Battery for Garmin Striker 4
 

Building a portable kit for this, thinking that a SLA12-9 would work or possibly a SLA12-14. I would like to keep it light but I also want it to last the day.

I use a 7.2ah SLA battery with my striker 4 plus ice setup (D1272 SLA Battery):
https://www.princessauto.com/en/d127...t/PA0008998312

This setup is new to me this year, but it seems to hold up well. I don't have the ice transducer, I just mounted the transducer to some plastic pipe. I'll post some pics soon.

The transducer arm is telescoping to allow for various ice thicknesses.
The ammo box is a 50 cal. box and is a bit too big. It was the size that was on sale though. I could fit two batteries in parallel in there which is nice. Though, for the price of 2 7.2ah SLA batteries, you might be better off getting a lithium battery.

The current consumption of the striker plus 4 is 0.23A. It should last ~31 hours on a 7.2ah battery. Could be quite a bit less if cold temps.

https://i.imgur.com/FOCyeQf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/RBLspTd.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vHRuOWc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MwR8ZO7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NzAy5ft.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/v1NUIIZ.jpg

Actually, that 0.23A is likely the current draw of the unit itself without the transducer running. I'm not sure how long this battery will last while pulsing. I've had it out for 3 hours before with no issues.

Thanks! That's a lot more detailed than what I had expected. FYI SLA12-9 & SLA12-7 batteries are the same physical size. So I might go with the 12-9, if I find a slightly bigger box I'll go with a SLA12-14. Weight is a bit of a factor but if the finder can't last the day it's a moot point.

I have a Striker 5 and a 7. The 5 runs off a 10ah sla and I always will get a full 8-10hr day on it with screen brightness at about 70%. The 7 runs off a 10ah dakota and I've yet to kill that battery....its long mark to date is 22hrs running over a weekend. Both units run the gt8 ducer.

I have used both the 7ah and the 9ah for my Striker 4. Never managed to kill either in a day, even at -30C outside in the open. Also, when I need a new SLA battery, I try to hit up Battery World when I’m in Edmonton. I just picked up the 9ah there for $30 which is about the best price I could find.

Thanks everyone! I've ordered this Plano case and decided to add this USB outlet for convenience. Why I want a fully charged phone on the ice is beyond me :scared0018:

I'm also wondering how people are recharging their batteries after a day of fishing. Would a 1 or 1.5a battery maintainer be enough?

If you have a 9Ah battery and a one amp charger, it's going to take 9 hours to recharge a fully discharged battery. Is that enough for you? ;)

original battery
 

I just use the original battery and have never had an issue with battery life. I also use the original transducer with the attachment that came with the unit.

Might look at an actual ice transducer with Christmas or birthday money. For the people who have made the switch, do you notice a big difference? Is it worth the money?

The PVC idea looks good and sturdy!

I upgraded to lithium power for my underwater camera which is a must! I just got a 54a Li battery for Christmas so now there will be no batter life issues trolling in my canoe this summer. I had a lot of paddling to do on Burnstick last May when I pushed the limits of my SLA battery.

Eric

I made the switch to the dedicated ice transducer a couple years ago and have been very happy with it. I do a lot of hole hopping so it's nice to be able to drop the transducer in and not worry about leveling it.

If you're not really moving too much then I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think I noticed a big difference between the two transducers in terms of the image quality.