Hobie Fishfinder Battery Upgrade

It was time to replace the battery after noticing I was only getting 3 hours of use out of my 12V 9AH Gel Cell battery that came with my Hobie Fishfinder Kit. On a full charge the voltage topped off at 12.1V! The thing about these battery’s is that they don’t like to be discharged and my Lowrance Elite 5 TI drew 1.2A, virtually damaging the cells by running them dry on every outing.

The solution: Buy a bigger battery! But the downside is you would have to carry the additional weight. So even better, buy a Lithium Iron Phosphate “LiFePO4.” Not only lighter but they don’t mind being completely discharged!

Time to salvage the cover and connector using a flat blade:

Great job Hobie!

Now let’s clean up those wires and remove the plastic covers so we can use them on the new battery:


Use a good flexible glue for the connectors and let’s fill up those covers:



Make sure the opening is completely sealed off to prevent corrosion and then clean off any excess:



Finally let the glue dry for 24hrs and install in the existing Hobie tray.

I opted for the 12AH to give myself ample time to enjoy using my Fishfinder. It’s wider so it won’t snap into place but nothing a bungee cord can’t fix.

Another added benefit is that lithium battery’s can be mounted on its side if you want to avoid the wires being pulled by the battery tray:


Here are the specs from the battery app and the voltage from the Fishfinder:



This lithium battery cost $79.00 and works with the existing Hobie charger. At the price of just $9 more than the Hobie replacement battery and a 5 year warranty, it was a no brainer. I hope this helps anyone out there looking to replace or upgrade their existing Hobie battery kit.

Link to the battery:
https://lithiumhub.com/product/12-volt-12ah-battery/

Hope you get to use that more than once this next year. Lol c-ya bud 👍🏻

I use my old DeWalt 12V rechargeable drill battery.  Put it in a waterproof plastic boat from Wallyworld and filled a couple holes for stainless screws to go through to hook up the wires.  Use heavy alligator clips to connect to the battery in the box.  Really cheap if you have an old drill that you do not use.  Will go all day.  And charges in the old DeWalt Charger.

was installing a new garage doo opener yesterday.  has a sealed 5AH battery backup.  Chambelain / Liftmaster.  see they sell for about $28 on amazon.  would be a good kayak battery.  probably the standard hobie charger would work fine.

Curious why you didn't solder the connectors to the battery before sealing them? Would hate to have them work loose and still be glued closed.

I have a "LiFePO4" battery that I've been using for 6+ years and, as far as I can tell, it's still as good as the day I bought it. IMHO, it's the best choice for kayak fishing.