I recently got my first good fish finder, a helix 7 si with a lake master chip. I was fishing last Friday and used it to locate deep spots with fish on them but I was turning it off after using it for a while because I was mostly using it just to locate my spots. Do most people leave it running all day while fishing and how does that affect the life of the product? Is heat a problem in Texas on a summer day with the thing running at probably a higher temperature and the external temp being around a 100? Does this affect your cranking battery in any significant way? I googled a little bit but figured I would just ask some the experts here. The only thing I have done so far is turn off two of the views I don't find helpful (flasher). This is my first good piece of electronics so I appreciate any information I get.

All day at the wheel unless I'm shallow and don't want it constantly pinging, will turn the nose off sometimes

Thanks, I think next time out I will just let it run. I am sure they are designed for that but I have never dropped a grand on electronics before so I am babying it. haha.

It shouldn't affect your starting battery much, especially if you crank up and run around the lake any during the day.

They will drain the battery to some extent especially if you are running 3 or 4. If I'm going to be on a spot for awhile, and remember to do it, I will put my console unit on standby mode. But I don't always think about it.

They are ok to leave on all day. With a 3 amp max draw, under near failure conditions (it needs fusing for max 3amps), it doesn't draw enough current to drain a battery severely. Also they're efficient enough that heat generated via the screen itself is minute vs the heat that it will simply absorb through Texas sunny lake fishing.

Like Slade said. If you have a few of them, It wouldn't hurt to turn one off I guess.

I have 4 graphs and a stereo system. I don't turn any of it off throughout the day. It's fine.

I run 3 graphs and the areater all day in tournaments and never have a problem. But I'm running a 1000 cranking amp Excide Battery. I have one of those emergency jump systems in my boat that you push a button and it will start your motor with the trolling batteries. Pretty neat deal, but I have never had to use the darn thing.