I found out the hard way running my two Garmin graphs and Livescope off of the main starting battery can get you stranded! Have been running this set for 2 seasons with no issue until this weekend. After about 4 hours of fishing I went to start my 150HP motor with no luck.

I am looking at potentially adding a separate battery to run only my graphs and transducers. Any suggestions on size and type of battery I should go with? Please share your ideas or current set ups! I also wanted to get this out there so others don’t get stranded like I did.

Current set up
Console - Garmin 8612xsv
Front Graph - Garmin 7610xsv
Livescope GLS-10
GT54UHD-TM transducer

Thanks everyone

Do you turn off the console unit when you go to the bow to fish with the other two units? If so, that console unit is really running off the outboard when it's running, and isn't part of what is draining the battery. The two front units should not be killing an appropriate main battery in only 4 hours.

What main battery do you have that's dying? Have you kept the electrolyte level maintained, and do you charge it upon return from each outing? (The outboard is unlikely to keep it fully charged with the electronics usage.) IF it's a Group 24, you need to go big! There are guys here who fish several units all day when running a strong Group 31 battery so as the Sam's Group 31 AGM or Optima's Group 31 blue top. You may be having a battery failure, for the stated reasons, and it's likely a battery performance upgrade may make more sense than yet another battery in the boat.

Starting batteries sometimes choose to fail on the water even with fair or light usage. Carrying a lithium jump-starter is a wise move as a contingency for that happening. Those weigh 2-3 pounds typically. Being stranded isn't necessarily the electronics fault. Battery life cycle and boater preparation are in that equation that gets a boater stranded.

These are some helpful tips - thank you! I do not turn console unit off when fishing up front. That’s a good tip.

The battery I have for the starter/fish finders is an Interstate 24MS—HC battery (1000 MCA and 135 R.C.). Purchased in Dec. 2018 and I charge it with my MinnKota onboard after every outing. Fluids were good and seems to be holding a charge after I recharged it after being stranded. However it sounds like getting a larger Group 31 battery and lithium jumper would be a great way to go.

The Sams Club AGM Group 31 has 1000 MCA, but bumps the RC up to 210. See how much difference you can get with that increased size? Of course, the RC is what matters for your deep cycle drain like the electronics. I'm not very familiar with the birds, but they might have a "sleep" mode you can use? Lowrance has something like that so that you can easily drop the drain to almost nothing, but wake the unit up quickly by tapping the power button, with no reboot delay required. If you can do something like that, it's a big help. That battery is $180, btw.

On the jump-starter, I suggested this recently to a member who happened to tell his buddy also. They both bought one, and BOTH of them needed it within a month. I got a message thanking me for saving both of them from being stranded. The good value unit I recommend is: NOCO BoostXL GB50 Jumpstarter
That one will start a 250HP outboard easily, and most tow vehicles (except maybe the huge diesels). It was recently on sale for $110, so you might watch for it to go on sale again after father's day. I recommend the 1500A model because in my opinion most suppliers exaggerate what their jumpstarter can do, so I compensate by going bigger.

Thanks for the jumper link - I’ll be getting one of those for sure!

Late to the conversation. But I run both my LVS 9" screens, Lowrance HDS, pumps, aerator off my main starting battery, and never have problems. something's not right in your system. Battery has to be good to begin with; then it's your connections, and wiring.

I've had: Wiring look perfect but going bad and drawing current, bad connectors, highly resistive connectors. This is over 15 yrs of boat ownership and 3 boats.

Sure, you can put a new battery in (and a jumper on board is a good idea), but you're just masking your problem. They're a pain to troubleshoot and resolve, but they're fundamentally simple (but not easy). If you're not handy, find a really good technician to resolve these issues for you. Or learn to do it yourself and you'll benefit tremendously.
Tim

Thanks! What battery are you running Tim for your starter? Also - making sure you run your Livescope black box off of the same battery?

One thing I have also noticed is sometimes when I start off day Livescope looks very clear and normal...then after a few hours of fishing clarity gets worse. Maybe battery is ran down at that point? I did charge my battery and tested at Autozone and it is showing good.

Well I just had a livescope system installed and a new EchoMap Ultra 122 on the console. The installer wired them directly to the starting battery. I also have a jump start switch installed. Like a poster above said I do is put my console unit in sleep mode as soon as I go up front. I also put my livescope unit in sleep mode when I stow the trolling motor to move to another area. I think this helps alot. I would consider installing a jump switch as well.

Thanks for all the tips!

Just a Marine battery from Costco. Yes, I have one battery for all my electronics. My trolling motor batteries are only for trolling motors. 4 rules in marine electronics: Connections, connections, connection.... pay attention rules 1-3. .

You may have already done this, but you can choose to display the voltage on the Garmin screen. I have a Livescope setup with a 93SV and try to keep an eye on the voltage when I’m fishing. I got stranded once after adding the livescope. I bumped up to a group 31AGM starting battery and have been fine since, but I still watch the voltage and try to run the engine before it drops too low.

carry a set of jumper cables, cheapest way to insure you don't get stranded. I have a 12' set so I can also jump another boat if needed.

I run 2 93sv plus and a 92sv plus (no ducer and minimum features but works with livescope) livescope and so far no problem but I have almost new deka grp 24 for start and run 3 grp 27 for force tm.