Actual battery requirements for FF and lights

[Big T]

Hey all, I've been toting around a 9ah battery for a few years now and just kept using it because it's "what I had" for my FF and lights for night fishing.

I'm certain it is way overkill and was wondering if anyone can give me some insight on how small of a battery I "could" run based on actual amp draw and your experiences.

I have a basic Lowrance Elite 4x Color FF and when I go night fishing/hooping I have two small 2-LED lamps on the Bow/Stern of my yak.

I don't exactly know what amperage draw each thing is but it can't be much right? Not enough to need to lug around a 9ah battery?

Thanks for any help. I keep getting fatter so I need to lighten the yak to compensate.

[Smthtnnr]

How long are you normally on the water for? My 10amp normally lasts me 11 hours on my elite 5 but that uses power for gps as well

[Big T]

At night it's about 5-7hrs if I'm hooping. 8-12 if I'm WSB fishing

Daytime is usually 7-10

[Big T]

So just for shats and giggles... I looked up the specs on an Elite 4x and it draws 200mah. That's not much at all. I also looked up the lights that I have installed and they draw 20mah.

So... doing the math, that's only drawing .24Ah

So my battery should last 37.5 hours!

I love Google.

So I guess I can downsize to something like a 3Ah battery and be totally covered for a 10hr excursion in the dark. Yes?

But hey maybe a noob will find this thread someday and need this info before he springs for that 100Ah deep cycle to run his FF! LOL

[alanw]

Try this online battery life calculator (http://www.csgnetwork.com/batterylifecalc.html) and use the 50% discharge number for a ballpark time (50% is the lowest you should discharge your battery and is also when it drops below 12v).

[Iceman]

The 4 series are great power savers, I have done multiple days on my 4.6 ah battery. I would bet the new 4 HDI series will draw a significant amount more.

[Big T]

Thanks for the input guys! That was fun.

[87yota4runner]

Very useful for once i get a ff.

[StinkyMatt]

Simple rule.....

Always OVERestimate what you will need.


Always underestimate what you have.



Translated......

Do you want to have "just enough" juice? How about when you change FF add a light..etc?

What about the possibility of lower battery performance (capacity) over time..... forgetting or not having enough time to fully charge...



Is that 1 or 2 pounds and the extra cost of buying a new battery really worth it?

[Big T]

Very good point Stinky. And I most likely wouldn't ditch my old battery for a smaller one JUST for weight, but the positive terminal is getting loose on my 9ah and it's got a crack in it that worries me. Not leaking yet, but not sure how much longer that crack will remain that way... so considering a smaller one on the purchace.

Your point is so valid though and will teach me to not just get a 3ah. But every lb does count to me. I'm a weight weenie. So maybe something in between. 6ah? LOL