Humminbird gel cell batteries

[Patriot]

I just bought a Humminbird fishfinder for a small lake boat and was wondering if anyone ever used one of those 12v gel cell batteries for a fishfinder and how long it would last. 7-8 ah and about 8"x4"x3". 

Instead of draining down an electric trolling motor battery. Not sure if it matters but its a 596 HD DI color

Edited March 19, 2014 by Patriot

[Thun]

I bought one of these and was happy with the battery. The charger doesn't indicate when full so it could overcharge and kill the battery but going on 3 years now and they still seem fine.

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/AutoBoat-Batteries-Chargers/Marine-Deep-Cycle-Batteries|/pc/104794380/c/104698080/sc/104446080/Cabelas-Rechargeable-12-Volt-Battery/700551.uts?destination=%2Fcategory%2FMarine-Deep-Cycle-Batteries%2F104446080.uts&WTz_l=DirectLoad%3Bcat104446080#BVRRWidgetID

[Patriot]

Yes, thats the one.

So did you need to charge it every time you used it or were you able to use it for a few outtings before it needed to be charged?

Thanks

Greg

[Chas0218]

I have one of the Humminbird units for my flasher. I can go a whole weekend using my flasher and only be down half way. Also note that is in the cold.

Sent from my thinking chair...

Edited March 19, 2014 by Chas0218

[Thun]

I charged it every night after using it for a couple of hours so I don't know how long a charge will last. I think you'll be happy with the battery but you may want to consider a cheap smart charger with an indicator light to let you know when the battery is charged. It's tiny too, beats lugging a heavy 12 volt around.

[Patriot]

I wrote to Humminbird and they said my unit would work 6-10 hours on their Gel Cell battery. Its a 7AH battery and my unit will use 615MA. That's around 11 hours 15 minutes if I calculated correctly.

[Chas0218]

Yup, also be careful being discharging the battery all the way.  You can damage a non deep cycle by discharging it past 50%, I'm not sure if they consider all gel cells deep cycle or not.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Chas0218

[Patriot]

Yup, also be careful being discharging the battery all the way.  You can damage a non deep cycle by discharging it past 50%, I'm not sure if they consider all gel cells deep cycle or not.

Thank you, thats important to know.

So that brings it down to 5.5 hours of use. I'm going to have 3 deep-cycle batteries abord, so I now think I'm just going to use one of those. Unless I can find a small solar recharger, that would keep up with the discharge on the 7AH gel cell. I have time so I'm going to look further into it

 

Greg

[Chas0218]

Like I said you should be fine with your unit it shouldn't use more than my flasher. The power consumption is shown at its max which I doubt you would use if in a small boat.

Knowing now you have 3 deep cycles I would just run a quick disconnect.

Sent from my thinking chair...

Edited March 21, 2014 by Chas0218

[Chas0218]

Are you planning on trolling? Or is this for perch fishing?

Sent from my thinking chair...

[Patriot]

Are you planning on trolling? Or is this for perch fishing?

Sent from my thinking chair...

Trolling for the most part.

From what I've read, a regulator is needed with a solar charger, so to not over charge. However I could be wrong about that. So with a 7AH battery, solar charger and regulator it brings the cost to about $100

I'm going to connect to one of the spare batteries for now. I've never use an electric trolling motor, so I don't know what I can expect as far as how far I can troll. All I know is the boat is heavy, a Starcraft 14' Patriot but should be very stable at 72" wide.

We'll see