Li-ion batteries

My FF/GPS pulls 650mA and the longest I've run off my 9800 mAh Li-Ion battery without charging is 12 hours.  I could only get about 10 hours off my 7800mAh SLA until the voltage dropped below my FF/GPS set point - 9V.  So at least I know the Li-Ion is over 7800mAh.

As described in the "DIY Battery Box" thread I got one of the first 9800mAh "blue brick" Li-Ion batteries for the Revo13.  It's a long thread but worth it for the Li-Ion rigging information.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=7606.msg98314#msg98314

I still recommend the 1500 mA "Intelligent" charger over the 350 mA one that came with the battery as described in the referenced thread.  With it it seems I need to charge the battery for just about as long as it is used.  The thing to avoid with Li-Ion is over-charging.

Wow ... 12 hours for almost 10 ah battery seems really low! That is only one day of fishing! Having to recharge to just cover one weekend makes me want to stick with SLA batteries.

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Wow ... 12 hours for almost 10 ah battery seems really low! That is only one day of fishing! Having to recharge to just cover one weekend makes me want to stick with SLA batteries.

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Thats somewhat typical for the higher current draw fishfinders.

-Allen

Yeah, that's a thirsty fish finder

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I draw 650mAh too and get 20 hours out of my 9 ah SLA

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I draw 650mAh too and get 20 hours out of my 9 ah SLA

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Then you lucked out on a battery that has more capacity than spec, because the numbers dont add up.  Whats the brand?

-Allen

Werker brand. Running a HB 597 ci HD.

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Allen, 
In regards to your original questioning the reliability of the cheap, slow boat from China Blue Brick Batteries...   We now utilize 12 of these for a project at work and with most having over 130 drain / recharge cycles, we have had no failure to date.   Our demands on them are minimal as they are only needing to power devices drawing under 300 ma for a 10 hour stretch before being pulled.   They still have a good bit left in them so our charging is just topping them off.   As far as their not meeting advertised specs, our stand is " cheap, they work, why worry"  So while they may not meet their claimed specs,  they do meet the need of many applications which might make them a pretty good deal.

For my personal use,  I have switched over to the enclosed version of these batteries much like, though not as nice as Craig posted.  I find the USB port has come in handy for charging devices.   One of the few advantages of the cheap eagle FF/GPS units I run is their low current draw of 250 even with back light on high.  I keep the back light off the majority of the time, but I have fished 2 consecutive 8 hour days without power loss.   Just in case, each kayak has a second battery sitting in a dry bag as back up.  Since all combined still weighs almost half of the SLA I used to run, it works good for me.    I have put together a couple of these battery packs / boxes for other members of the forum as well and so far only positive comments have come back.



I had ordered a couple of the smart chargers you had purchased Demonick.  I had thought something was odd as the auction photo didn't actually show a red and green LED on the case,  but dots colored in as if with the Windows PAINT program.   When they arrived, I looked them over and found they were simply standard 12 volt power supplies reworked to provide the fully charged cut off feature as the stock chargers do.   Still I use them for charging as their a much higher quality power supply than the OEM chargers that came with the battery packs.   My next rainy day project is to experiment charging them with a programmable charger as often used in the RC world.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/thac6smbalic.html?gclid=CLnmps2OxrcCFaU5Qgody3sAVQ

What are those black versions named?  They look better quality than the blue ones.

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They are generic, much like the BB Batteries.  On the back they are printed YSD-12-5
Internally I would expect them to have the same cells as the BB's do.

   Another nice feature is there is not a separate connection for charging vs. output.  As long as the switch is on, you can unplug the exterior connection feeding the FF and plug in the charger.   Price wise they are around $15 more than a BB of the same "claimed" rating.   The ones I have state 9800 mAh
For only $5 more, that ANKER unit Craig is tempting with it's charge status indicators.