Lowrance Hook5 just died after a year. Considering options

[ProfessorLongArms]

Originally Posted by chris138

Based on how you phrased your questions, I'm guessing you already know these tips. But I will just say them anyway.

Regarding waterproof of lowrance units: I have used several lowrance units and found all of them to be good in wet applications. That said, do you launch with your fishfinder installed on deck? There is basically no sonar unit which will survive repeated surf launches/landings. No matter what brand or model you use, always stash your head unit in a drybag below deck, then install after you are clear of the surf. I have an elite 4x (pre "hook" model) and it has lasted nearly 5 years and still going strong. It has only been used in the ocean for the most part.

If you already do this, apologies for the redundant information. I just see lots of guys launch with sonar installed and seen many units destroyed.



Regarding unit dying after and hour: the failure you describe sounds a lot like an issue I have encountered when my battery is bad. The battery will take a full charge, but when you put it under load it dies very quickly. First the screen starts flickering, then it completely shuts off. Usually u can restart it once or twice but it wont stay on. Based on your description it my be an issue with the hook2 line...

I hope you don't take offense to the simplicity of my suggestion, but did you try a fresh battery? Probably you have already tried that, and if so, sorry again for the redundant info.

In my experience I have found Lowrance products to be very reliable in the marine kayak application. I now have Elite 7ti2 and I highly recommend it to people with the budget for it. Touch screen works great, even when soaked with saltwater and yellowtail blood. Never had an issue with water ingress to the SD port. I had a Raymarine dragonfly which I found to be totally inadequate for La Jolla, the SD slot shit the bed after a couple months. Raymarine customer service was great but IMO its an inferior device.

These are fine questions and I don't mind them at all! This is quite helpful thinking and worth considering.

I always keep my unit in the hobie rectangular hatch box and dry stored until I'm through the surf.

I'd honestly be surprised if it's the battery, but I happen to have a spare from my baja trips that I rotate between... That said, both batteries are only about a year old and I store them with charge.

As far as connectors go, I'm pretty religious about keeping them cleaned and greased these days, and also only connecting to the battery once the terminal is hooked up. I also keep a VU meter in my bag, and I test the battery before putting it in the pelican case. I pretty regularly check my lines to make sure they're holding up well, but I haven't thought to check my voltage while on the water and it's acting up. I'm gonna do that right now.

TBQH, this isn't a problem I've had in my outback... it rides pretty dry unless there's excessive swell and even then it's only splash. The big problems started showing when I was out on the water in my scupper... I still keep my head unit below deck until after launch, but that one's decidedly waaay more of a wet ride. Most of this planning is to be able to keep a unit on that one without much issue.

[ProfessorLongArms]

Huh. Well I feel smart. I plugged in on that same battery and watched it drop from 12.9 to 6v in about a minute. It's about 2 years old, so I'd guess it's about time to replace it.

[ProfessorLongArms]

Alternative question!

Is Nocqua/LiPo worth it in terms of life span?

Battery life is fine for me (I've never killed a healthy one on the water or even in multi-day trips) on the SLA batteries and I don't mind the weight.

Would I be looking at a similar life span of about 2 years?

[chris138]

Originally Posted by ProfessorLongArms

Huh. Well I feel smart. I plugged in on that same battery and watched it drop from 12.9 to 6v in about a minute. It's about 2 years old, so I'd guess it's about time to replace it.

I've had SLA batteries that were bad the day I received them. I think it depends on how the distributor stores them.

Regarding Lithium Ion, I have never tried. If you have the money it might be worth it. It depends on your application. Elite 7 ti2 for example draws 0.9 amps, so 10 ah will get you about 11 hours on a charge. For most trips that's fine. Some days I will do 12hours+ OTW so I have to use 12ah batteries which aren't available in LiPO I don't believe.

Cheers!

[YakDout]

Originally Posted by chris138

I've had SLA batteries that were bad the day I received them. I think it depends on how the distributor stores them.



Regarding Lithium Ion, I have never tried. If you have the money it might be worth it. It depends on your application. Elite 7 ti2 for example draws 0.9 amps, so 10 ah will get you about 11 hours on a charge. For most trips that's fine. Some days I will do 12hours+ OTW so I have to use 12ah batteries which aren't available in LiPO I don't believe.



Cheers!

Not sure if they make a lithium polymer “LIPO” battery in 12 AH but they definitely make a lithium iron phosphate “LiFePO” battery in a 12ah. And they are great batteries.