sonic antifouling

chewi

chewi

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I called on two stands at SIBS promoting A/F by sonic means and by solar charged batteries, but I struggled to take either seriously.

Both referred to the current drawn in "milliamps per hour" rather than milliamps and one brochure describes the product as "simplistic" which I understand to mean over simplified , ignoring the complexities involved, and the dictionary agrees.
Neither could offer a matching solar charging regime, but both were confident it needed a 50W solar panel.

I don't think anyone who knew what milliamps were would refer to "milliamps per hour"

Am I being over sensitive?
 
Some people say it works, but then I once met a bloke at an unusual party with a suitcase packed ready for a ride in a Flying Saucer UFO, really !

I think as far as wobblysonic antifouling goes the term ' snake oil ' springs to mind.
 
Seajet said:
Some people say it works, but then I once met a bloke at an unusual party with a suitcase packed ready for a ride in a Flying Saucer UFO, really !

I think as far as wobblysonic antifouling goes the term ' snake oil ' springs to mind.
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Blimey, never mind the sonic anti foul, tell us more about this party............please!!!!!:eek:
 
The trials on a couple of dinghies in Poole Harbour by PBO were judged a success - strange as they were infested with sea squirts... I suspect the engineers also told the marketing manager that milliamps are milliamps and not time dependant, but the fliers were already printed. I've always found that the helpers on stands at boat shows have no working knowledge of the product beyond a simplistic FAQ sheet, so I guess the sheet just specified a typical size of solar panel for the application without going into the maths. If you're still interested in the concept, then a call or email to product support might get some sensible answers.

Rob.
 
If you saw dylan's photos of his dinghy (on Scuttlebutt) you will have seen what infestation by seasquirts looks like. The ultrasonic devices have no effect on them, which is why the manufacturers advise that antifouling should still be carried out. Might as well just do the antifouling and save the cost of the device.
 
Milliamps per hour

Obviously a schoolboy error to refer to mA/Hr, but IIRC the transducers actually pulse at high current, but infrequently, so the average current over an hour is in the order of mA. Not that I want to excuse poor science in the interests of marketing.
 
vyv_cox said:
... have seen what infestation by seasquirts looks like. The ultrasonic devices have no effect on them...
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My understanding is that the ultrasonic devices mainly prevent the initial formation of slime, which is the food source that attracts the other stuff. If the boat already has slime when you fit the device, it won't work. My dual version of the Jaycar device is stuck at the end of the circuit drawing phase, to much other stuff to play with.
 
I have it and have not anti-fouled for 3 years. Works for me where I am, whether you believe this or not is up to you.
 
nigelmercier said:
My understanding is that the ultrasonic devices mainly prevent the initial formation of slime, which is the food source that attracts the other stuff. If the boat already has slime when you fit the device, it won't work. My dual version of the Jaycar device is stuck at the end of the circuit drawing phase, to much other stuff to play with.
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ianqv of this parish has closely monitored his results - he reckons it doubles (so far) the effective life of the antifoul. Works for him.
 
I know people that have fitted them and another that tested these types of system and it was generally agreed they were a complete waste of money; that's not to say those that have invested in them might not want to admit to that, or for that matter it may be in some applications they might work, as some have said, but would I take a chance and fit them - Definately not!
 
Seajet said:
Some people say it works, but then I once met a bloke at an unusual party with a suitcase packed ready for a ride in a Flying Saucer UFO, really !

I think as far as wobblysonic antifouling goes the term ' snake oil ' springs to mind.
Click to expand...

I heard of a fireman who was given a traffic light remote, to test .(Mates set up ) he had to press the button as they got near traffic lights to make them change . needless to say it did work half of the time . He praised it no end and recommended that all fire crews should have one ..Till he found out it was an empty box with a clicker on
 
bendyone said:
I have it and have not anti-fouled for 3 years. Works for me where I am, whether you believe this or not is up to you.
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Yes but some also claim copper coat works as well . !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made the mistake of believing them !!!!!

I think I would want to see some actual results for myself first
Whilst you ( & no critcism of you as you are only expressing an experience) might find something acceptable I may well not
As i said some like coppercoat, but I do not consider 2 inch long weed growth or thick slime after a few weeks acceptable. Some do
 
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Interesting - we looked at several boats in a heavy fouling area in Sant Carles over a few years using different types of AF's and without doubt, from my observations CC does work well and certainly seems to last. One boat was still performing well after almost ten years.

I opted for Micron 77 in the end which has lasted two years, but I can certainly say that in our area CC does work, if correctly applied. Several boats had it applied including Hurricanes P67, it will be interesting to see how that performs.

Failed though on metalwork, nothing seems to work where we are.....!
 
chewi said:
I don't think anyone who knew what milliamps were would refer to "milliamps per hour"?
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We use ampere-hours so why not milliampere-hours? Milliamp is a measure of current, milliampere-hours is a measure of current drain. On a boat it's the current drain that's important not the instantaneous current.
 
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