Broken Depth Finder Transducer

[Robert Branch]

Ok, so i have a general question here. Today I was powerwashing the carpet on my boat and I slipped and hit the trolling motor and in the process I snapped my transducer off. It was a clean break and my question is, do you think superglue would hold up for a while if I tried that? I really don't have the money to get the cable replaced and I am not handy enough to figure out how to do it. I'm gonna try to take a picture of where it broke off tommorrow and post it, it didn't hurt the transducer at all, just where it mounts. Any ideas for a cheap temporary fix?

 

[mike mcmenamin]

Bob:

Try a good 2 part epoxy adhesive. Slow curing would be preferable, much stronger.



Mike

 

[Robert Branch]

Thanks Mike, i was wondering about something like that. I'll do it after I go out tommorrow. Thanks again!

 

[Ken Sabin]

Try J-B Weld

 

[Kevin Izzi]

What brand and put the photo up maybe someone has an old one laying around, I have two but I need to know what kind.



The Dragon

 

[Donnie Matney]

Yeah I have afew old ones to I would give away. Post what kind.



Donnie

 

[Greg Meyer]

Try the two part Marine Epoxy from Ace Hardware... I think I have some things in outdoor environments that have held up for over five years... I "think" it will work... The "pressure and torque" on a transducer might be too much, but I would try it... Good Luck.

 

[TritonGlenn]

If it is a puck style transducer, here is an easy and inexpensive fix:



Take a Dremel or similar tool and cut the broken mounting ears off the top of it. Smooth everything down so that the sides are nice and flush. Then, take a piece of PVC pipe that is just slightly smaller than the diameter of the trolling motor puck transducer and cut it to the same height as the transducer + 1". Slit that piece of PVC pipe down one side. Now, put some good two part epoxy - I recommend slow drying 2-ton weld - on the transducer SIDES only, keeping it off the transducer face (the bottom part) and slip the cut piece of PVC pipe over it, wiping away any excess epoxy that squirts out so that it doesn't get on the transducer face. You will have to slightly stretch open the PVC pipe at the slit you cut in it, but once it is on the transducer, it should be a tight fit, as it it trying to close again. Keep the slit towards the back part of the transducer, so that when it is in the water later, it doesn't catch on grass and underwater items. Let that dry. Then, when everything is dry, cut two new mounting slits on the top of the PVC, mount it to your trolling motor as before, and keep on rolling. You may need to notch out the center of the PVC so that it fits the curve of your trolling motor, but that is easy with a Dremel as well.



I don't have a broken one to demonstrate on, but if my description is not clear, I can make up one in my garage and take pictures to demonstate. I just won't cut the ears off of my good one - but you can get a better idea.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Kevin Izzi]

Glenn,

Do you sit home at night and dream this stuff up or what??? You are truly THE MAN!



The Dragon

 

[TritonGlenn]

Dragon,

:lol: I've just been doing this for a long time! When I first started using puck style transducers on my trolling motor, I ripped one off in a weeks time. I replaced it and a few weeks later, I did it again! I started thinking "this is going to get expensive really quickly", so I had to figure something out. Looking at the shape of the transducer, and a piece of PVC pipe in the corner of my garage, the lightbulb lit up, and a repair was created. The repaired piece actually lasted longer than the factory mounts, but I did have to periodically tighten the hose clamp. I think it's because the PVC pipe is of a softer material, and it has some "give" to it, but the holes do end up wallowing out after a few dozen crashes into underwater stumps, so I had to tighten them up to compensate. If a repaired piece gets wallowed out too bad, I simply stuck a screwdriver into the gap in the PVC and slowly pried it off, cleaned up the sides, and re-applied a new piece of PVC. I repaired one about 3 times before it came apart when I was prying off the PVC - but that one lasted me well over 2 years.



I'm sure you have heard the saying "Necessity is the mother of invention" ? :lol:



All the best,

Glenn

 

[TritonGlenn]

I wanted to see exactly how long this would take me to build one because it's been a while since I had, so 5 minutes after my last post, I went and built one. Including the time it took me to take a picture, download it to Photobucket, and then post it here - a little under 35 minutes:

This one is made to fit a Lowrance puck style transducer. I used 1 1/4 Schedule 40 PVC pipe.



All the best,

Glenn



Oh yeah... I had forgot - gotta cut a slot in the back to match up with where your puck transducers cable goes too.

 

[mike mcmenamin]

Glenn:

Great idea. You should post it where it will do some good. Isn't there a do it yourself page here. It's so easy, that I would never have thought of it.



Mike

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Glenn - I hope when you move to Texas you will spend a little more time with your wife and son. YOU have too much time on your hands right now! LOL

 

[TritonGlenn]

Actually Bill... I'm hoping my first civilian job in 21 years will be in "new product development". :lol: Ya' think I have a chance?



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Lonnie Conner]

Glenn, YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE A FUTURE AFTER ALL:lol: ACTUALLY YOU ARE THE MAN. THAT IS SOME GREAT IDEAL. I KNOW WHO TO CALL IF I NEED SOMETHING FIXED.

 

[Robert Branch]

It is just like the transducer that comes with the stock lowrance x37 depth finder on the boat new. I don't know what type that is, I am going to try to take a picture of it today. All the wires run under the deck so i don't even know how to access them to change the transducer. I think I'm going to try the epoxy thing first and see how that works. I sure do appreciate the offers on the extra transducers you guys have.