Fish finder went for a swim

[upgradingdave]

Hi all, I've been lurking here for a while. First just wanted to say thanks for all the great content! I've learned a ton about rigging kayaks, fishing techniques, places to fish .... actually .... pretty much everything I know about kayak fishing!

I bought a Hobie Revo 13 this past Feb (Got a great deal from http://www.eastoncycleandsport.com/, they have something like a 20% off sale every winter, btw). I've been having fun taking it out around the local reservoirs down here in Fredericksburg VA and been out in Lake Anna. Catching sunfish, catfish and some crappies here and there. Looking forward to do some bass fishing and eventually getting out into some saltwater.

On the third trip out, I had a Lowrance Mark4 hooked up (attached to pvc pipe which fit into the the mast hole of the hobie, got the idea from posts on this forum and it works great!). I was in the yak by the dock helping my kids untangle some fishing lines and managed to tumble right over - first unintentional turtle!

So, the fishfinder was under water for 5 mins or so while I gathered all the stuff that had fallen out and turned the kayak back over.

I let the fish finder sit out in the sun for a few hours to dry off as much as possible. It's been a week and when I shake the ff, I can still hear water inside.

I'm pretty sure it's fried.

So, just wondered if others have turtled with fishfinders before? Any suggestions on how to dry them out or how to protect them from getting water inside? Maybe I should try and take it apart and dry it out? I thought fish finders would be pretty waterproof, but guess not. Do you pretty much have to get a new ff whenever they go for a swim?

[MetroMan]

You might want to try sitting it in a sealed bowl of dry rice for a bit of time. That can often help dry out wet electronics.

[Turtle135]

I would try putting the head into a big bag of rice (let that rice soak up moisture until you do not hear water shaking around inside anymore).

I'll bet the unit is actually fine. They can withstand a dunking. You may just have some water trapped in a pocket inside.

[DonV]

Mine survived a dunk on it's first trip out last week. Didn't sit under for as long as yours but was under a good minute or so after turtling the kayak twice. I think the SD card slot is the weak point. If you do take it apart they sell electrical component cleaner at most auto parts stores. I'd give that a try and then let it dry out good before trying to fire it up. There is also the bag of rice trick and I have heard of even low heat in an oven. Most of the tips come from the computer world. Here is a little discussion of the topic http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/7...d+on+my+device

If you were in salt water I think your odds of a salvage are not good. I would also like to hear some tips on protecting the unit also.

[BassMoore]

They are water proof, not submersible but hey lowrance doesn't know that. Id just say you were caught in this tropical storm on lake anna and got DUMPED on, and now your finder is not working correctly

[reel-em-in]

They are water proof, not submersible but hey lowrance doesn't know that. Id just say you were caught in this tropical storm on lake anna and got DUMPED on, and now your finder is not working correctly

I thought the elite 4 and mark 4 were IPx7 rated? That means they should survive submersion in < 1m water for up to 30 minutes.

[BassMoore]

You are more then likley right. But like I said they also have 1 year warranties and what lowrance doesn't know. doesn't hurt them

[reel-em-in]

You are more then likley right. But like I said they also have 1 year warranties and what lowrance doesn't know. doesn't hurt them

I hear you, but I'm thinking if the advertise as IPx7 then his situation shouldn't have killed the unit and it's a legitimate warrrenty claim not just a "what they don't know won't hurt them" situation.

[upgradingdave]

Thanks much for all the suggestions. I'll try the rice trick to see if I can get the water out.

[toyomo]

I just bought a lowrance so this made me wonder about whether it was in fact claimed to be submersible like someone said...sure enough I searched on the lowrance website and it states "Sealed and waterproof (IP-X7) Suitable for saltwater use." you can see the specs here: http://support.lowrance.com/system/s...RTICLE_ID=2163

So I think maybe you should just call them and have them warranty it if it didn't live up to their claim. If you wanna try to get the water out I will second the rice idea ive used it personally for other wet electronics like cell phones and auto ECU's...one key point is don't try to turn it on when its wet because you may short some circuitry.

[jet]

Any suggestions on how to dry them out or how to protect them from getting water inside?

ive never taken mine apart, so not sure how it is sealed, i'd imagine there is an seal of sorts at the middle seam of the unit, but i covered that seam with electrical tape. i know some people have glues the seal with goop. not sure if either actually help

IMG_20130607_155840_309.jpg

[DonV]

I just bought a lowrance so this made me wonder about whether it was in fact claimed to be submersible like someone said...sure enough I searched on the lowrance website and it states "Sealed and waterproof (IP-X7) Suitable for saltwater use." you can see the specs here: http://support.lowrance.com/system/s...RTICLE_ID=2163

So I think maybe you should just call them and have them warranty it if it didn't live up to their claim. If you wanna try to get the water out I will second the rice idea ive used it personally for other wet electronics like cell phones and auto ECU's...one key point is don't try to turn it on when its wet because you may short some circuitry.

I was doing some more reading on this tonight. I'm 99% sure that the SD card slot is the culprit. Good bit of talk about it on various message boards. The rubber cover really doesn't grip well at all and pops out very easily. It wouldn't even take much to lose it completely as it seems it would totally detach from the FF very easily. I'm a little concerned as I dunked mine on the first trip out with it and hope to abuse it some more.

Some are actually gooping it down. I hate to do that because I like the ability to load coordinates off a card. Think I'm going to load the slot up with some dielectric grease and maybe silicone tape around it to hold the cover down tight.

[upgradingdave]

Yeah, I think that's what happened - looks the water leaked in thru the rubber seal into the sd slot. I think some silicon tape over the rubber cover sounds like a really good idea, thx!

[JKay]

I spoke with Lowrance a few days ago about this exact issue. I have a Mark 4 that I gooped the rubber flap shut. I did not have a Navionics chip in that unit, so I didn't care about access to the card. That fishfinder has been fine and has not see any surf crashes yet.

I just picked up an Elite 4 Gold. My plan was to coat the SD card in dielectric grease, stuff it in the slot, then put a layer of dielectric grease over the small well where the card slot is. I'll then put a small piece of Gorilla tape over the rubber flap. I ran this past Lowrance to get their blessing. They told me that it could only help and would not void the warranty.

Unfortunately, that cheesy rubber flap is a really poor design for a fishfinder that is marketed to the kayak fishing market. I've already heard of too many folks with water intrusion in the Mark and Elite 4 fishfinders.

[DonV]

I spoke with Lowrance a few days ago about this exact issue. I have a Mark 4 that I gooped the rubber flap shut. I did not have a Navionics chip in that unit, so I didn't care about access to the card. That fishfinder has been fine and has not see any surf crashes yet.

I just picked up an Elite 4 Gold. My plan was to coat the SD card in dielectric grease, stuff it in the slot, then put a layer of dielectric grease over the small well where the card slot is. I'll then put a small piece of Gorilla tape over the rubber flap. I ran this past Lowrance to get their blessing. They told me that it could only help and would not void the warranty.

Unfortunately, that cheesy rubber flap is a really poor design for a fishfinder that is marketed to the kayak fishing market. I've already heard of too many folks with water intrusion in the Mark and Elite 4 fishfinders.

That's my plan as well. I really don't see what stuffing some grease into the slot would hurt either. That's all I have done for the extra speed port so far. Would like to get a cap for it if I can find something that fits.

I don't have a Navionics card but do like to be able to import coordinates off the card. Finding it one of my favorite features so far. Is a little disappointing to have to worry about this as overall I really like the unit.