Beating the "Blue Brick" drum again

In the past few days, I've spent several hours reviewing the forum, in search of the cleanest fish finder installs. It seems about a year ago, everyone was digging the "Blue Brick" idea so I'm wondering from those who tried it if its still the way to go.  If so, does anyone have links that are current for the related supplies (many of the older links are now dead ends)?

I'm not certain about the finder itself yet as I want to go with GPS on it, but trying to keep the cost reasonable. Could use some suggestions there as well and FTR, this is being installed on 2007 Hobie Revo. Thanks in advance.

I'd still go with a blue brick and intelligent charger.  I don't have any recent links because the setup I have has worked perfectly.

I hate the blue brick and will not be buying another. I dropped the first one and it broke one of the connections between the cells. This was probably my fault but I would not describe them as very durable. I tried to solder it back together but I think I fried the board. I then bought a second brick and the charger that came with it didn't work. I had another one so it wasn't the end of the world, but then it stopped taking a charge after a couple of months of use. The wires on the thing are also very small and seem to be prone to corroding and easily breaking. I recently bought a EZO battery similar to the one below. I've only used it once but it worked perfectly. It also seems a lot more solid than the brick. I'd also much prefer to buy through amazon than ebay and have the item shipped from China.

http://www.amazon.com/EZOPower-15000Mah-Capacity-Portable-Rechargable/dp/B00DJG18IA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1397061940&sr=8-4&keywords=evo+9800+battery

After hearing about all the quality problems with the blue bricks, I purchased the unit Noah linked to.  It appears to be designed for use in the real world.  Time will tell.

-Spot-

I had the same problem with the brick that came with my used T13......completely corroded.... I went the battery from the kayak shed on both my yaks, they are a bit heavier, a little bit more money but are super durable, completely sealed and they hold a charge for quite some time. I have had my outback out many times and have only charged the battery twice........only because I forget though.

That sure doesn't seem like a lot of Amp Hours.   How long will it run a FF with GPS?

That sure doesn't seem like a lot of Amp Hours.   How long will it run a FF with GPS?

Probably depends if you are running a color FF with GPS or but I think most of us are running 7 AH batteries and they usually last 1-2 days of fishing. I believe 7 AH equals 7000 mAH hours, right? 

15,000 is a LOT.  The typical sealed lead acids have 7000 mAH.

I had very similar issues with mine, but I've been able to repair it (three times now)...I have a lot experience with that sort of thing.  The cells are literary held together by blue shrink wrap...well mine is now held together with duct tape, but it's pretty apparent that quality isn't a concern for the manufacturer.

To make mine more robust, I made a foam insert for my dry box that holds it in place and works as a cushion; I haven't had any problems since I made this.  I don't use the charger that came with the battery either because it's just too wimpy...I use a DC power supply I've got kicking around that garage instead.  I love the battery life/weight ratio these batteries provide, but when mine dies beyond repair I'm going to spend more for quality and get one like Noah mentioned.

Don't forget, the blue brick was made for security cameras, not kayak fishing.  Like most things, we subject these things to way more abuse than they are designed to handle.  Hell, even our 'saltwater' rods and reels go through more shit in a single surf launch/landing than they are intended to.

I have been running a 10 mAH battery similar to the one Spot just got and I can run an Elite 4 for 2 solid days of fishing.  I have even used it to charge my wife's cell phone.

Stuck that battery in my Amazon cart.  If that blue brick dies on me I'll buy that one.

One thing with the blue brick was I found I needed to replace the charging port because I was dumb enough to let the original one get corroded.  Put one of the waterproof CCTV connectors on it and it worked very well.

Now I just need to take the time to figure out if my warranty replacement FF was a dud or if there's cable or a battery problem that is keeping it from turning on.

That sure doesn't seem like a lot of Amp Hours.   How long will it run a FF with GPS?

Probably depends if you are running a color FF with GPS or but I think most of us are running 7 AH batteries and they usually last 1-2 days of fishing. I believe 7 AH equals 7000 mAH hours, right?

Yes, 7 Ah = 7,000 mAh.  And you'll get that amount of life when the current draw of the device being powered is equal to the rated current and voltage spec of the battery, which is determined by the manufacturer for these types of batteries.  I believe these particular batteries are advertised using the rated specs for USB(5v) device powering.  If you try to power something that requires a higher voltage through the 9 or 12 volt options that these things provide, you will get less amp hours out of them than they advertise.  My fish finder pulls around 0.6 amps so when I used one of the 10 Ah Lithium Ion batteries to power it at 12 volts I think I got less than about 5 hours of life.  I'm using a 10 Ah lead acid gel cell for my ff.

These rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries are pretty awesome though.  I use mine to charge all sorts of stuff(cell phones, cameras, etc.) and they are amazing to have on vacations.  I'm planning on getting a few more of them as spares to have around in the case of emergencies or whatever. 

Amp hours should be amp hours.  If not it should be so many amp hours at 5V and something less amp hours at 12V. 

If you change the voltage that will change the watts. 

V=IR
P=IV
so P=I^2(R)

Just not quite seeing how a higher voltage means less amp hours.

Then again I barely passed the electrical engineering classes in undergrad, and have repressed most such memories since.

That sure doesn't seem like a lot of Amp Hours.   How long will it run a FF with GPS?

Probably depends if you are running a color FF with GPS or but I think most of us are running 7 AH batteries and they usually last 1-2 days of fishing. I believe 7 AH equals 7000 mAH hours, right?

Yes, 7 Ah = 7,000 mAh.  And you'll get that amount of life when the current draw of the device being powered is equal to the rated current and voltage spec of the battery, which is determined by the manufacturer for these types of batteries.  I believe these particular batteries are advertised using the rated specs for USB(5v) device powering.  If you try to power something that requires a higher voltage through the 9 or 12 volt options that these things provide, you will get less amp hours out of them than they advertise.  My fish finder pulls around 0.6 amps so when I used one of the 10 Ah Lithium Ion batteries to power it at 12 volts I think I got less than about 5 hours of life.  I'm using a 10 Ah lead acid gel cell for my ff.

These rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries are pretty awesome though.  I use mine to charge all sorts of stuff(cell phones, cameras, etc.) and they are amazing to have on vacations.  I'm planning on getting a few more of them as spares to have around in the case of emergencies or whatever.

The ratings on these are the raw "native" rating of the internal battery used.  But keep in mind that the output is regulated, so inefficiencies enter the picture when talking about realized ratings.  I talked with a battery manufacturer about this very issue and the response I got is that these designs are about 70% efficient (and as an electrical engineer with experience in batteries, I believe that).  So my 10,000 mAH rated battery is really a 7,000 mAH battery at the end of the day.  It's still lighter and smaller than a 7,000 mAH SLA battery.

-Allen