Airmar (replacement beryllium copper leaf spring)

[jaminb]

£40 for the service kit is a bit steep for a replacement spring. Anyone successful used a battery terminal out of knackered torch? Any other cunning solutions other than a hand / sponge job?

thanks

 

[ithet]

Agreed, if you a referring to the spring that closes the flap on the mounting for an Airmar speed transducer, then I wouldn't bother with the service kit. The new one I got with the kit was pretty weak and squashed, and they do not seem to close the flaps much anyway.

 

[Norman_E]

I found the springs pretty ineffective and just resorted to pushing the blanking plug in as quickly as possible and sponging up the inevitable water. I made up a couple of plugs to block the limber holes in the hull compartment temprarily whilst I cleaned and replaced the impeller, so that I only had to dry the one compartment.

 

[cpedw]

I have found that a valve rubber (the sort that's supplied as standard in a bike puncture kit, even though that sort of bike valve disappeared when I was a youth) can be superglued by its end (about 3-4mm) to the groove in the outside of the valve with the rest of the rubber under the valve flap. Testing at home, the rubber stays springy enough to close the valve after being held open for 3 days. Testing at the boat (ashore), the log impeller or the blanking plug can be easily inserted and removed with the rubber in place. It was necessary to take a scalpel to the rubber as it stood a bit proud of the groove in which it was glued, hindering getting the valve into the tube.

I plan to "road test" this scheme this season. Several questions to be answered
- will seawater affect the rubber or glue?
- will the rubber stay springy after weeks of squashing?
- can anything go wrong that would endanger the boat?

If you have the answer to any of these, do tell!