Lithium backup battery for FF?

I have been using SLA batteries for my fish finders (ff). As the sonar technology evolves, it seems that each new generation requires more power for a full day on the water.

I know that there are Li batteries that can do the job but they are pretty expensive.
Has anyone tried using one of those accessory backup batteries that you use to recharge a cellphone or tablet as a primary battery for your ff? Yesterday I saw a backup kit with 2 10,000 mAh batteries (that's 10 Ah!) for less than $40 USD. That's less than the cost of a single 10Ah SLA, and a lot smaller and lighter. What gives?

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I was hoping someone would chime in on this. Right now I'm using a NOCQUA 4.4 battery and it works well and is very light but I do look at the candy bar type phone chargers and wonder how they would work or if they would even work at all.

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Duncan

USB chargers are 5 volts and you need 12. You can get 12 v LiFe batteries, I use a couple the same size as the standard SLA’s. They are super light but unfortunately still fairly expensive.


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On the bank of the Bow River

You can buy high quality lithium batteries for a few dollars. Go to your local home hardware store and buy the cheapest cordless drill they offer. Most times you an find these types for under $50 and they'll come with two batteries plus a smart charger. Throw the drill in the trash and enjoy your new lithium batteries and smart charger. This is far and away the best source of power for kayak electrical accessories.

Interesting idea, Tom. But most of these inexpensive kits include relatively low power batteries (1.5 - 2 Ah). I am hoping to find something in the 8-10 Ah range, to keep me out on the water all day.

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You won't be disappointed in what I've outlined. We've used these for years and for more amp hours you just get a larger capacity battery. I'll make up a video and toss it on Youtube tomorrow.

I get about 6 hours out of a battery and carry two. Takes about 3 seconds to swap them out. My buddy went with an 18 volt and stepped it down to 12, and because of the additional capacity of the larger battery can get about 15 hours out of his.

These are the ones I'm using, one will last me about a day and a half running a 7" Lowrance FF and a 4" Lowrance Elite GPS.
https://www.amazon.com/K2-Energy-LiFEPO4-Battery-Systems/dp/B01NBFKYW4

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On the bank of the Bow River

Thanks for the video, Tom. Looks like a slick system, especially if the whole fleet can swap batteries so easily.

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I have been using a lithium 12v12ah for about six months now and I am very happy. It looks just like a regular lead acid battery, but it weighs only 772.5 grams or 1.7 lbs. It has gone all day powering my Lowrance Elite 5. I purchased it from Alibaba for about $60.
https://imgur.com/aYZWZbp

I have a 10ah nocqua lithium

I have yak power lights.

My fish finder uses .9 ah
The yak power control box uses. 6ah
My bow lights use almost 2ah
My rear use a little over 1ah

I also have a USB wired in to charge my phone

Nocqua cuts out just above 9v volts

5 hrs with finder on, 1.5 of that with lights

My battery was at 10.3 volts when I got off water.

I dont normally use my lights so the 10ah should be fine for me. I am gonna pick up another 10ah along with the power splitter to have both just in case.

I run the Mighty Max 22 AH SLA battery and have had zero issues with it. Sure it's heavier than a LI but at 13 lbs it's not creating any issues for my kayak. I run my fish finder, 360 light, green LED's, interior cargo bullet LED's and sometimes plug my camera in the USB charging port when I don't have the camera in the waterproof case. I also can run an 18 watt spotlight. This battery will run my fish finder alone (Lowrance Hook2 5) for at least 3 days. Never tried to run it longer.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BS ... UTF8&psc=1

I'm usually willing to spend a few extra dollars if it means I can get more juice and not have to swap batteries out as often, but I hadn't considered the possibility of buying cordless drills and using the batteries from those. I'm going to have to try that out too.

I got a new Garmin 106SV and a NMEA2000 network with a Garmin Steadycast. I switched from a Duracell 18AH AGM (12.45 lbs) to a 30AH LiFePO4 (6.9lbs) and I could not be happier. 1.67x my AH capacity and almost halved (55%) my weight. My 18AH battery would only last about 6 to 7 hours (106SV + NMEA2000 network with Garmin Steadycast attached). All I know is that the new battery lasts longer than 10 hours (as long as I have been out since getting it).

Great video I found on Li vs lead acid in case you are interested.

https://youtu.be/7gqw8XeG5q0

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Fish tremble when they hear my name

A ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are built for.
--John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928