Battery ???

[hedgesd]

Where do you get the smaller batteries for a fish finder. I know this has been posted before but I don't remember. Also what kind of battery works the best?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]I don't know about the fishing emporiums in your part of the country, but Sportsmans and some of the other large purveyors usually carry the SLA (sealed lead acid) or "gel cell" batteries. These are usually from 6 amp to 7.5 amp batteries that are sealed and have no danger of spilling liquid acid if you lay them on their side in your tube.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]I got my first ones from Cabelas, along with the little trickle charger, for about $30 for the package. I think they still sell them. My next batch are some little Panasonic 6 amps that are lighter but work fine for a full day of fishing...and more. I got them at a convention where they were selling them to power small electric pumps.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]There are increasingly more specialty electronics and battery stores that carry a wide range of sizes and shapes in 12 volt batteries. These are used for small carts and a lot of other applications, so there are lots of them around, if you look. Radio Shack is one place to start and I heard tell that WalMart sometimes carries them too.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Shoot me a PM if you need some more help and some pics and diagrams on rigging up a sonar...if that is where you are going here.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[hustler898]

Your not in my neck of the wood so doesn't help to tell you where I got mine but do what I did, call the different battery retailers in the phone book. They all have the same stuff just at different prices.

Sportsmans in SLC only carries the 7.5 amp which I found to be too bulky and heavy. I found a place that carried a 5 amp at a reasonable price. The store is down the block from sportsman's, LOL.

Good luck in the battery hunt.
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[hedgesd]

Hey thanks guys. I am looking at adding sonar to my rig. Now I got figure out which one to get.

I'll probable get one of the lighter batteries and see how well it works and how long. I'll buy another one for long trips and backup.

You guys ever use these for a small electric trolling motor?
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[tubeN2]

Those 5 or 7.5ah batteries don't last very long on a trolling motor. You may be able to get about 1hrs use out of it at the maximum. If you were to set up a sidecar tube with a decent marine battery then you could run a few extra hours with it.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]As T2 says, you can run a SMALL electric motor, but not for very long. The more thrust you have, the more juice it sucks and the larger the battery you need. Some of the super big trolling motors on big bass boats are 24 volt systems...requiring two heavy duty 12 volt marine batteries rigged in tandem. A bit much for a float tube.[/size][/blue]
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[hedgesd]

Thanks guys. I'll past that info along to my friend. I'll tell him buy a small deep cycle battery.
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[hedgesd]

Hey how many watts can I use with a gel battery? Or will it shorten the time I can use it. I think you guys know what I'm getting at.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]It sounds like you are looking at different kinds of sonars, with different "peak to peak" watts. The higher the wattage, the more juice per hour (amp/hours) it will drain from the battery. Some of the cheaper and less powerful units take less than 1/2 amp per hour, while bigger ones may take 2 or 3. Divide that into the amp/hour rating of the battery and you will see approximately how long it will last under constant load. [/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]As an example, a small 1/2 amp/hour unit will last 12 hours on a 6 amp battery. A 2 amp/hour unit would last only 3 hours. However, as a rule it is not good to drain the battery totally dry before recharging, and it should be recharged as soon as possible when you are through using it.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]If your question was along the lines of how big of a floodlight could you light up with that small battery, you are on your own. As long as you are using a 12 volt system, almost anything will operate off a gel cel for the calculated period of time.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Will a small gel cell start your vehicle if your regular battery goes dead? No. There is not enough "cranking amps" to even make the starter motor hum. I know. I had to hike several miles out to get a jump start once when my vehicle battery died in the Arizona heat...when it was over a hundred degrees...and I was way to heck back in on a remote lake arm. My sonar battery wouldn't get it.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[hedgesd]

Thanks Tubedude. Most of that is common sense but what's the conversion ratio for watts to amps. I've been looking at 1200 watts to 4000.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]There are conversion tables of watts to amps and all that stuff, but it gets confusing when you are talking sonar systems. They advertise "peak to peak" watts, as an indicator of how strong the signal is and how sensitive they are. The higher the rating the higher the sensitivity.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]The kicker is that you have to think "RMS" watts (root mean square) which is an averaging of power used to be able to convert to how many hours you can get out of a battery. That is usually a much lower number than peak to peak.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]I gave up trying to make sense of it and I tend to subscribe to some advice I got from a guy that sells RV systems. He said that you need to just see how long you can run something off the battery without draining it totally to really know what the drain is. His advice was to never run a battery lower than about 50 percent of capacity. [/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Most gel cell batteries will put out just under 14 volts when fully charged. When they show 12 volts, they are getting down to the point they should be charged. You should never run them down below about 11 volts.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]What I have found through experience with the lower wattage Eagle products is that the amp hour draw is about 1/100 of the peak to peak wattage. In other words, when I ran a 500 watt unit, I used about 1/2 amp per hour...5 amp hours in a long 10 hour day. My current 800 amp Cuda 168 sucks about half again as much, meaning I can get a good 7 or 8 hours out of my 6 amp/hour gel cell without fully draining it.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]A 1200 watt unit would probably max out a 6 amp hour battery in 4 or 5 hours. A 4000 watt unit would need a big marine battery to give you a full day on the water. Of course, you could take a couple of 7.5 amp gel cells and switch over when the first one gave up. But, that would be rough on the battery life. That big system would show a lot of detail you would need for deep dropping to macks, but would be wasted on shallow water lakes for bass and trout.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]My disclaimer is that these computations are based upon actual useage and not on any scientific formulas. The manufacturers are real good (bad) about not publishing specifics along those lines. [/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Hope that puts a little more structure to it. We have had some formulas posted in the past, but actual useage sometimes throws X factors into the equation. The only thing you can be certain of is what you experience for yourself, using your own gear.[/size][/#0000ff]
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