Fishfinder Battery

[BEARCLAW]

I'm looking for some advice on fishfinder batteries. I've currenlty got one of those 12v. $20 batteries from sportsmans and it seems to work ok. However, I would like to have a stronger, longer lasting battery and use this one as a backup. There have been a few times when I've run out of juice after leaving it on while fishing all day. I would like to keep it relatively small as I only have limited space in my plastic ammo can setup. Please share your thoughts here and thank you in advance for your replies.[cool]
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[kd...]

Standard Supply in Salt Lake has many different sizes of rechargeable 12 volt batteries. Just go in and take your pick!
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[kidsnme]

More my fishfinder I use a 12v cordless drill battery. It is very small and easy to charge.
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[d-mack]

I've been using a battery out of a computer battery back-up system. it's a sealed gel cell and i've fished for 3 days all day long before and never run it out of juice. Its only about 8lbs and is roughly 6"x4"x6".
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[Olderthandirt]

I use one of the small 12 volt battery jumper units. When through fishing just plug it in and let it recharge for your next trip. If you want, you can cut off the terminal connectors and make it more compact. Rig up a cigarette lighter plug for your finder and your in business. $36.00 at Sears

[url "http://www.chem.hawaii.edu/uham/mite.html"]http://www.chem.hawaii.edu/uham/mite.html[/url]
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[Curtisfish]

I use a rechargable lawnmower battery from Checker. I think I paid $30 fot it. I have it running my Garmin depth finder because my ancient motor has a "generator" and not an alternator with a regulator, so it gets over 17V DC and shuts the Garmin down. I've ran it for 3 days at Powell without running out of juice. Small enough to haul around in the ice sled, yet big enough to power whatever you need. Check the reserve/CCA ratings against just about any other battery that size. It should rate about as good as the 12V battery out of the Computer battery backup. It just costs a lot less.
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[Hellsangler69]

I am curious to how long you charge your battery . I have fished 3 days on the exact same battery before it runs down . I trickle charge it for a couple days when I do charge it . My battery is 2 ice seasons old and I do use it a lot . If you do not charge it right it can ruin the battery . But it is not good to run it down all the way either .
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[mateo]

I just use a 3ah sla battery and I've never run out of juice. If you're looking for a bigger battery, check out www.ragebattery.com

If you have a Batteries Plus store in your neighborhood, you can check them out. I thought their prices were a little steep, and the salesman didn't seem to know much about batteries, but the selection isn't bad.

You can always rig up a cigarette lighter power cord to your battery to recharge it in the field. I wouldn't leave it on overnight, but it should give your battery a boost when you need it. I've used the alternator on the motorhome to recharge my deep cycle trolling motor battery when I went to strawberry last year. It's not an exact science, at least the way I do it, but you figure a 60 amp alternator will fairly quickly recharge a 120ah battery.
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[fishluvr]

I second the idea to check out batteries plus. They have a lot of options on sizes and can give you some good ideas. Also, Sportsman's has a slow trickle charger to use with their 12 volt batteries. I have used my Sportsman's battery several times and never run out so it might just be how you're charging it. Good luck in your search.
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[BEARCLAW]

My fishfinder has a shutoff function which powers it down when it reaches 9.5v. So i don't think its been drained to low. I've been using one of those battery tender chargers to re-charge it. It will fill the battery up to 13.6v and then goes into a "tend" mode where it only starts charging again when the battery drops below a certain voltage. I use this charger for my atv as well and it works great. I can usually get about 6 or 7 hours out of it with a full charge. I am also thinking my fishinder probably sucks quite a bit of juice which can also be the cultprit. Thanks for the input everyone.
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[road]

I have the same function on my finder. I wonder if your battery has a bad cell? I can run mine for days and it has never shut down on me. I also bought it at Sportsmens for 20 bucks w/charger. Is yours a gel or liquid? Mines a gel and I charge when it reads 10 volts, then its good for a few more trips. I have had it mounted on my tube (summer) in a tool box for ice fishing and running it as many as 10 hours a day in good weather (not so many when its cold, I must be getting old and whimpy).
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