Kayaker needs advice

[emuman]

Could someone please tell me what kind of battery is the lightest as I'm wanting something to put in my kayak but not a heavy trolling battery! Thanks!

 

[MidTNKayakAngler]

Lithium ION would be the lightest, but most use a Sealed Lead Acid, due to Lithium ION being unstable around water. Now physical size depends greatly on Ah "Amp Hour" rating. A lot of people who are running a 4" screen for 1 day will usually opt for a battery with a rating of 5Ah at the minimum. I run a 7" color screen, and like to get (2) 9-10hr trips out of my battery so I run a 14Ah battery. I was running a 21Ah battery and would get 4 trips pretty easily out of it. Figure how many hours you want to run your equipment, use the owners manual to figure current draw of your equipment, and then determine what size battery you need.

 

[Buoy-Master]

Makes it heavier. Lol. Need a trailer?

 

[Blue76]

I have a couple of small gel batteries that came out of those fiber optic power supply boxes the cable company installed under my floor. Had the control board go out on them and the repair man gave me the batteries out of them. Nothing special though. I believe they are 7ah and run my 4" screen all day easily. I am working on putting my HB898 on the kayak. I will run theses in series I think and hopefully get 6 hours or so out of them.

Greg

 

[fishmedic]

I use 10 AA batteries. You can buy the battery holder at Radio shack or on amazon for a couple bucks. This will give you 12v but less amp hours than a gel filled battery. Seal it up in a dry bag and your set. This is the configuration I use when I drag the kayak down to the beach a couple times a year. I can fish for about 6 hours before the batteries need to be recharged or replaced. I have a color 4" graph and have had no trouble. Weight was a concern for me too and this is the lightest configuration you will find. But, If you are going to use it a lot or fish for longer periods of time, this might not be worth the trouble.