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Jaycar KC5535 Ultrasonic Antifouling Kit for Boats
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Assembly RequiredIn ideal conditions the Ultrasonic Antifouling System will work without any antifouling paint. Marine growth activity can be very aggressive is some areas however. In such cases the Ultrasonic Antifouling System works best when installed after a fresh hull clean and new antifouling paint job.
Be assured, however, that the Ultrasonic Antifouling System will add years to an antifouling paint job no matter how hostile your marine environment!
MARINE GROWTH ON BOAT HULLS
Marine organisms will attach to virtually any underwater surface if that surface remains immobile for even a short amount of time, e.g. after one week marine growth will start. Marine growth typically attaches to your boat hull to catch tiny organisms that drift by from tidal activity. Left alone the underside of your boat will look like it has a thick, green carpet installed!
Normally a hull is painted with a product called antifouling paint to prevent this from happening. Not so long ago, antifouling paint had some pretty nasty things in it to deter marine organisms from settling on your hull. Unfortunately it was found that these chemicals fell out of the paint and entered the environment, and were deadly to oysters, mussels and other marine life. These chemicals were banned.
Today’s antifouling paint has far more benign chemicals (which are less effective) but operate in a slightly different way. When the marine organism attaches to the hull (and therefore the paint), the paint sloughs off (i.e. flakes off) taking the organism with it. Of course this only works for so long before you need to apply a new coat of antifouling paint.
HOW THE ULTRASONIC ANTIFOULING SYSTEM WORKS
Inside the main control box is a specially programmed microprocessor which centrally controls the system, sending out a range of ultrasonic pulses with varying frequencies to the external transducer units. These transducers are attached with epoxy to the inside of the vessel’s hull, transferring the ultrasonic pulses directly into the hull. The hull then vibrates in tune with the ultrasonic wave pulse, making for a rather hostile and unpleasant environment for the marine growth. Indeed, it would be like trying to go to bed in the front row of a heavy metal concert!
The ultrasonic pulses are outside the range of human hearing, and are attenuated after about 10 metres through water. If your boat is in a pen the boats each side may partially benefit from reduced growth as well!
Power is supplied by 12VDC, making wiring installation easy. A low voltage cut-out feature is also included, which protects the boat’s batteries from being over discharged. As you can see by the technical specifications table, this unit could flatten your battery bank given enough time with no recharging. It is ideal if your boat is in a pen with AC shore power constantly charging your batteries. If you are on a mooring without shore power, we strongly recommend wind or solar charging.
Remember, if the 12VDC supply to the Ultrasonic Antifouling System fails, it stops keeping the marine growth at bay.
Assembly Required
