12volt ff Battery

Roughly how many trips do you guys running finders get per trip, and if you have a voltmeter on your finder at which point do you decide to charge it?

Initially I tried running my lowrance (non colour display) on 10AA rechargeable batteries just to save weight but after half an hour on demo the voltmeter rapidly dropped. In the end I ordered a lead acid sealed 12v 7ah battery, it started off at 12.7v on the finder voltmeter and after 5 trips albeit relatively short sessions it's only dropped to 12.3v, what's the lowest volts you guys run to?

Cheers Martin

I always charge up after every trip. Lead acid batteries like that. It's good to know the batteries last but I think I would take and extra along on something like a 7 day fly in trip in North Canada where there is no electricity.

7ah battery is way overkill. One at 3ah to 4ah should be sufficient to last no problem. A lot lighter also.
Also your battery will last longer if stored fully charged. So make sure to charge it after every trip. I used a 12v 7ah battery on my kayak with a color ff and it would last all day with no problem. But on the kayak, the heavier weight isn't a problem like on the tube. Hope that helps a little.

I second what Kobra said. Whatever electronics you run, the specifications will tell you the power consumption in watts, so you divide by volts (12) to get amps and you know how much battery you'll need.

If your unit draws 4 watts, that would be 1/3 amp, so a 3ah battery should give you 9 hrs of operation.

The 3 ah will be smaller, but my shopping skills haven't found it much cheaper. Seems like all the small sla batteries are in the $15 to $20 range up to about 7 ah.

But the smaller size might let you use a smaller case and save some there. I use a Pelican waterproof tool case.

I have run an Eagle 350c Finder rigged on PVC and use a little battery that is 12V 3 amp .It is about same length as the standard 12V 7 amp but 1/2 the thickness ,and weight. I found it on ebay somewhere.  It will run all day and still had enough power left to clean a batch of bluegill with a Rapala
12 V knife.
The 350c has been running flawlessly for many years but like all things that work well it has been discontinued along with all other Eagle products.
We are having a bit of a cold snap here now but looking forward to setting up the new Outcast Fat Cat  the I got late last season. I have used the fish cats and fat cats for many years. I have found them to be really tough and a comfy sit.
Wish all a safe and pleasant season.
 For what little it is worth, A Gander Mountain employee told me the color units actually use a little less power than the black and white units. I never seen the need to check that out.

Thanks for the replies guys, it fits in a sealed clip top storage box with 3/4" foam around it for a good fit, that inturn fits perfectly in one of the rear pockets of my tube so the storage isn't too bad and the weight is only noticeable when portaging to and from the water but it goes in a floating retaining sling that I double up as a net, carries ok over my neck

I'll find a charger out today and top it up

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] This is one of are Sponsors they have what you need. I Purchase the large battery it keeps my Garmin on for more than 5 days on a charge its well worth the money mine works Great

Ornery Bob wrote:

If your unit draws 4 watts, that would be 1/3 amp, so a 3ah battery should give you 9 hrs of operation.

The fine print is that you should not discharge lead-acid batteries below 50% as it damages them.