storage is almost identical to what I use. I cannot say enough about keeping battries dry. Rather than using electrical tape where you have connected the Hydroglow wires to the added wires that go to your alligator clips, try heat shrink adheasive lined connectors. There expensive but worth it. For added protection you can put adheasive lined shrink tubing over those. Do anything you can to keep salt water off the copper.

05-07-2014, 07:04 AM	#4
StinkyMatt Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Under a bridge Posts: 2,169	Silly question.... What is the advantage of keeping the batteries dry? Been running almost 4 years battery in the hull and no box for it......no problems. I do spray the battery down with a hose after a trip.

05-07-2014, 08:48 AM	#5
grey zone Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: san diego Posts: 158	StinkyMatt, your kayak must stay pretty dry inside. I just think it's a bad idea to let anything electrical get wet especially with salt. If you keep a puddle of salt water between the terminals it causes plating and the metal from the positive terminal gets plated to the negative causing it to slowly disappear. The terminals on the 7 amp batteries are thin and if they break off the battery useless. I wipe off any salt build-up I see on my batteries with a little fresh water and then dry them. A quick rinse is not going to cause problems, it's the long term exposure. More important are the electronic connections to the battery or anywhere else. Once they get wet corrision will set into the wires and the disease will travel up them and eventually lead to low to no voltage. If you want your electronics to work well and continue to work well, keep all connections dry.