Depth sounder and power supplies....from cordless tool batteries?

[Sea Simon]

I've been thinking about trying to run a NASA Clipper depth sounder (said to draw 20 mA) using a 5/6 Ah Li Ion 18v cordless drill battery, via an adaptor/converter like this:

https://www.hikokipowertoolsdirect.c...&product_id=82
The USB charger function will also be handy.

I already have several of these batteries, and chargers too.
Advantages therefore are obvious?

The official Hitachi adapter is harder to find, but there is an ebay "copy" here, Also supplying 12v, 2A, and a usb socket - with torch too!
Item # 304036853947.

Any thoughts/relevant experiences please?

Several utube videos of US anglers demonstrating similar setups.

[Sea Simon]

I have nil other electrics onboard, and no charge coil on my outboard
VHF is usb.  LED Nav lights  all individual battery power.
I have tried to resist installing any systems at all, but I think the depth sounder might be worthwhile? Trying very hard to resist the undeniable temptations of a power hungry colour plotter!

I have managed to get the Chinese copy hikoki adapter for £15 delivered, so I'll give it a try i think! Not much to loose?
USB function and torch will also be handy...

The Li Ion cordless tool batteries are lightweight, robust, spill proof, easy to carry, built-in self-protection etc. I also already have several dedicated Li ion chargers of both the fan assisted rapid charger and conventional slow charger types.

[Matthew P]

Are power tool Li Ion batteries safe if they accidently come into prolonged contact with sea water?

Matthew
BR Tarika

[Sea Simon]

Are power tool Li Ion batteries safe if they accidently come into prolonged contact with sea water?
Matthew
BR Tarika

I very much doubt it!
From experience at work, I'm aware Li ion cordless tool batteries don't particularly enjoy "proper" rain either...
Although the safety/MSDS doesn't actually say not to drop them in the sea... I've seen "electrical professionals" put physically damaged batteries in drums of sea water so as to electrically discharge them, so that they may be safely transported for scrap/recycling.

Are you hinting at some experience in particular

Are conventional form-factor Li ion batteries OK if in prolonged contact with sea water?

Perhaps I should buy one if those waterproof, floating E Spirit outboard motor batteries?
However, I didn't realise they are £900, despite which, I've seen several left unattended on the back of tenders this "silly season";  maybe they are very well insured? Wealthier than me, that's certain.
I see Torqueedo new gen batteries also now float, so maybe my cynicism wrt any "need" for this capability is misplaced?

I plan to try to use a pelicase (I have an A4 brief case Size one here already, but that is perhaps too large/heavy?) or waterproof bag as an enclosure; and to try not to drop any naked battery overside....of course... unless in thermal runaway!
But at £40 for a 4Ah battery that is extremely versatile for me, I'll have to take my chances I guess?

Any/all suggestions welcome.

[Graham W]

Perhaps I should buy one if those waterproof, floating E Spirit outboard motor batteries?
However, I didn't realise they are £900, despite which, I've seen several left unattended on the back of tenders this "silly season";  maybe they are very well insured? Wealthier than me, that's certain.

Perhaps they're banking on old school thieves not realising their value.  Also, because there aren't that many eProps around, it may be more difficult to sell stolen batteries down the pub. Until eProp bring out their long-promised DC/DC converter, they're of no use except to run eProp outboards.

Even so, the batteries don't weigh much, have a big handle and are easy to carry around, so it's asking for trouble.  I confess to leaving my motor with stout outboard lock and no battery semi-permanently on the back of my BR20.  So far, anyway.

I see Torqueedo new gen batteries also now float.

Not the 915Wh one, only the piddling little "new" 500Wh one - a big battery case with large voids.

I plan to try to use a pelicase (I have an A4 brief case Size one here already, but that is perhaps too large/heavy?)

That would be belt and braces.  Tracer Power sell a version of their batteries, at a cost, in a Pelicase.  I've gone one version down for their IP64-rated 288Wh battery and have never regretted it.

[Sea Simon]

Update.
The reducer/adapter/torch thing has arrived fairly promptly, and appears to be well made (such that if it had Hitachi branding on it, i would probably be none the wiser?) and fits the Hikoki/Hitachi 18v battery well.
The 3 level LED torch is very bright.
The usb socket is useful too, but both that and the 12v socket (small "gadget" format, not the large automotive cigar lighter type) could usefully have been supplied with bungs, if only to keep dust/dirt out (particularly in a workshop environment). Perhaps i can pinch some bungs from my other gadgets?

Initial test was to leave torch on full brightness over night ( in a safe place), on a 3Ah battery. All well, nothing got hot, and the battery was still over 50% full in the morning.
I would buy this item again.

I temporarily rigged my new Clipper sounder to the battery, and set it all up in a 200l water butt. It all works fine, even with the torch simultaneously on full brightness.
Importantly, there is no DC-DC converter interference on the Clipper, even with the battery/power supply right next to the instrument.

Battery "box" tbc, but my pelicase perhaps seems overkill (as mentioned by GW above) as well as needing some sort of new power supply cable gland arrangements. This cable/ in itself would need to have a "waterproof" power socket of some sort?
I'm minded to try a cheap garden power supply "Dri-box" (said to be IP 55) like this...£10-15. shoild be OK in the cabin of a BRe?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006IRGA...v_ov_lig_dp_it

Install to the boat will now be a winter project.

[Sea Simon]

GW.
My interest is piqued, re these floating batteries...
How?
Why? Apart from the fact that they are so damn expensive. But then a good quality truly waterproof  (to 100s of metres!) watch, costing many thousands won't float - as a friend of mine will confirm 

Surely the connections would also need to be waterproof, so as to prevent "issues" - especially in SW?

[Graham W]

The eProp battery casing has greater internal volume than the Torqeedo one, so that even though the big eProp battery has much greater electrical capacity than the big Torqeedo one, it still has enough of an internal void to allow it to float.

The two eProp electrical sockets have close fitting caps, so as long as they're pushed on when you drop your battery overboard, they should keep the sockets reasonably dry.  Not that I've tried it but the battery also floats right side up with the sockets on top.

[Sea Simon]

Thanks for that GW....

However, I'm still struggling with the "why"...on earth.... would you need a floating battery?
Of all the things aboard my boat that I wish would float, my battery is well down the list.

Can just about see that this might be handy for members of the "turtle club" who have a spare (£900) battery loose some place inside their boat! 

And, what happens if those battery caps are not in place? Or they leak?

[Graham W]

You're installing the battery (requiring two hands) on top of your eProp outboard on the back of your tiny inflatable dinghy when a pair of jet skis (instruments of Beelzebub) go roaring past at 50 knots in a 6 knot zone.  Whoopsee!

You're handing the battery down the harbour wall to a crewmate on your boat.  Butter fingers!

You've put the battery down on the beach while you attend to something else.  You are distracted by Herr Alzheimer and forget that the tide is coming in.

The cost of providing a bit of space for buoyancy inside the battery case is absolutely minimal, so why not?  Even Torqeedo (who take aeons to adopt new ideas) seem to think that it's a good idea.