DIY Battery Box

What kind of run time are you getting out of one of these puppies with like a lowrance elite ff?

What is the current draw for your Lowrance Elite?  There are a number of different models. 

My H'bird draws 650mA and so far the 9Ah blue brick has powered it for 8 hours continuously.  It will go longer. 

My blue brick is awesome. Really like that's it's so little and light. I do have to add that splicing the wires is pretty hard.  The wires are super thin.

My blue brick is awesome. Really like that's it's so little and light. I do have to add that splicing the wires is pretty hard.  The wires are super thin.

You need one of these 


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A somehow alternative approach to a DIY battery box:

-   PELI 1300 case
-   12V 16ah or 24ah sealed battery (capacity of battery depends whether I use it for one-day trips or longer trips in areas without access to electricity)
-   6 amp Solar charger regulator
-   Flexi PV Solar panel (Output: 20W, 17.5V at max, 1.15A at max)
-   Various plugs and wire pieces

The battery box and panel is used with a Garmin 526S compo (plotter and FF) on my Hobie Revolution. The Garmin is a thirsty beast and has a max consumption of 15W. Without charging between fishing days it is not possible to use the Garmin during trips to e.g. Sweden where we camp and fish from small islands without access to electricity. The solar panel will allow me to camp and fish for weeks without conventional charging.  In addition, the solar powered battery is used to charge various video cams and still cameras.

For kayak fishing, an obvious disadvantage is the weight of the battery box. Approximately 8lbs and 16lbs for the 16ah and 24ah set-up, respectively. In addition, I need to find a way of preventing the box from knocking a hole in the kayak when the kayak eventually will flip.

The box-solar panel combo was originally developed as an experimental set-up in relation to use of Mobile Health (“M-Health”) services in Sub-Saharan rural communities. In many African countries there is an extensive coverage of mobile phone networks and mobile phones are commonly used in rural communities without access to electricity. Though, charging the cellular phones in these areas is always an issue. The combination of a 24ah old-school 12V sealed battery and a 20W solar panel makes it possible to allow continues charging of numerous cellular phones. Hence, the aim of this small project was to make a low-cost, solid, maintenance free and (almost) waterproof battery box, which easily can be moved from place to place.  By using stainless connectors it’s possible to use the set-up in coastal rural communities where metal corrosion normally kills electrical connectors after a few weeks. One may argue that there are cheaper solutions out there - but at least the box seems rock-solid and can take loads of beating and drops.

Please notice that the measurement (ruler) uses the metric system - scale is in centimeter. 1 inch = 2.54 centimeter.

Nicely designed and engineered.  It's beautiful.  How does the solar charging work when overcast?

You may be interested in seeing how I installed bungie lacing across the bow and front hatch of my Revo13.
http://www.demonick.com/kayak/HMR/Bow.Bungee.Lacing/HMR.Bow.Bungee.Lacing.html

Thanks for the kind words, demonick!

Well - I have not made attempts to keep track of the battery voltage during longer periods with cloudy weather. I have made direct measurements of the voltage output of the panel under overcast conditions.  Here, it seems to produce 11-12V or more and the output will increase to 17V or higher when the panel is exposed to direct sunlight. These measurements were done directly from the output of the panel – not from the regulator’s outputs. Although the charging capacity is reduced when the panel is not directly exposed to sunlight - I assume it will still charge the battery – although at a lower rate.  So in cloudy weather it will take longer time to reach the point of a fully charged battery. But it works.

While charging and using the battery the regulator will prevent deep charge as well as prevent overloading the battery. BTW – generally it is not recommended to place the regulator in an airtight space with little or no cooling. I was therefore worried that the regulator will heat up and eventually melt down during use. But during +20 days of testing I have not noticed any heating or raised temperatures in the box or around the regulator. 

Thanks for the link to your site! As you may be able to see, the bungee holding the solar panel in place is connected to the kayak at 3 points. One point just below the panel and two points at the front handle site. This seems to do the job and I have not noticed any flapping or movements – even in heavy wind or as a result of waves hitting the panel.  Since the panel is somehow flexible it will not be an advantage to fix it with several straps across the surface. This may result in a bended or broken panel.

Demonick - Would you mind posting pics of your blue-brick set up?  I just placed my order for one (hoping to have the fish finder on order soon too - just looking for a good sale price).  I find it easier to follow what folks are doing with a couple pictures.

As the photos show, it's pretty simple.  I cutoff the output lead and soldered, shrink-wrapped, and gooped one of the waterproof connectors from post #37 of this thread. 

The first photo shows the finished Hobie Gear Bucket with the blue brick, foam padding and the output and charging leads.  Note the goop sealant in the notch for the output lead.  Some forethought would have allowed me to drill a small hole below the top edge, slip the lead through it and then solder.   It turns out a .380ACP case slightly belled fit perfectly over the charging lead.  When installed in the kayak the lead gets pushed down in between the foam pieces, and the lid of the bucket snapped down. 

The second photo shows it without the foam padding.  The internal partition of the bucket was removed to fit the much larger SLA which I was previously using.   The internal partition does not need to be removed to fit the blue brick.  The blue brick was vacuumed sealed in a bag with the corner cutoff and sealed with silicone seal to allow the leads to exit.  In the photo the battery has been flipped - the leads exit at the bottom of the bucket.  The on/off switch is easily accessible past the foam.

I remove the entire bucket to charge. 

Do you have any spare water-proof connectors I can buy?

Do you have any spare water-proof connectors I can buy?

Sorry, no.  I like them so much I keep finding other uses for them.  Here's the link I used to order:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320854063683

By the way, I NEVER received the CC-TV connectors I ordered, but then, I didn't need them either.

I had remembered the looong lead time on those CCTV connectors.  I didn't realize these were different.  Will order some tonight.

Just need to decide where to buy the fish finder now and place that order too.

Just ordered the connectors.  About how long did it take for you to get them?

Just ordered the connectors.  About how long did it take for you to get them?

About 10 days.

My dilemma with the battery box was I really wanted to use aa's strictly for weight and for the fact that the aa can be found at just about every quick mart. I was mainly going to reuse rechargeable's but also wanted the option of just using regular aa's if i had to. So 8,10,or12 aa's? I picked all three.  With a couple of PDT switches i am able to choose to run off of 8,10 or even 12 batteries. I'm waiting on my rubber covers for the switches then she'll be water tight.

12 rechargeable=14.4 v   12 standard=18v
10 rechargeable=12 v      10 standard=15v
 8 rechargeable=10 v        8 standard=12v

How many amp hours can you get with 12?