How Much Power Does My Fishfinder Use?

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The amount of power or amp draw fishfinder use varies widely by manufacturer and model. The biggest factor impact draw is screen size but other factors include transducer and settings. In this video I discuss power use from Humminbird, Garmin, and Lowrance entry level fishfinders including their Helix, Striker, and Reveal model lines respectively. Understanding your fishfinders power needs is important for both kayak and ice anglers alike.
Recommended batteries:
- TimeUSB 12 ah 12V: amzn.to/3XsjYVU
- RoyPower 18 ah 12: amzn.to/3tUCIQo
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[@NewEnglandOutdoorLife]

Great info condensed down for simplicity!!

[@smthcrmnal26]

I run the Lowrance FS 7 and Naquoa 20 amp battery. I can run for about 3 days of fishing. So it works really well for my weekend trips. Also the brightness of the screen plays a big factor. I bring a charger and battery if I run the battery too low.

[@ferryprive]

Exactly what i was looking for! Thanks a lot! I have a lowrance hook reveal 7 tripleshot and use it for 6-8hours max and can charge it after that. I might be going for a 12v12ah..would do the job for me. Thanks!

[@justdoingitjim7095]

Thank you! You provided the information I was needing. I run an old electric start, 25hp Evinrude that doesn't have a battery charging feature. Right now the only thing on that deep cycle lead acid battery is the starting motor and the running lights which I seldom use. I needed a fish finder that wouldn't drain my battery if I used it all day and leave me to having to use the pull start. I'm old and the motor doesn't turn over easily for me manually. Your video gave me enough information on where to start my search and narrow things down to a purchase. Thanks again!

[@locker1325]

Excellent presentation. Just what I needed to know.

[@NateRodriguez]

Awesome Vid... Very Detail and Techy.... Awesome Job. Thank You...

[@garyfrederick327]

Thank you for your time and educational information,

[@tommybradford4242]

You are so informative,I have learned so much from you, I live in cascade I'd , and I didn't know we had a good Kokanee fishery ,at payette lake, I will be there in the spring keep up the great work

[@spiltmilt]

That’s awesome. That’s some beautiful country you live in.

[@adamsnyder9347]

I went with the entry level Garmin unit last year. I needed the basic features of sonar and GPS, plus I wanted to be able to make depth charts. I got the Striker Vivid that has down imaging and quick contours when it was on sale, and a $20 8ah SLA battery. I use a quality multi stage battery charger/ maintainer, and get it onto the charger ASAP after use. It’s held up on a three day fishing trip with close to 24 hours of use. If I were to upgrade, I’d prefer a screen that has a horizontal orientation instead of up and down like the four inch screen. I figured out I could get a better view of the sonar history if I split the screen and have the chart, or the traditional sonar on top of the chirp screen. Hope my two cents is helpful here. This is a great video.

[@cindynh76]

Great video! I wish I saw this before I bought my Lowrance Hook Reveal 7. I'm going to use it on my 18' boat and my kayak. Still trying to sort through the best way to power it for both.

[@glpf5]

The problem is that when just about anything has specifications published around performance (whether it's battery life, water pressure, etc.) most of the time the testing that gets those numbers is done in very controlled conditions which rarely mimic real world use scenarios. Thanks for the informative video Tyler and Happy Holidays!

[@SparrowTheRed]

I use a helix 7 msi g4n with the XNT 9 HW MSI 150 T transducer. This summer I started with a 10Ah Noctua LiPO, and 2 times it died on me before I was done for the day, less than 8 hours of fishing. With this setup, I’m basically using every feature, but the one that appears to really increase the draw is the autochart live feature. After I started using autochart live, I started killing the battery. Before I was using it, I was coming home to a little less than 50% charge left. Ended up adding another 10Ah battery to bring my total to 20Ah. This way if I know I want to use autochart, I bring both batteries. Otherwise I can bring just one 10Ah.

[@spiltmilt]

Interesting thanks for sharing

[@oak8728]

Throwing power at the gps antenna over and over will greatly decrease battery for sure.

[@adamsnyder9347]

The GPS is always running because you can see your heading and speed at all times, regardless of weather or not you’re charting. I’ll have to pay better attention to battery life when I’m using that feature.

[@RonMTube]

Good info. Couple of points. Amps are an instantaneous measure, so for example a Striker 4 will be using .23 A and after an hour it will have used .23 amp hours (Ah). The big advantage of LifePO4 is that the battery isn't damaged by deep discharge while a lead acid battery shouldn't be discharged below around 50%. Bottom line is a 10 Ah lead acid battery can't really provide the full 10 Ah but the lithium will come close to its full rating.

[@billybarnett8942]

Awesome video i have a portable live scope 9 in Garman.. and i run the battery your showing but i think the battery charger i use has the led light on it that shows fully charge.. but .. only get about maybe a hour of use from the battery... so my question is what is the budget lithiam charger do you recommend? i have 2 Dakota 10ah batterys.

[@spiltmilt]

This is the charger I use for my lithium batteries amzn.to/43ziFIA

[@Spoolmak]

Just FYI, the Garmin Striker 4 owner's manual under specifications says it can use a power source between 10 and 20 volts. I've never tested this though as I haven't drawn my Marcum 10AH LIFEP04 battery down that low. I usually recharge it when it gets close to 12V so there's no chance I "go blind" as you said. I've used the unit/battery for 4 days @ 8 hours a day without recharge and never gotten below 12.2V

[@spiltmilt]

Interesting the manual I referenced said 12-20 volts.

[@UsetoCud]

Some thoughts on Lead Acid vs. LIFEPO4. The lead acid battery starts to degrade the battery at 50% voltage level. On LIFEPO4 you get 100% of the rating of the battery and only 50% before you start to degrade your lead acid batter. Also, the LIFEPO4 has a Battery Management System (BMS) that will protect for overcharging, too low discharge, high temperature, and low tempe😂rature protection on a lot models. Most will also get around 4000+ cycles before you reach 80% of the battery life. Meaning a 100 amp/hr battery will still be good for at least 80 amp/hrs after 4000 cycles.

[@chubbrock659]

I just bought a new 3ah battery for my basic striker 4, so it looks like I should be able to run approximately 9 hours on a full charge (if my Utah math is correct)

[@spiltmilt]

Yup that would be a good estimate

[@mrmidnight32]

So if I have a Garmin striker 7 and a 8ah battery how long should I be able to use it? Sorry I just got this set up and am still getting it sorted. I don’t have a charger yet and it’s only at 80% charge. I’m trying to figure out how much time I have for my trip next weekend

[@spiltmilt]

It’s basic math (8 ah * 0.8)/.8 = 8 hours run time but you’ll probably get a little less since you can’t run your battery to zero

[@mrmidnight32]

@@spiltmilt thank you!

[@returnofsid]

I know this is outside the scope of the video, but here goes. I recently purchased a 24v100ah Lithium battery, to power a 24v trolling motor. Is there any way to power 12v systems, such as a fish finder, with that battery?

[@spiltmilt]

You cannot. Besides your voltage issue connecting your fishfinder to your trolling motor battery will result in interference on your sonar.

[@returnofsid]

@Spilt Milt Productions thank you for the quick reply. I thought that was the case, but wasn't sure.

[@Girthology]

What are your thoughts on upgrading the transducer vs buying a new unit, specifically with the Striker 4/Plus? Since so many people start with a Striker 4 because of it price, do you think the $150 (GT8/GT10) upgrade is worth it or would the money be better spent on a better/larger model? Not sure if this is video worthy, but am curious on your opinion. Thanks

[@spiltmilt]

Not worth it UNLESS you fish extremely deep (+ 50') for fish like Lake Trout or deep water perch or Walleye. Otherwise I saw no tangible difference in performance. You'd get more out of investing in a new fishfinder that would have more open water applications but most companies just run the same basic software for ice fishing no matter the screen size.

[@Girthology]

@@spiltmilt Would you say the same for the open water transducer as well?

[@spiltmilt]

Same rules apply but spending more money on a new unit will give you options like down imaging and side imaging.

[@Girthology]

@@spiltmilt Appreciate the input and great content. Thanks

[@melnelson688]

Can I use a 12v 35ah on a striker 4

[@spiltmilt]

Of course

[@melnelson688]

@@spiltmilt Thank you