Fish finder cleaning... ? Rinse it off ?

[rob-kayak]

Fish finder cleaning... ? Rinse it off ?

I tried searching the net.. maintenance, cleaning, care of... either I'm dense or there isn't much mentioned.
I even looked up water proof and water resistance of fish finder..

And the manual says nothing of cleaning...

I have a Lowrance Mark 4... I found one small blurb about fish finders being water proof.. I guess that depends.

1.) But the question is do you guys rinse your fish finder off with fresh water after being in the salt ?
Maybe a little mild soap once in a while ?

I'm not worried about the screen.. that's an easy go to clean if necessary.
I put a screen protector on mine.. not that it is required.

2.) Oh.. and as I've got people reading this... anybody make or put a cap on the other data/sensor port connection
to protect the pins from exposed saltwater corrosion ?

Thanks.
R.

[M_Duong60]

Plug unused ports and fill the connections with dielectric grease.

Since I never remove my fish finder I wouldn't know what size but I have heard of people using vacu tite caps.

[kuljc]

I have the same FF. I just spray fresh water on it and wipe it down. It's been splashed a lot by water and still works, so I wasn't scared to spray water on it.

edit: before you spray it with your hose full force, I should clarify. I use a hand held pump sprayer. so it's no where close to full pressure on a hose.

[tufnik]

I fish saltwater 100%. I wipe my Piranha Max 170 down with a damp sponge after every trip. Sockets have dielectric grease. I do use a DIY shield to prevent splash on the back side.

[Shady]

I have a cheapish Huminbird and just spray the terminals with wd 40 every so often. Humminbird has a rubber cap that you can put over the terminal to keep dirt and debris out of it, that is what I use.
http://www.amazon.com/Hummibird-MC-W...mminbird+cover

[HJS]

My FF never gets wet except for rain (rare) and splashes from boat-side hooked fish. All I use to clean off the FF is a sponge dampened with freshwater. I really don't trust manufacturer's claims that FFs are totally waterproof... but I'll will accept that they are at least very water resistant.

[rob-kayak]

My ff gets splashed all the time when waves break over the bow... mine sits pretty low
below my forward rod holder... only place I could put it on my kayak.

I made a plug for the open data port... from a piece of high density sealed foam..
actually just a chunk of foam from the stadium seat cushion I bought yesterday.
You just hollow out a hole with a Dremel... or use a drill bit if you don't have a Dremel.
Seals very well.

I had to make a raised mount not to interfere with the rod holder, and I wanted it
to be removable. Mounted with two inch industrial velcro tape... that I also
stapled to the wood mount. The velcro sticks to the plastic of the kayak very well.
And the bungie cord.

[Hemingway]

I having been lightly rinsing mine under the kitchen faucet. I turn it on about a third of the way and put it on sprayer. Always check to be sure the memory card plug is fully seated, and hold my fingers over top of the cable ports. Dry off immediately,and blow out the ports. I also use dielectric grease. I have had my Lowrance for a year and a half, and all is good.

[DonV]

Run mine under the sink also keeping the SD slot to the bottom and with my finger over it. The Mark4's weak point is the SD card slot and cover. All the ones that I have heard of getting ruined the slot was the culprit. The cover pops off very easily on mine and it wouldn't take much to shake it lose in turtling.

Mine did take a dunk in saltwater on it's maiden voyage but thank god the cover stayed in place. After that I have filled the sd slot with grease and use a large rubber band to go around the unit to hold the cover tightly. I really gunked up the slot with grease,it makes the card a little hard getting out but I feel much better. The grease on the sloty made the cover even a littl more prone to popping out due to the slipperiness and that's why I brought the band into the equation..

I have heard that they will cover the damage under warranty if this slot leaks but would rather not take the chance.

Also believe that I read that a 1/2" bolt cap will fit the extra data port well. It's a little plastic cap meant to cover the exposed ends of bolts to prevent any scrathing or injury. You see them on many kids toys. I haven't grabbed one yet, just got the port loaded with grease. Believe Lowes has them.

[Goody]

I always rinse mine off after an outing along with all the other gear. I have an Elite 4. I filled the unused port on back with dielectric grease and silicone the bottom SD slot. The plug they provided for the SD slot popped off all the time and eventually got lost. The units has been working great sinced I've owned it for the last 4-5 months.

[J.A. Veil]

I leave mine installed on the kayak all the time. After each trip in saltwater or brackish water, I hose off the kayak, especially any metal parts, and spray the hose on the FF/GPS screen. Then I store the kayak in my walk-out basement.

[DonV]

I always rinse mine off after an outing along with all the other gear. I have an Elite 4. I filled the unused port on back with dielectric grease and silicone the bottom SD slot. The plug they provided for the SD slot popped off all the time and eventually got lost. The units has been working great sinced I've owned it for the last 4-5 months.

I use the SD card pretty much every trip and didn't want to plug it permanently. I load coordinates onto and off of the card. Keep my tracks and points in Google Earth and would hate to lose that ability. Mine went in with the cover in place before I used any dielectric grease. Under for a minute or two as I tried to get back in the boat after an unexpected swim. I think now with the grease and rubber band I'll be good and still get to use my card.

The SD door really kinda sucks, great unit beside that.

[Beerboy]

In the process of installing an Elite 4 and was wondering about the extra port at the back. Thanks for the advice in regards to capping it.