Depth transducer liquid, water or oil ?

[Jmc1764]

Currently I have just seawater in the in hull depth transducer pipe, this evaporates after a while so gets topped up, someone suggested vegitable oil as its thicker and gives a better reading, Is this correct and what do you use ?

 

[Poignard]

I use the oil that NASA supplied.

I read somewhere that it is castor oil. What properties castor oil has for this purpose compared with other types of oil, I can't say.

Perhaps our resident chemist knows,

 

[tjbrace]

When i had one , castor oil worked well.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

I used to have olive oil in mine.

 

[VicS]

Castor oil in mine as specified

Doesn't evaporate,
doesn't freeze
doesn't smell
doesn't go off
isn't corrosive

 

[Refueler]

Every manual I ever read for E/S mentioned Castor Oil ...... I used to carry a small medicine bottle of it for top up but that never got used !

I've seen Cooking Oil .... Seawater ..... and other liquids used as well ..... as to which was better for readings ?????

 

[salar]

It doesn't matter what the liquid is as long as it doesn’t attack plastic parts. I have used water with antifreeze for years and never had it evaporate. If the liquid level is dropping I would be inclined to think there is a tiny leak rather than evaporation, unless the top of the container isn’t sealed properly.

 

[Old Harry]

Olive or Castor is good
My Raytheon Puc is epoxied to the hull, with epoxy supplied in the kit

 

[Old Harry]

Every manual I ever read for E/S mentioned Castor Oil ...... I used to carry a small medicine bottle of it for top up but that never got used !

I've seen Cooking Oil .... Seawater ..... and other liquids used as well ..... as to which was better for readings ?????

excluding bubbles is what is req, so the thicker medium is better

 

[Refueler]

Olive or Castor is good
My Raytheon Puc is epoxied to the hull, with epoxy supplied in the kit

My Airmar is epoxied on my 5.5m Kormoran ...

My Nasa on the motor sailer is in Castor Oil / tube.

One thing with castor ... if you have a leak ... it usually shows by a dark stain around the tube. If you see that - then you know and a dose of Oven Cleaner .. water wash off ... then liberal amount of epoxy to reseal.

 

[smeaks]

Currently I have just seawater in the in hull depth transducer pipe, this evaporates after a while so gets topped up, someone suggested vegitable oil as its thicker and gives a better reading, Is this correct and what do you use ?

oil or just bed in silicone and be done

 

[PaulRainbow]

Castor oil used to be recommended, then anti-freeze, now it's food grade anti-freeze. Either will do.

The manufacturer of transducers explicitly says do not use silicon.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I use the oil that NASA supplied.

I read somewhere that it is castor oil. What properties castor oil has for this purpose compared with other types of oil, I can't say.

Perhaps our resident chemist knows,

The chief favourable characteristic of castor oil in this setting is its resistance to going rancid. Ordinary vegetable oil gets very smelly within a few months.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Castor oil used to be recommended, then anti-freeze, now it's food grade anti-freeze. Either will do.

The manufacturer of transducers explicitly says do not use silicon.

I can't see the point of recommending food grade. You won't be drinking it?.

 

[Stemar]

Mine's fixed down with the Gosport pound shop's equivalent of No More Nails. It's worked fine for several years.

 

[Poignard]

The chief favourable characteristic of castor oil in this setting is its resistance to going rancid. Ordinary vegetable oil gets very smelly within a few months.

Thanks. I wondered what the advantage of castor oil was.

 

[salar]

Bedding in a foam block is the new way of mounting a transducer. If you don't want to pay silly money you can make your own here: Installing a transducer inside the hull - new method - Boat Angling Water and antifreeze is advised for the liquid in both methods.

 

[Refueler]

Bedding in a foam block is the new way of mounting a transducer. If you don't want to pay silly money you can make your own here: Installing a transducer inside the hull - new method - Boat Angling Water and antifreeze is advised for the liquid in both methods.

Like everything else I reckon .... a new method comes about because someone has something else handy and uses that ... writes an article on a forum or whatever and its re-invention of the wheel again.

No need for silly money for in hull tube ... you can buy a plastic water pipe for pennies ... an end cap to drill for a few more pennies ... bit of epoxy ... chemist shop for a bottle of castor ...

 

[Poignard]

The cost of my NASA in-hull mounting kit was £17.88.

That was in 1998 , so spreading that over the following 22 years makes that about 90pence per annum.

'Silly money'?

Insignificant money, I'd say.

 

[Refueler]

The cost of my NASA in-hull mounting kit was £17.88.

That was in 1998 , so spreading that over the following 22 years makes that about 90pence per annum.

'Silly money'?

Insignificant money, I'd say.

True ...

But even cheaper with plastic water pipe !!