Shoot thru transducer

We dont know your year model or how or where the install was done, so we are assuming it may not be fastened well. Though that would be a large air pocket if it is shooting through water to gain ping. It could be that you can remove and reinstall it, if it is that free. Though we would be hard pressed to say yes, and it would more likely require a new transducer.

First thing I would do is try to pull it up. Bubbles in the epoxy wont be fixed by adding water to the bilge. Unless the ducer is not bonded to the hull and there is agap between the two. Ive had good luck removing them using a wood chisel and hammer. Use the chisel with the beveled edge down so it wont dig into the glass, and a rap with the hammer will usually pop the thing right off. Throw the old one away. I cant speak for everyone, but I always “rough up” the bottom of the ducer to get a good bond with the epoxy so rough water wont pop it loose. It is _very_ hard to get the old epoxy off and trying to do so just makes the eventual replacement take that much longer. Put it back in with 24 hour epoxy, not 5 minute. 24 hour is very thin and the bubbles will surface and pop before it cures. I can give you a step-by-step I use if you need it or cant find where I have posted it previously, and it works extremely well…2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200

ot, lowrance makes a “quick setting” epoxy that actually takes about an hour to harden and 24 to cure. i recently used that and am getting alot of “noise” on my graph. probably more of an installer error than epoxy choice. do you know anything about that epoxy or do you know of a better choice? thanks brad

I have tried a couple of ways to do this. Everything up to and including epoxy putty. The issue is the air bubbles. Im a radio-controlled modeler among other things and use all sorts of glue from CA stuff to expoxy. Tower Hobbies (and others) have several flavors of epoxy. The best I have found for mounting a transducer is the 24 hour stuff. It is _very_ thin when mixed, it doesnt get scorching hot since it is a slow cure, and the bubbles will percolate out of it (if you are careful when mixing the bubbles will be almost non-existent anyway). The trick is to rough up the bottom of the boat, the bottom of the puck, and then use something like a plastic cup. Cut the top 1″ off the cup (the part you would touch with your lips while drinking. Set the smooth edge down where you want to mount the transducer. Use some modeling clay which you can buy at wal-mart, etc and lay a good bead around the outside lip of the cup and seal the cup to the boat hull with it. Now mix the epoxy slowly and carefully to minimize bubbles. pour about 1/2″ into the cup. It cant run out because of the clay. Now drop in the transducer and gently press it so that it contacts the bottom of the boat. Use whatever you want to hold it down so that it doesnt “float” in the epoxy. I use a small wood dowel to hold it down. Let it sit undisturbed for 24 hours and you will have one that works. I can get good bottom info at 70+ so long as you dont try to “air the boat out” with excessive trim to pack air under and lift the pad too far. Once the epoxy is cured, remove the clay and cup and you have a neat and solid installation. The chisel and hammer “rap” will pop it loose if you want to replace it, but getting the epoxy/puck off the bottom is a _lot_ easier that getting the epoxy off the puck itself. I have re-glued a couple and if you pressed the transducer down, there will only be a thin layer of epoxy on it. You can simply rough that up, sand the bottom again, and use the same kind of epoxy and do it again. The second joint is never quite as good as the first, but unless you are running 100+ mph and have a pad that flexes a ton, this will hold. Ive found that in general, the faster the cure, the “thicker” the epoxy mix is, and that can trap bubbles that get pressed out flat when you try the above mounting approach. Plus the fast cure stuff is more rubbery while the slow cure stuff cures hard. hard is better for transmitting sound from the puck to the hull and eventually to the water. I have seen people use marine RTV, but I have never seen as good a signal with that approach as with the slow-cure epoxy. The RTV will absorb part of the sound energy itself. BCB… as far as your comment about internal transducer issues, Ive never tried to reuse one myself and cant comment. Ive never removed one except to replace it with something different, so I have never had a reason to reuse the thing. If I were going to, then I agree that I might not be trying to rap it as there has to be some bending going on at the moment the thing breaks the epoxy / fiberglass-resin bond. BTW another good material is polyester resin, which is readily available in pint-sized quantities at a hobby store. The only trick is to make sure that you use the right amount of catalyst. Too much and it will cure before you are ready. Too little and you end up with goo. But it will bond quite well to most resins used in the bilge area. It is about the same consistency as good slow-cure epoxy, although it might be a bit cheaper. I always have this on hand as I use this in fiberglassing wings/control surfaces on some model airplanes that need extra sturdy surfaces for whatever reason. Just lay off the jb weld and such. They have their places, but this isnt it. As far as time goes, the epoxy I use has a one hour working time (nothing happens for an hour) and then the curing process starts. It is fairly solid by 8-10 hours, and is like glass by the time 24-48 hours has elapsed. If it wont “pour” after mixing, looking something like pancake syrup or something a little thinner, its not ideal.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200