Another LIPO battery for FF

[hiramehunter]

Nothing new or too exciting but if this helps someone then great!

Got a new OK Trident 13 recently and purchased a Lowrance hook 4x to go with it. I really don't like the added weight of the typical SLA batteries so I decided to go with the Lipo batteries.

I purchased a Turnigy 5000Mah 4S1P 14.8volt lipo pack and an S3 T2500 Watertight Dry Case. It fits perfectly into the battery case that OK has at the bow. I'm also using LED Light Strips 2 Terminals Waterproof Connector Cable for easy disconnect from the FF. The whole thing weighs about 22 ounces and it's compact!

I used it on Saturday even though I only got a little over 3 hours on the water it performed really well. Also the Hook FF has an option to display the voltage so I could keep an eye on it throughout the morning. (You really don't want the Lipo cells to go below 3.0 volts and since each cell could discharge at different rates you don't want the 4s to get below 12.4 v/3.1v per cell) it started off at 16.5 volts and ended at 15.9 volts after 3 hours. I was mainly using the Chirp sonar since we were fishing for rockies in the 300' range. I'm sure if I had GPS or used DSI more it would had drained faster. Your mileage may vary

I also purchased a HobbyKing ECO8 150W charger/balancer/discharger. My other one couldn't charge a 4 cell Lipo
Anyway, the charger worked well. you need an external power supply so I used an old ATX power supply that I had pulled from a PC a long time ago for something and used that.

Charging was uneventful but the best part was discharging the lipo to storage mode to keep the lipo in the most stable state for long term storage(anything over a few days. Lots of info/opinions online about this topic)


That's it for now. I just wanted to share.

[momo fish]

Cool.. How much was each item?

[driftwood]

Congrats on your new lipo 4s battery set up. You did it right and you did your research. The only thing I would suggest is to add a battery monitor 4s. ( picture below) Wire it parallel to circuit.

If the battery goes below 3volts from the battery factory rate the monitor will beep. This is better than watching your FF screen all the time. And yes keep an eye on your cells with a cell monitor as well.

You should be good all day and more with only one 14'8 4s battery. I wanted something that would last me for two days so got the 6500mAh Lipo Batt.

[hiramehunter]

Originally Posted by driftwood

Congrats on your new lipo 4s battery set up. You did it right and you did your research. The only thing I would suggest is to add a battery monitor 4s. ( picture below) Wire it parallel to circuit.

If the battery goes below 3volts from the battery factory rate the monitor will beep. This is better than watching your FF screen all the time. And yes keep an eye on your cells with a cell monitor as well.

You should be good all day and more with only one 14'8 4s battery. I wanted something that would last me for two days so got the 6500mAh Lipo Batt.

I already have that but i don't know if i'll be able to hear the beeping from the watertight container inside the kayak?? Do you have experience with it?
Also if it goes off, i can't reach it to turn it off and it will continue to drain the battery.

[hiramehunter]

Originally Posted by momo fish

Cool.. How much was each item?

Turnigy 5000Mah 4S1P 14.8volt lipo - $40 amazon. You can get these from Hobbyking as well.
S3 T2500 Watertight Dry Case - $16 amazon
LED Light Strips 2 Terminals Waterproof Connector Cable $6 amazon
HobbyKing ECO8 150W charger/balancer/discharger. $32 from hobbyking

[driftwood]

The monitor is very loud. I also have it in a water tight pelican box and I have no problem hearing it.

I'm sure you have already read the safety spec's for your batt. Make sure you store it in a cool area. Other wise it will melt and go on fire...don't ask me how I know.

[driftwood]

If the monitor goes off and you can't reach it to turn it off it will take a year to drain your battery. It uses a tiny LED light and beeper is DC.

So no.... the monitor will not drain your battery. And yes I have years of experience. Who taught you how to do this? I have never seen anybody else use this system on kayak before.

[hiramehunter]

Originally Posted by driftwood

Who taught you how to do this? I have never seen anybody else use this system on kayak before.

My other hobby is RC cars
I've got several that run on Lipo.

[YOYOYaker]

Cool. I was wondering if any of you guys are using LiPo packs for anything on your yaks. I have enjoyed building and flying R/C airplanes, helicopters for many years now, and these batteries have really helped the performance of electric models. I just last night built up a 2S2P 5300 mAH 7.4 volt pack for my bait tank. The pump draws 800 milliamps at 7.4V, which should give 5 hours of continuous running. The pack weighs about 10 ounces. A word of caution though, Lithium packs must be charged with constant current to 4.2 volts per cell, then constant voltage the remainder of the charge cycle. All cells must be balanced individually (exactly the same voltage on each of the cells). Luckily, there are chargers available that take care of this for us. As long as the cells are not discharged below 3 volts per cell, and they are used within their discharge rate capabilities, they last and last. Alarms, or a form of auto shut-down at 3 volts per cell-as mentioned in above posts should always be used.

[Harry Hill]

LiPo batteries are great but really dangerous if you make a mistake with one or damage it. Be really careful on charging it, buy a charging bag and put the battery in it while you are charging it. If it catches fire, and they do, it will burn down your house or garage or wherever you are charging it. They burn white hot and a fire extinguisher won't put it out. Never let them get below 3.3 volts per cell, just to be safe and get a cheap voltage checker from a hobby store, it will save your battery.