I recently installed a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI and 4 strings of LED lights(2 front/2 rear) on my Jackson Big Rig - looks cool but the deer feeder battery recommended by a well meaning clerk at BP will not run both for long and takes forever to charge. I am looking for advice on a deep cycle 12v battery.

thanks for the help

here is a thread that you might want to look at

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/10159019/Re:_Batteries_and_Battery_Rela#Post10159019

a lot of guys are switching to the LI batteries - a bit more expensive but you save yourself paddling around all that extra weight - which makes a HUGE difference.

I personally use a small AGM for right now - but all i am running is a fish finder. whenever i upgrade my kayak and/or get lights I'll probably be going LI myself to save a few pounds.

I run a 12 V 7 AH battery on my Hummingbird 597 all day on one charge. I have no idea what the draw is on your LEDs. And I don't know how long "forever" is but but if it takes more than a 3 or 4 hours I'd say you have a problem with either the charger or the battery.

I can run my monochrome sonar unit all day for 2-3 days on a single charge with my 7 ah battery that is about 5 years old. I don't -- I recharge every day (on the rare occasions that I use it), and that's why my battery is so healthy. It only takes a couple of hours on a Battery Tender, which IIRC charges at 1.5 amperes. I know that the color units with all the fancy stuff on them draw a lot more power, but it still doesn't sound right that you're running it down that fast and taking that long to recharge. I'd have the battery and the charger checked. And your LEDs shouldn't be pulling that much juice. It sounds like something's defective.

I run a Battery Tender Lithium Ion 24ah battery on my kayak. It powers my Helix 5 and a couple of LED strips for a few days if I wanted it to and only takes about an hour to recharge.