Slow cure expoy

F

Flatsflyer

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
RO Number
16388
Messages
204
Installing a third depth finder in our Trawler, this one is a Hummingbird Fish Finder. Have the cables routed to the flybridge and tested the transducer by "filling" voild with water inside hull. Works fine, now need to glue hockey puck to inside of hull. Directions where to use a slow cure expoy. Non at Worst Marine, found one at Home Depot, single plunger with two tubes that are suppost to come out in right proportions. Tube is only 1 1/2 oz. Would like to find something more like Marinetex, but that is not slow cure. Anybody got any ideas?
 
I would use West System expoxy with the slow cure hardner.
 
second on the West system. Home depot type of Epoxies may not be formulated for the thermal cycling and temperature differentials as seen in boats, plus the vibration due to the water speed.
 
I would use a silicone calk. Ya at some point you will have to re do the job. But the epoxy will be tough to work with down the road if you ever need.

Just another opinion.

However if you go the epoxy route west system is a good product for marine IMO.
 
Don't use silicon calk, you need something hard to transfer the sound waves not something soft to absorb them. Any standard epoxy will work, I've always had good luck with grey PC-7. The only thing you need to stay away from are the 5 minute epoxies which are still soft even when set up.
 
go back to worst, if convenient and get the west with the slow hardener

I like system three better, but they don't distrubute quite as widely.
 
Whatever you do, make sure there are no 'air gaps' or 'bubbles' between the Xducer and the Hull.
Then make sure there are no 'disturbances' on the bottom, in front of the Xducer shot column. The turbulence will sometimes blank out the Xducers reception.
 
The stuff you bought at Home Depot should work just fine as long as you prep the surface correctly and as Thud mentioned, keep out the bubbles.
 
One of the reasons you wanted slow cure is when you mix a larger amount of epoxy at once, the heat generated by the cure tends to run away pushing the reaction faster and faster and it can boil and smoke. It can actually catch fire if you let it go too crazy, but more likely is that it starts to either boil or foam, either creates bubbles, which are not your friend for the transducer. So, you want the slow hardener because with epoxy you can't just use less hardener to cure slower, you must mix the correct proportions. You can also moderately ice down the surrounding areas if you can keep the work site dry using a plastic barrier and watch out for the condensation.
 
"the reasons you wanted slow cure is when you mix a larger amount of epoxy at once, the heat generated"

Bingo! Give that man a cookie.

Use West System #105 resin plus #206 hardener.

-edit-

Tks to lobsta1, post edited to show correct product number.

The reference I used to get the number originally had a typo. Go figure...
 
quote:
Originally posted by Radioactive

"the reasons you wanted slow cure is when you mix a larger amount of epoxy at once, the heat generated"

Bingo! Give that man a cookie.

Use West System #105 resin plus #205 hardener.

Click to expand...

I think you meant to say use 206 slow hardener.
Al
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top