Are PI machines worth having?

[John (Ma)]

I have a Minlab excal 1000 that is an awsome machine. However, am I missing something by not having a PI machine? I mostly hunt area lakes and ponds with the occasional Atlantic Ocean. Thanks

[Sandman]

I love my Excal too and have played with Pules long eoungh to know that they will go deeper than an Excal and can be more stable in some bad areas, but the time spend digging deep nails can best be spend sweeping the Excal.

For hunting freshwater lakes now you are lots better off with an Excal or about any VLF detector except a PI. bobby pins can last decades in freshwater and the PI's can find everyone of them. Only you can decide how deep do you feel like digging today. How about tommorrow?

[BootleggerJim]

YES!!!

[COTTON]

YEP.

[thinkin2]

I think in the right places they are. Lots of people have great success with them but I have to agree with Sandman about time spent digging deep trash like bobbie pins. I bought a Whites Surf PI Dual Field and it loves tiny trash like bobbie pins and pieces of wire, fish hooks, etc. I've got it put away for now but will give it a try next summer when I can get out in the water beyond the surf breakers where there isn't so much trash. On the beach it's a nightmare. Far too much wasted time imo. As most of your time will be in fresh water I think you would be sorry if you spent the money for it. I've always heard the Tesoro Tiger Shark is a great machine for fresh water. --Jerry

[mlayers]

I like mine......Matt

[John (Ma)]

I appreciate all of the replies so far. However I find it strange that those that are saying the PI machines are worth it are not leaving feedback

[thinkin2]

I appreciate all of the replies so far. However I find it strange that those that are saying the PI machines are worth it are not leaving feedback

John,
Look at where these guys are from. They are hunting saltwater. For them and where and how they hunt it is worth it. I only live four miles from the beach so for me it's probably worth it too but I won't know until next summer when I can get into the water behind the summer crowds. For the wet and dry sand I would never replace my Sov GT or Excal with one and may still prefer the Excal in saltwater. Since you mostly hunt fresh water and only visit saltwater beaches once or twice a year I would say it is not for you but that is only my opinion. You could get one and make the find of your life but my guess is that a couple of times out with a PI where you hunt most and you would be looking for something to kill, lol.
Anyway, best of luck with whatever you do. --Jerry

[DaChief]

I have used my Infinium on dry land for relics and in some freshwater. I like it but if you are not considering hunting salt water at all, I would probably stick with what you have. I have a Sovereign for hunting all locations other than Salt Water. Now if you are going to be hunting Salt Water, that is a different story. I have used the Infinium PI machine exclusively for Salt Water and I love it. It allows me to hunt quickly and I can concentrate on gold targets. Not that I don't like silver but gold is where it is at. The Sovereign I use on dry sand beach areas but the wet sand and the water belong to the Infinium. You get one tone for gold, a high/low ding dong doorbell sounding beep, and you get a separate tone for silver, a low/high reverse doorbell sounding beep. When in the water and wet sand, I concentrate on possible gold targets only. I can move faster that way and don't spend much time digging coins, etc. The Sovereign like the Excalibur gives a variety of tones which you have to interpret. Once you have used them a while, you get good at it but some gold does sound high like a coin and some gold can get down in the low low tone range and then there is everything in between too. The Infinium will give only the one tone for any type of possible gold. That is a good thing to me.

They are all great machines though. You won't find me saying that folks using the Excalibur should change to the Infinium. It is all a matter of personal preference. I have been at this business since 1986 and I have never seen a detector I didn't like. I just like some more than others but again it is all about personal preference!

Good luck!

[rehless]

Been water hunting for years, never had a Minelab. I have had four White's pi machines. Still have two, a Surf Pi that I keep because it is a really good machine and the only one I have seen that signals like the old BFO machines, which makes it easy to hear with your hood on, and I have a Dual Field which is a monster for depth. I have a Tesoro SandShark and a Tesoro TigerShark. The Tiger, of course, isn't a pi. Also Have a very nice Fisher impulse pi that I don't use because it doesn't get the depth my White's do. Just sold a White's Surf PI Pro. I use all the above mentioned detectors in fresh water lakes, only. I do not wade. I dive and/or snorkel.

[davest]

I'm amazed that I don't see more seahunter users. That's a PI that will have you digging 1/4 inch pieces of sparkler wire at 13 inches everyday.

[TimC (North Alabama)]

Hey John, I have both the Excal. II and the Whites Duel Field and although I can't speak on fresh water issues I can say The PI's are worth having and can run much smoother than the VLF in the ocean. Several post down I done an in depth review of the two on my vacation in the gulf, if you read it, it might help in your decision.

Tim

[John (Ma)]

Now that is some good info everyone and I appreciate all of it. As simple as it sounds, I never did think about the breakdown or lack there of metal objects in salt VS fresh waters. Thanks again!

[AUDuke]

A PI is deeper than a Excal. If you are not willing to dig deep on bobby pins an other junk you are going to miss the deep goodies too.

[erikk]

Each has its place. I have a Sea Hunter MK2 & a LS for my PI's & 2 Excal 1000's with WOT coils & an Excal 2 Water (gulf salt) is hard on machines especially when they R hunted 30-40+ hours a week x 52 so U better have backups if U R going 2 keep hunting while some R being rpaired. Bottom line , I use Excal/WOT 85% of the time

[Diver_Down]

Each has its place. I have a Sea Hunter MK2 & a LS for my PI's & 2 Excal 1000's with WOT coils & an Excal 2 Water (gulf salt) is hard on machines especially when they R hunted 30-40+ hours a week x 52 so U better have backups if U R going 2 keep hunting while some R being rpaired. Bottom line , I use Excal/WOT 85% of the time

Could someone translate the above post in english?

[extractor]

I appreciate all of the replies so far. However I find it strange that those that are saying the PI machines are worth it are not leaving feedback

Yes they are worth having. We probably are to busy using them to give longer replays.

[mlayers]

I use the Whites most of the time in fresh water in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. In 3 to 4 months of water hunting I have gotten 18 gold 14 silver and 15 junk kids rings this year. So like I said earlyer yes I like mine.

[erikk]

Each has its place. I have a Sea Hunter MK2 & a LS for my PI's & 2 Excal 1000's with WOT coils & an Excal 2 Water (gulf salt) is hard on machines especially when they R hunted 30-40+ hours a week x 52 so U better have backups if U R going 2 keep hunting while some R being repaired. Bottom line , I use Excal/WOT 85% of the time

Could someone translate the above post in english?

It is really quite simple. If you are going to seriously water hunt (here in FL we can hunt all year and most do) then you need to have several machines. If you get into a trashy area where there is lots of iron a PI might not be the way to go, An Excal will ignore iron and a WOT coil on the excal will allow you to go much deeper than the stock coil. For cleaner places you might want to use a PI machine to get deeper than non PI machines with stock coils. For me the jury is still out as to which is deeper; the PI or the Excal/WOT The reason for back up machines should be quite obvious: If you want to keep hunting while a machine or two are being repaired (sometimes can take many weeks) then you need several machines. FYI (for your information) 4 means for, B means be, U means you, R means are etc LOL

[Big1011Guy]

I have a Minlab excal 1000 that is an awsome machine. However, am I missing something by not having a PI machine? I mostly hunt area lakes and ponds with the occasional Atlantic Ocean. Thanks

I have been detecting since April 2009 and my 1st machine was the Garrett Ace 250. I tried the park and dry land searching for about 2 months. I live about 45 minutes from Galveston, Texas, so I invested in A Used Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II PI ($575.00) and a Long Handled Scoop ($75.00). I have been searching beaches ever since and am Extremely Happy with my Sea Hunter II. I admit I do alot of diggin' and find alot of metal junk (as you can see in my Previous Posts) but I am OK with that. If it is metal and it is buried in the sand the Sea Hunter Mark II will more than likely find it.
Guy