Batteries again

[moosemad]

Have a 12 volt fish/depth finder, this is the only draw there will be on the battery. Will the gel batteries at Costco be overkill? Any reccomendations appreciated.

[jrs]

I have a little gel cell lawn tractor battery and it will last an entire day the odd time i use my fish finder. I use gel cell only due to the battery getting tipped lots and because i use the exact same battery for another application that for safety reasons requires a gel cell. I wouldn't say overkill as i have ran out of power (15 hrs on the water).

[The Fisherman Guy]

I have just been through the battery wringer, so I am pretty familiar with it.

The gel batteries are no maintenance which is nice, plus they will work upside down, on their side.... whatever. They are designed for ROUGH use. They will not let you down, but are a helluva lot more money.
My buddy uses a small lead/acid 12V battery in an altered tupperware container to stay dry, and keep any accidental spills contained.

I think for the application, you could save a great deal of money and have no problems with a good quality lead/acid 12V. I deal with Lithium cells for work, so I have a work buddy that came from Interstate Batteries. He helped me out a lot to find the proper setup for my trolling motor. He mentioned to me that Exide or Motomaster are on the bottom end of quality, and most of his replacements were to take the place of a motomaster that crapped out. The top end are the Optima gel batteries, but you will pay for it.

In hearing this, I also take into account a few other forum members who stand by the Motormaster for their trolling motors. It is as one member put it; You can buy a lot more costco batteries for the same price as one gel battery.

IMO, go with a higher end lead/acid, and be nice to it. Saves on cash.

[spurly]

for my fishfinder and fish tv I use small 12volt 7amp wheelchair battries they are gel, and rechargable , I have used one for two winters and going into my second summer. not much draw on a fish finder, my hummingbird will also run on flashlight battries AA. Paid $17.00 at battery directonly weighs about 2lbs.They are also sometimes used for emergency lighting.anyway thats what I use

[moosemad]

Thanks guys, thats some good advice,:wave: