Transducer blank is stuck!

[seansea]

I’ve had the same transducer depth/speed for about ten years but noticed in last 12 months swapping the blank to keep the paddle wheel clean is getting much harder! Last time i had to dry the boat out and stick broom handle up the other end to push the bugger out! Not the most practical solution! So I then put a bit of grease the blank and lo behold the bleeding thing is stuck again. It’s a plastic Arimar type wireless system and don’t want to be to be too hard extracting it with grips. Any ideas.

 

[pvb]

I’ve had the same transducer depth/speed for about ten years but noticed in last 12 months swapping the blank to keep the paddle wheel clean is getting much harder! Last time i had to dry the boat out and stick broom handle up the other end to push the bugger out! Not the most practical solution! So I then put a bit of grease the blank and lo behold the bleeding thing is stuck again. It’s a plastic Arimar type wireless system and don’t want to be to be too hard extracting it with grips. Any ideas.

I'm assuming you can unscrew the ring which holds it on. Once unscrewed, there's nothing holding it except the friction on a couple of O-rings, so putting grips on it wouldn't be a problem, just rotate it back and forth as you pull it up. As I recall, it's necessary to unscrew the holding ring a bit more once the blank has started to come out.

 

[Malish]

Try gently warming the sleeve with hot air from a hair dryer or similar. I wouldn't use an oil based grease - try silicone grease.

 

[knuterikt]

Replace O-rings use silicone grease
chech that the flap inside is working properly

 

[seansea]

Thanks all. It wouldn't budge so I resorted to going over the side and under with a broom handle. With a sharp tap, it went into the boat. I then had to scramble back onboard quick as possible to put the transducer back in the hole! Where's the crew when you need them.

 

[pvb]

Thanks all. It wouldn't budge so I resorted to going over the side and under with a broom handle. With a sharp tap, it went into the boat. I then had to scramble back onboard quick as possible to put the transducer back in the hole! Where's the crew when you need them.

That sounds ridiculous. If it would move when pressed from outside the hull, it would have moved when pulled from inside the hull.

 

[LittleSister]

That sounds ridiculous. If it would move when pressed from outside the hull, it would have moved when pulled from inside the hull.

Depends on how hard you can pull it!

I was facing the same problem today with a different model Airmar transducer. Unlike the NASA transducer I'm more familiar with, it can't be twisted until it's been withdrawn a few millimetres, as there are some lugs to ensure it is correctly aligned. The shape of the top of the transducer is not such that your can get your hand round it, and there was a limit to the amount of tension I wanted to put on the plastic 'tongue' on the top of it using a pair of mole grips. In my case I couldn't get a clear pull anyway, as the transducer is just to one side of the opening in the locker through which it is operated.

There is no way I would be going over the side to sort it (and a broomstick would likely destroy the log impellor). It can stay stuck until next time the boat is out of the water!

 

[Skylark]

In recent years, I’ve stopped using any form of grease on this instrument. I give male and female a very thorough clean when on the hard and lubricate with water only. I’d previously had problems with removal which I put down to the grease.

 

[seansea]

The Airmar is the one I have and agree I wouldn't want to put much force on it. It was the blank that was stuck in the hull. It wouldn't be so bad if the paddlewheel was in there instead.

 

[NPMR]

Have had this problem with the AIrmar unit consistently since new. Grease, vaseline, teflon lubricant all failed to fix.

Now, I have fitted both the impellor and blank with a cord under the cap and am able to give it a very strong pull, which sorts it. I will try new O rings again but as the blank is a new replacement, so that shouldn't make any difference.

 

[Norman_E]

When I bought my new B&G system that came with the Airmar transducer I found that both the blanking plug and the actual transducer were hard to pull out, though came free once I had got them up the first few millimetres. The solution was that I had some 5mm perspex sheet, so I cut a disc of it with a hole in the middle the right size to pass the plug through, then cut it into a C shape. If pushed in sideways over the nut, unscrewing the nut forces the transducer or plug up a bit, making easy to pull out.