dhami013 Posted September 8, 2011 Posted September 8, 2011 I was wondering if I could use a small battery like a tractor or mower battery to power my fish finder, and or a little livewell pump? Or what would be a good little battery to power one or the other. I have a marine battery that powers my trolling motor but I feel like another would be too much for my fish finder. Any pointers on what to buy for relatively cheap? Quote
the crab Posted September 8, 2011 Posted September 8, 2011 I was wondering if I could use a small battery like a tractor or mower battery to power my fish finder, and or a little livewell pump? Or what would be a good little battery to power one or the other. I have a marine battery that powers my trolling motor but I feel like another would be too much for my fish finder. Any pointers on what to buy for relatively cheap? Just run the fish finder wires to the trolling motor battery. You're talking about a jon boat right? Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 Guys who take their sonar/gps units into the house and need a 12v power supply typically use a lawn mower or motor cycle battery. Sonars don't draw much juice so hooking it up to the trolling motor battery should not be a problem if your trolling motor battery has many reserve amps. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 Too much for your fish finder? A 12v is 12v....just hook it up to the TM battery. Don't forget a fuse. Quote
Super User bassfisherjk Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 I use my trolling motor battery for everything,no trouble. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 Sure - use the TM battery. BUT, if for some reason you did need to have an independent power source - use one of the small, relatively light, 7 or 8 AH sealed batteries like this one: 8AH Battery The same kind of battery is provided by Humminbird with their portable 570 sonar unit. I wouldn't mess with a motorcycle or mower lead-acid battery when you can get all the power you need out of one of the 7/8AH sealed units. Quote
dhami013 Posted September 8, 2011 Author Posted September 8, 2011 Alright so this is what I've got. I've got a 32lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor. It's relatively old, but still works. I've got a hummingbird Fish finder, relatively low grade. 12V My trolling motor has clamps on it that clamp directly to the battery. The battery I had for my fish finder was very old and recently died. I'm curious on what to do, how do you make a fuse to make sure the power doesn't surge? And how would you rig it all up? Is there a website with this information. I'm looking into it now. If anyone has any pointers I would appreciate the help. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 Here's your fuse holder: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=726606&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10109&subdeptNum=10598&classNum=11287 It goes on the red lead. I think the FF would need a 3 amp fuse, IIRC. You should be able to locate crimp on battery connectors at a marine supply store as well. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 I use this box from Minn Kota. I power a 50 lb TM and a FF/GPS with it. This box provies 2 manual reset circuit breakers 15 amp for accessory plugs and 60 amp for trolling motor. I placed an accessories plug on the FF wire and just plug it into the battery box. I fish from an Old Town square back canoe. Check it out. A-Jay http://store.minnkotamotors.com/products/418930/Trolling_Motor_Power_Center Quote
Super User Fishing Rhino Posted September 8, 2011 Super User Posted September 8, 2011 Your trolling motor battery will run your fishfinder just fine, until......................... Until you run your battery's voltage down with the trolling motor. Before you depend on your trolling motor battery, get a volt meter and test your battery's voltage at the end of one of your longer fishing trips. The other day I ran my battery down to under six volts. Ain't no twelve volt electronic device that will run on six volts. One of the units on my Nitro is extremely voltage sensitive. There can be enough juice in the battery to start the 150 Merc, but the Humminbird 898 is not happy, and will start hunting for the depth, then freeze up. Start the motor, and the sounder comes back to life. Since it is common for me to run the Merc for only a few minutes at a time, the battery gradually is drawn down. I now throw the charger on it after each outing. No more problems with the 898 Fish finders draw very few amps. I have an Eagle Cuda for my canoe. It runs on 8 AA batteries. I can fish four days a week, five to six hours per day, and 8 AA batteries will run it for a month. It depends on how much you draw down the battery with your trolling motor. Like some have suggested, I'd opt for a motorcycle or similar type twelve volt battery. It will operate your fish finder for weeks, even without charging. Quote
dhami013 Posted September 9, 2011 Author Posted September 9, 2011 I appreciate all the feed back. I'm gonna look into all my options and decide. Quote
the crab Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 You can also use two 6v lantern batteries wired together in series, meaning attach the positive lead of one battery to the negative lead on the other, the hook the finder up to the two remaining leads, positive on one battery and negative on the other. Tape the two together so it's just one piece to carry. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted September 9, 2011 Super User Posted September 9, 2011 You can also use two 6v lantern batteries wired together in series, meaning attach the positive lead of one battery to the negative lead on the other, the hook the finder up to the two remaining leads, positive on one battery and negative on the other. Tape the two together so it's just one piece to carry. For $30, it's easier to get a little battery from Radioshack. But then it's one more battery to keep charged up. If you are running out of juice on the trolling motor, then it's time for a new battery, preferably two in parallel. Besides, if you are out of juice for the TM, then I'd think getting back to the launch would be more important than what's on the graph. Quote
dhami013 Posted September 9, 2011 Author Posted September 9, 2011 Well as of right now, my motor is in the shop. So all I've been using is the TM, so after about 6 hours it starts running out of juice. But that's 6 hours of straight use, that's not bad right? That's why I was thinking of getting a separate battery for the fish finder. I don't mind charging two batteries, especially if the fish finder one won't have to be charged too often. Quote
banjoman Posted September 15, 2011 Posted September 15, 2011 I was wondering if I could use a small battery like a tractor or mower battery to power my fish finder, and or a little livewell pump? Or what would be a good little battery to power one or the other. I have a marine battery that powers my trolling motor but I feel like another would be too much for my fish finder. Any pointers on what to buy for relatively cheap? Quote
banjoman Posted September 15, 2011 Posted September 15, 2011 I had my fish finder hooked to the TM battery and I got alot of interference. I now have it hooked to a small lawn tractor battery. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.