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Old 06-20-2012, 02:33 PM   #249
Jimmyz123
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: San Diego
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmyz123 View Post
Electrical Putty Transducer Installation

Not happy with the wet installation results of my transducer I remembered a Youtube video a friend of mine, John Oast, did about installing a transducer with Electrical Putty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u1d3_UeD3k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZ9_C1iKP0

I went back to watch how he did the installation and found another video of someone who tested it on 3 different Kayaks with a couple of different installations. I chose to follow what John did with his transducer.
Here are the materials needed, I did not photo the Marine goop but that is needed to secure the sponge to the Kayak in this method of installation.

I like having the ring to be the guide for where the transducer is going to be installed.

First I cleaned the area with alcohol prior to gluing the sponge. Then I glued the sponge into place and let that sit for about 5 minutes.
Then I opened the putty and cut off a little chunk. I then formed that into a small flat slab to put in the center of the sponge opening, making sure to really mush it around to fill the opening.



Then I stuck the transducer in the opening and rocked into place.

This Putty is sticky and does not let things slip. Prior to launching I made sure the transducer did not move and it had not.

I am very happy with the results I found that the readings were right on, depth wise, and temp wise. The best part to this is I can move the FF to another boat, or Kayak at any time.

Cost of the sponge - 99 Cents
Cost of Electrical Putty - $1.29 Home Depot
Marine Goop and Alcohol already on hand.
Time spent on installation including driving 30 minutes.

Watch the videos I have included there is a way to install without gluing anything to the hull. Great option if you don't want to glue anything to your hull.
There was a concern mentioned that what happens to the putty after time, does it break down, does it have any issues. I have actually used the same chunck of putty shown in the picture to install my FF in the Malibu and Kayak I had and also now in the Prowler I currently own. It does not lose it's stickyness, and has not effected the performance at all. I know many love the water mount install, but I challenge you to explore going away from the popular trend, save some money, and install this way if you are shooting thru the hull.
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JimmyZ

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