Minelab Excalibur 1000 vs Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II

[Daniel in NC]

I have been reading the posts regarding Minelab and it seems as if most people are generally happy with this detector as an underwater detector. I own a White's DFX for land and I have been looking for a good reliable underwater metal detector. I posted on the Shipwreck Forum and heard good things regarding the Minelab 1000. I also heard good things about the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II. Are these 2 underwater detectors in a totally different class? For the price I am leaning towards the Garrett but if there's much more advantage over the Minelab I would be willing to opt for it. I am new to detecting underwater and will be in fresh water as well as salt. I am looking for something that is user friendly, durable and reliable. Is the Garrett leaned more for novice users.

Thans for yout input.

Daniel

 

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[Monty]

I have the Sea Hunter Mk II detector by Garrett. Some one correct me on this if I am wrong. Sthe Garrett detector is a PI based detector with some abilitiy to discriminate, but dialing in too much discrimination will cause you possibly to miss gold targets. I think...the Minelab is a VLF based....isn't it? Probably the best on the market today of the VLF type. It has a tad more discrimination than the Sea Hunter. As far as depth, a PI unit will generally go deeper than a VLF unit. With the Sea Hunter you don't know for sure what you have unless you can identify it by tone or dig it up. The Minelab gives you a little better idea of what you are digging. The Sea Hunter is probably a little harder to master than the Minelab due to that very fact. I have only used mine in a club hunt where tokens (wheat pennies) were broad cast in a swimming area and a couple of times on a freshwater beach. I competed with several other brands, notably Fisher, and did quite well. Several of the other brand users had a lot of questions they asked me after the hunt was over. I did find a silver ring at the lake with my Sea Hunter and recognized it right off as a good target. It just takes a lot of getting use to various tones. Perhaps someone will have more info on the Minelab unit? Monty

 

[Sandman]

Monty is correct in his assessment of the Garrett Sea Hunter and Minelab Excalibur. Both machines are good for diving with the PI getting the best in depth a little over the Excal 1000. However, the Excal has iron mask full time which means it doesn't beep on any iron at all unless its a car hood, while the Sea Hunter will sound off on a bobby pin. In salt water iron doesn't last long. Fresh water the Excal might be the best choice because it ignors iron.

The PI uses batteries faster while the Excal uses a rechargable battery pack. You don't remove any batteries nor ever open the electronics package where sand or water vapor could get inside to cause trouble with the Excal. The 1000 refers to the coil size and is deeper than the 800 model.

 

[gollum]

Right and Double Right! I have the original Excalibur and have never had a problem with it. It has only gone down to about 75ft, but spends much of it's time hip mounted at the beach! I have nothing but good luck with all three of my Minelabs!

Good Luck-Mike

 

[neilo]

Hi my friend and I detect the water together I have The Excalibur, he uses the Sea Hunter 2. There is no doubt he does more digging than me but at the end of the day I am the one with more good finds. As far as best of the two I would opt for the Excalibur,depth capabilities are comparable, and the discrimination is much better. With the Sea Hunter you spend too much preciuos time chasing useless rubbish targets which would be ignored by the Excalibur. Remember the time you are detecting is limited and you want the best returns for your investment. this is where the Excalibur excells. seeya Neilo

 

[Dave N Japan]

Hey Guys, What about the CZ-20??I just got one to relace my Impulse,

 

[Monty]

The CZ20 was a good machine from all I have seen and heard. Can't figure out why Fisher quit making it as it was quite popular. Several members of my club use them for club water hunts and do quite well. Monty

 

[Sandman]

Dave, the CZ20 is still a good machine. Some areas I search have fast changing ground minerials and you should change GB often. For these areas I use the Excal. But otherwise the CZ20 with it's 3 tones helps find the rings faster since you aren't wasting time on coins. Fisher said they stopped producing it because parts were getting to expensive. Guys that sent theirs in for any repairs were hit with huge repair bills. Goes to show what happens when BH takes over and cheapens a product.

Sandman

 

[Roadquest]

Sandman,

Can the Excalibur battery be charged from a car power outlet.
And whats the diff. between the 800 and the 1000
You have me sold on the Excalibur.

Roadquest

 

[neilo]

The two machines are the same the only difference is the coil size, 1000 is a ten inch, 800 is 8inch, I use a 1000 myself and there is a car charger available for them.I would also recommend setting your machine up on a Bill Babbs straight shaft, it makes the machine better balanced for use in or out of the water. great machine you will be happy with it good luck, take your advise from Sandman he knows the machine well. seeya Neilo

 

[Roadquest]

Neilo,

Thanks for the information, Ya I have read Sandmans post.
He has convinced me with what he has said about the Excalibur
that its the way to go with beach hunting.

Roadquest

 

[buscadero]

Someone mentioned the Fisher Impulse. Does anyone know why they stopped making that model?

 

[Sandman]

The Fisher Impulse was probably dropped because the company is now owned by First Texas, the company that owns BH. There must not have been enough profit for them in that machine. The CZ20 was dropped too.

HH,
Sandman

 

[Amona]

Hi Guys

This is My story. I have a GTI2500 and Seahunter Mark II. One day I was detecting with a guy in the beach which He used his Excalibur and I used My GTI. I waited until he detect some area then I started detect over that area after he finished. He Found nothing, I found a small silver ring.



Amona