Fishfinder power consumption

[rwoofer]

I've decided to invest in a Fishfinder for my new boat to be able to survey the ground before I dry out. The plan was to replace the depth transducer with a more powerful fishfinder one and then use the fishfinder to output depth via NMEA to the instruments. Talked it through at SIBS and everyone agreed it would work so went ahead and purchased it all.

Now realise this means the fishfinder needs to be on at all times to get depth, which is fine as long as it doesn't consume too much lecky stuff. So how much drain do fishfinders put on the battery?

If it is high, then I may need to replace my speed transducer with a speed/depth combined unit and find a way to switch the depth off when fishfinder is in use.

All advice welcome cause I've never used a fishfinder.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Which one do you have?

 

[rwoofer]

Gone for the Standard Horizon fishfinder module for their CP300 7" Plotter. I like the setup cause I get Fishfinder, plotter and AIS all on one screen in the cockpit.

 

[brianrunyard]

According to the manual the FF520 module draws:
Max current draw:
1KW:1.42A at 12 Volt dc
500W:1A at 12 Volt dc

 

[rwoofer]

Thanks,

That's not as bad as I feared or as good as I hoped, but allows me to go with the current arrangement and see how it fares.