CTX 3030 "word to the wise"

[Beach Papa]

I hunted the other day with the CTX some in the water and some in the wet sand. I found nothing special. This beach is popular for swimming as well as metal detecting, So I was not surprised with a few dollars in change. I knew the battery was low and would need to be charged so when I got home I rinsed the detector off as usual with the hose and particularly hosed off the battery connection because I did not want any sand or grit getting on the O-ring when I took the battery off to charge. I did NOT hit it with a hard blast of water but did specifically rinse that area. I let the detector sit over night to dry off before removing the battery just so I did not get any water dripping into the battery compartment. When I removed the battery the next day this is what I found inside:
Needless to say I was shocked. The battery was just as ugly looking. I carefully cleaned everything with electronic cleaner, paper towel, tooth brush and cotton swabs. The gunk came off but the terminal has been corroded. I assume water got into the housing when I GENTLY hosed it off. I was disappointed. I love the detector but BE CAREFUL when you wash it off, it apparently doesn't take much to breach the seal. I cleaned it, dried it, charged the battery, (I was amazed that it took a charge), put it all back together and it worked fine. Perhaps since the battery was so depleted already that it did not eat the terminal completely. Now I am not recommending anyone wet the internals of their detector as I did, but when I took it hunting today, it produced 4 rings and a bracelet for me. More goodies than I have gotten on any other hunt this year. One 14k gold at 9.6g, one silver band, one silver band with pearl and one Titanium not in the photo, since I found it for a guy on the beach. He was delighted with the return and showed his appreciation, which bought gas for the next few hunts at the beach. Happy hunting to y'all and do be VERY careful when you wash your CTX. Papa

 

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[SaskSteve]

My ATP doesn't leak.

 

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[MBbeachrat]

Submarines cost Millions and they still have a chance at leaking LOL.
I took my gasket out today and thought to myself it should be wider and the clamps should clamp down tighter. But no problems so far for me. I am thinking maybe a 3/16 or 1/8 wide gasket would of been better. They probaly still could do it if the clamps wouldn't break off from the force of the wider Gasket.
If you worry about your Detector leaking then water hunting isn't for you. I found myself thinking the same thing for awhile when I used a Excal,and a Fisher CZ21. Then I just thought if it is going to happen it will and then I will deal with it.

I am surprised no one has complained about the USB port leaking yet?

And if someone really wants a THICKER Gasket why not buy two of them and clamp them down? It should make a 3/16" seal with two of them in there. Who will be the tester of this great BrainStorm

Have not heard of any leaks at USB connections. That has a nice screw cap method. I am not scared of it leaking just know to many who have had leaks and don't want to chance it. If I go waist deep or more it is the Excaliber or CZ 21

 

[MBbeachrat]

My ATP doesn't leak.

There are many other things your ATP doesn't do in the the surf and wet sand that the CTX does. LOL

 

[Beach Papa]

By any chance did you grease the seal?

I don't recall the instructions which came with the CTX3030 saying to lubricate the o-ring, so I have not done that.

 

[zigzag]

Mine's going up for sale next week. I hate it. Excals rule.

 

[debrown122]

Mine's going up for sale next week. I hate it. Excals rule.

How much?

 

[MBbeachrat]

I don't recall the instructions which came with the CTX3030 saying to lubricate the o-ring, so I have not done that.

I believe manual states just make sure o-ring is clean and set properly. Seen some write warranty is void if o ring is lubricated others write Minelab USA says warranty is not voided by lubricating o ring. I would call Minelab and see what they say be for lubricating.

 

[MBbeachrat]

Mine's going up for sale next week. I hate it. Excals rule.

Why you hate it? Seems to me a little faster and easier then Excalibur only thing not as waterproof as Excalibur.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Les,
Did Ken send it back to Minelab or just clean it and go on using it? I was able to clean all the surface stuff off the contacts but I certainly did not open the housing to see if anything oozed down into the control box. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Beach Papa

Beach Papa:
Minelab/Kellyco should be able to answer your question.
You have identified a major concern of mine: That of contamination/water seeping into the control box from the battery compartment.
I would think that any design where a large seal has to be broken each time to install a charged battery is problematic.
There are just too many things that could go wrong, even for a properly designed seal.
Such as sand getting under the seal, clamps opening in the water. Damaging the seal by using the wrong lubricant.

 

[Captain PopTop]

great finds, glad your back up an running, you gotta take care of your machine and advice from other people on here really helps

 

[zigzag]

I'm not sure. It's going on consignment at a local treasure hunters outlet on tuesday. I don't have time to deal with it right now so I hope they get me a descent price.

 

[zigzag]

Hey MB. Maybe it' because I'm so used to excaliburs. I don't like looking at a graph or pushing buttons. I really didn't give it much of a chance but every time I use it I feel like I'm missing the gold.

 

[Sandman]

I almost ordered a CTX but thought my other water detectors never leaked yet and the Price of the CTX as a new detector had to have some bugs that aren't worked out yet. Ten feet of water pressure is one third of an atmosphere or only 4 lbs. The Tesoro's and Fisher Labs water detectors are built like tanks and don't have the tiny thin O-rings. Neither of them leaked down to 140 feet, the deepest I ever dived. I hope I don't croak before I can buy a CTX.


Take Care Guys.

 

[jyt2017]

They have plenty of leaking problems themselves...


While I am at it, garrett advertizes that the machine can work in salt water...when it CANNOT. Ya you might get it to hit...when the object practically touches the coil. Thats it. Its wild and unstable in the salt water...and not to good in salty wet sand.

I go to the beach all the time and see people with them. They all say..."ohh it says it works in salt water". Single frequency machines just cannot cancel out ferrite.

And the ground balance. There is allegedly manual and auto. Manual imo is user based...ie setting knobs and bobbing coil. Garrett seems to think auto can be the same thing...setting a knob and bobbing the coil. Its not. Automatic GB...is just what it is...auto...ie no user input. Like the GT or Excal. It literally automatically ground balances as you go. No more worrying about missing gold because you didn't stop every ten feet and mess with the controls.

Sorry, just had to let that out. ATP is a decent land machine that can put you in freshwater on a budget, and do pretty good. And their warranty is great. But they basically say the machine does stuff that it really does not do.

My ATP doesn't leak.

 

[jyt2017]

I don't hate the 3030, wouldn't mind learning one and owning one. What I do hate is they discontinued the GT and there are no plans to continue the GT series at all.

Mine's going up for sale next week. I hate it. Excals rule.

 

[Southernstyle]

I'll Bash Minelab all day long. I have had numerous Excalibur's and ALL of them have gone bad. Minelab never covers my stuff under warranty because I have had to fix their lack of quality in design on some things....Like $hitty headphones to start! All of us that find lots of gold with the Excalibur have probably modified headphones in some way or another, you have probably upgraded your crappy knobs that come on a now $1500 unit. It is hard enough for me to justify the money spent yearly on new or repairs to my Excalibur's. I am sure that the CTX is a awesome machine but I use my Excalibur everyday, 4 to 6 hours a day. I am on my last of Minelab equipment now. Its a tough decision I've made but NO MORE MINELAB for me. IF they would manufacturer equipment worthy of the price tag would be a different story. How about gold connections for my battery connections and battery terminals. How about knobs that don't strip out and headphones that aren't shaped totally different than any other headphone on the market.. I never have understood the huge odd shaped headband on the koss headphone with Excalibur.
I know this was about the CXT but it is about Minelab as a company as well. They charged people a ton of money for a detector that still has bugs and issues....how about some real research and design, then produce a quality product.....THEN put it on the market. I do not believe the problems with the above mentioned detector was due to him rinsing off the battery compartment, I think it was from a previous salt water leak that corroded the terminals. I don't believe that the problem pictured happened overnight. If it was, it was caused by him rinsing off his waterproof detector
OK, enough rant, just wanted my two cents in here also. The people that use their machines on a daily base know that these are major issues with easy fixes. Then there are some that will not agree with me but only use there machines once a month or so, then get hung up in a closet or garage. I would even pay extra if Minelab offered a upgrade for better headphones, better knobs and better battery connections(not chrome plated steel that will rust in saltwater, which is where the machine is designed to perform). Oh yeah, and a 3 year warranty....because one year is about when you start having problems if you use it a lot.
Tesoro's lifetime warranty looks really nice though.... Garrett's Infinium is always a quality contender and Whites customer service is the best there is!
Just for the record, it's Minelab service over the years is what has pushed me to other companies, past problems could have been avoided and/or fixed, rather than trying to get every little dime out of every repair sent to them. They fail to realize I' not going to stop metal detecting, I'm just going to buy products from company that stand behind their work.

One of my Gopro cameras is going on 3 years old now, never leaked one time. It's in the water everyday the excalibur is. How can a $300 camera seal up tighter and better than a $1500 or in this case, a $2500 metal detector.

Chris

Maybe one day I'll tell you guys how I really feel....haha

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

seems to me i would buy a few extra seals and use permatex blue / just a thin layer to help keep it water tight .

 

[leprechaun]

Hay beach papa, sorry to here about your machine haveing problems but so far I've had no problems with mine, i'm in the water all the time but I will say I charge my battery every 3rd or 4th day so I never let the battery run down all the way. On a better note I'm glad your finding some nice gold Whydah and I will be water hunting on the cape tomorrow and tuesday in the water of course.
before I went in the water the first time I put some vasoleine on my rubber gasket to be safe with the seal, so far so good. HH and good luck out there.Lep

 

[GreenMeanie]

I will agree with you on your post here.
If WHITES actually made a Detector that runs like the CTX I would sell the CTX and use my new WHITES machine. Whites as a Company is top notch.

I'll Bash Minelab all day long. I have had numerous Excalibur's and ALL of them have gone bad. Minelab never covers my stuff under warranty because I have had to fix their lack of quality in design on some things....Like $hitty headphones to start! All of us that find lots of gold with the Excalibur have probably modified headphones in some way or another, you have probably upgraded your crappy knobs that come on a now $1500 unit. It is hard enough for me to justify the money spent yearly on new or repairs to my Excalibur's. I am sure that the CTX is a awesome machine but I use my Excalibur everyday, 4 to 6 hours a day. I am on my last of Minelab equipment now. Its a tough decision I've made but NO MORE MINELAB for me. IF they would manufacturer equipment worthy of the price tag would be a different story. How about gold connections for my battery connections and battery terminals. How about knobs that don't strip out and headphones that aren't shaped totally different than any other headphone on the market.. I never have understood the huge odd shaped headband on the koss headphone with Excalibur.
I know this was about the CXT but it is about Minelab as a company as well. They charged people a ton of money for a detector that still has bugs and issues....how about some real research and design, then produce a quality product.....THEN put it on the market. I do not believe the problems with the above mentioned detector was due to him rinsing off the battery compartment, I think it was from a previous salt water leak that corroded the terminals. I don't believe that the problem pictured happened overnight. If it was, it was caused by him rinsing off his waterproof detector
OK, enough rant, just wanted my two cents in here also. The people that use their machines on a daily base know that these are major issues with easy fixes. Then there are some that will not agree with me but only use there machines once a month or so, then get hung up in a closet or garage. I would even pay extra if Minelab offered a upgrade for better headphones, better knobs and better battery connections(not chrome plated steel that will rust in saltwater, which is where the machine is designed to perform). Oh yeah, and a 3 year warranty....because one year is about when you start having problems if you use it a lot.
Tesoro's lifetime warranty looks really nice though.... Garrett's Infinium is always a quality contender and Whites customer service is the best there is!
Just for the record, it's Minelab service over the years is what has pushed me to other companies, past problems could have been avoided and/or fixed, rather than trying to get every little dime out of every repair sent to them. They fail to realize I' not going to stop metal detecting, I'm just going to buy products from company that stand behind their work.

One of my Gopro cameras is going on 3 years old now, never leaked one time. It's in the water everyday the excalibur is. How can a $300 camera seal up tighter and better than a $1500 or in this case, a $2500 metal detector.

Chris

Maybe one day I'll tell you guys how I really feel....haha

 

[GreenMeanie]

I actually POSTED in another thread someone should try using two seals in there.
No idea if it would help thou.

seems to me i would buy a few extra seals and use permatex blue / just a thin layer to help keep it water tight .