Help understanding Ice fishing batteries.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Okay, I was looking at my Ice fishing Batteries yesterday and realize that some are getting old and need replaced.


I've got a couple different ones.

I have 3 small squares for the small scout camera they are All 12v. Out of the three 2 are 5amp & one is 4.5amp. The 4.5 amp finnally ate it's pigs and won't run the camera.

I have 6 long rectangle batteries that run my Vex, show down, and Scout 2 bigger camera. All are 12v. Out of them two are 7amp, one 7.2amp, two 8amp, and one 9amp.

So my question is when a person goes to replace these batteries, what would be the best to get for ice fishing equipment to work properly & give the longest battery life.

[stonecat76]

12v.  9 amp

[zen_grasshopper]

9amp will work with all you have listed and will run the longest on a full charge. 

[fishfry95]

I use a atv battery it is a little heavier but it will run every thing you can haul out on the ice for a long time.

[bigredonice]

I use a atv battery it is a little heavier but it will run every thing you can haul out on the ice for a long time.

The kind of batteries he's talking about are SLA batteries = sealed lead acid.  ATV batteries are lead acid, but not sealed, and have a habit of spilling their acid when turned over and/or drying out.

[SKilo]

If any of your equipment has an enclosed battery compartment you might need to make sure the bigger 9amh ones will still fit in them.

[mjmeyer]

As SKilo mentioned and others have hinted at the battery ratings are in Amp Hours.
The Largest Amp Hour battery will give you the longest time between charges provided it fits.
Often times as in the case of my Humminbird batteries the 7.2 Amp Hour and the 9 Amp Hour are the same size.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

What is the highest amp/h you can find that would still fit in the ice fishing equipment?

[Nor Easter]

How big is your ice fishing "equipment"? Is it a box or is it a shanty? You need to post the dimensions then we can go from there...

You can use 2- 6 volt 300# monsters from a semi in series if you want a little added run time.. 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

showdown unit, aquavu scout 2 vex with a pro pack. need the battery to fit into the compartments on them.

[MLBob]

Okay, I was looking at my Ice fishing Batteries yesterday and realize that some are getting old and need replaced.


I've got a couple different ones.

I have 3 small squares for the small scout camera they are All 12v. Out of the three 2 are 5amp & one is 4.5amp. The 4.5 amp finnally ate it's pigs and won't run the camera.

I have 6 long rectangle batteries that run my Vex, show down, and Scout 2 bigger camera. All are 12v. Out of them two are 7amp, one 7.2amp, two 8amp, and one 9amp.

So my question is when a person goes to replace these batteries, what would be the best to get for ice fishing equipment to work properly & give the longest battery life.

Proper charging and not drawing it down too far is the key to maximizing the life of any 12v battery.  Don't run the batteries down to near dead.  Charge after every use.  Always store batteries fully charged.  Charge a stored battery every 3 months.  Don't let your ice fishing batteries sit the entire off season without an occasional charge.

[eriksat1]

I guess a 9 ah would be nice but I have never run a 7.2 ah all the way down in one day. In the old days I used to drag out a 12v car battery on a sled.

[RapShack]

showdown unit, aquavu scout 2 vex with a pro pack. need the battery to fit into the compartments on them.

For the Scout you are really limited by the size of the compartment.  I just had to replace the dead original 4.5ah in mine and ended up getting a new 5ah at a place called Batteries Plus for $27.  I think it's a chain so there might be one in your area, or just do a google search and find someplace like it local that you can take your stuff into to compare and make sure you get the right things.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

For the Scout you are really limited by the size of the compartment.  I just had to replace the dead original 4.5ah in mine and ended up getting a new 5ah at a place called Batteries Plus for $27.  I think it's a chain so there might be one in your area, or just do a google search and find someplace like it local that you can take your stuff into to compare and make sure you get the right things.

This is the scout 2 it takes the longer bigger battery. Hint the 5amp little square one you can pic up at bomgars in the electric fence area for about half of what you paid.

[SKilo]

I would say the 9amh one is going to be the largest on average that will fit in most of your electronics however if the manufacturer provided the smaller ones there's probably a reason such as battery compartment size.

You'll have a hard time to run down a 7amh battery in one day unless you are running other things off of it such as lights or as it starts getting older it will have a harder time to hold the same charge as when it was new (proper battery maintenance will extend this time). Also the extreme cold will lower the effectiveness/capacity of your battery especially as it gets used through out the day.

I have a 12amh battery that I use in my portable to run the seat heaters, lights, radios and the fan (I know it's overboard but oh well). It fits perfect on the clam battery shelf but I doubt you'll find any equipment that it would fit in nor do I think you would want to as it's much heavier even than a 9amh one.

Batteries plus is nice because you can find the exact size and connection types you are looking for but as with any specialty shop you pay for this. If you feel like shopping around you can usually find pretty good deals but you just need to keep in mind where you are buying from and how long have they been sitting on the shelves.

[pipeboy98]

if you pull the numbers off the battery that you need there is usually a very well priced one on ebay...and all you need is the universal battery # off of the side of most of them.   they are standards and sizes for sealed lead acid batteries and i've found most of them on ebay for cheep

the number will make sense if it's on there...a ub12120  is  12 volt 12 ah battery  and a ub1290 is 12 volt 9 ah battery.
i have also found that the more you buy on there....the better the price....so if you know you need a few don't shy away from the multipack!

good luck!

[ASATMillerbluegill]

I just bought an interstate for  this season 12v 10 amp for my vexilar