I'm in the process of finalizing my electronics order, (I got a deal I couldn't pass up at the NYC boat show) I'm being offered either stainless steel or bronze transducer, which one is recommended? Steve
If they're the same price, Stainless. If not, just go bronze. Stainless exists only for the steel and aluminum hulls of the world.
I wouldn't install anything but bronze under the water line if the boat is going to be left in the water for extended periods of time. Stainless can be a problem in a low oxygen water environment, such as stagnant water or brackish water. Which is not a problem for Bronze. Go with a flush mount if possible, nothing to hit should you run over something. I've seen two transducers peel off after hitting something while underway. One of those boats sank underway, the other boat, the only thing holding what was left of the transducer on was a little 5200, they pulled it out from the inside with one hand when it was in the slings on dry land!
This is a picture of stainless in a low oxygen environment. Bronze is the best for underwater hardware.
I feel retarded; sorry for the bad advice Silverfish, I had no idea that stainless reacted like that.. Probably should take the ABYC Corrosion class at some point. . Thanks to CaptJohn and Genius for enlightening this ignorant Rat!
Follow the mounting instructions, and do a good job with the 5200. I didn't once, and had a leak. Pulling it back out so I could properly seal it was a real pain. Also, the flush mount transducer I installed was a CHIRP style that came with very specific instructions about NOT mounting it in the engine room, due to heat concerns.
Thank you, I'm actually paying the shop that is currently working on my boat to install the transducer, with my luck, mine will leak too. Mine is a chirp one as well, I don't know if I have the choice to mount in any other location other than next to the motor the way my boat is layed out.
That's the reason I joined this forum in the first place! A huge fan of Downeast boats, but no idea what was it that made a BHM hull so different than a Duffy, which was better for certain applications, etc. The fact that this forum was made up of people who had actual experience and VERY little of that condescension that came with other Forums when Newbs would ask a 'stupid' question, made it such a great home. You learn something new every day, and if anyone in any field thinks they know it all, that's usually a recipe for disaster. Especially with what I do, stuff changes all the time, so sitting on ones laurels/throne is a quick way to become 'that guy' which is something I hope never happens. That said, and this is just from our experience not Gospel, we actually don't ever use 5200 on transducers, just 4200FC and we use it liberally. Same with underwater lights. The removal difficulty is obviously the biggest reason, but 5200 is a bit runny and clumsier to work with, and for the 10 years I've been at Precision, have not had a problem with the sealing, knock on wood. At the end of the day though, let the shop installing the transducer do what they know how the way they know how. You could certainly make a recommendation, and with CHIRP transducers being at a higher risk for overheating (don't ever transmit out of the water for more than a few seconds if only to check the temp sensor), the failure rate is higher than that of a traditional tone burst transducer, but still a very low failure rate and the handful of times we've seen it is straight out of the box. The only thing we've seen fail on CHIRP transducers much more often is the thermistor (temp sensor) on the face of the element. Could be an issue with the high heat these things generate, could be something else. If you do plan on fishing where you're looking for temp breaks and it's crucial to have reliable temp, I'd recommend adding a secondary temp sensor either on the NMEA2000 network like the Airmar HT200 or the Si-Tex SPT-110 (which is like a Dytek and actually can use an existing Dytek sensor if you know that sensor is still functioning. Still, with the boat out of the water, better to start from scratch vs. in season if you have a Dytek display fail and a short haul is out of the question.
I agree this is the best forum I have every been on, it's the only reason I go in it daily. I learn something new everyday in this forum. I hate 5200 for the reasons you said, but I never plan on installing a transducer so I will let it be someone elses headache. Thanks for the heads up on the temp will stop working on the transducer. I guess I'll be adding that to the boat as well. Damn boats are really money pits... Steve
B275C- HLW ... or should I say, WTF ... just got off the phone with Airmar, they said tough luck ... so, that sucks
