Excalibur II or CZ21 Tough decision

[Slimpickins]

After reading practically everything ever written on this and other forums, I'm still no sure what would be the best choice. I have been using the DFX for 11 yrs. Since I live in Cape Cod now with ponds and saltwater beaches everywhere I need a water detector. Is it possible that new Excals are designed to fail . Are they inspected during the manufacturing process? It seems that it is common for the knobs to break or the coil wires to crack or coil manufacture defects. Isn't it reasonable to expect that each unit be tested before it's packaged. Are the new units made in China? My DFX has never had one problem in all these years and I paid around $1200. back then. Has anyone who purchased an Excalibur II within the past few years experienced major warranty problems and wished they didn't buy the Excal? Like the Whites DFX the Fisher CZ 21 is made in the good 'ol USA. For that reason alone I'm leaning toward the CZ 21 but I've never used a detector without a threshold sound. The nice old lady who owns J&E Enterprises in W. Yarmouth sells both brands among others and insists that the Minelab is a superior machine. Decisions,decisions... There is "Black Sand" here and there on the East facing outermost beaches and a lot of Iron in Cape Cod Bay beaches. What would you guys and gals do? What should I do? HELP!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Tom from Mass

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

I've got to be honest....I have had absolutely ZERO battery issues since going back to the standard AA pack. The convenience of the rechargeable packs just wasn't worth all the times one went dead or bad on me. With the standard AA pack I always know how much hunting time I have on a new set and I simply change them out when required. $5 buys 20 alkaline AA batteries at dollar general.

I have 2 sets of NiMH batteries, they both will exceed 14 hours of detecting time and not a single issue....

So how do you like the North.....

Posted From My $50 Tablet....

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
― James Madison
The Constitution of the United States of America

 

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[bigscoop]

I have 2 sets of NiMH batteries, they both will exceed 14 hours of detecting time and not a single issue....

So how do you like the North.....

Posted From My $50 Tablet....

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
― James Madison
The Constitution of the United States of America

Spending time with the son and granddaughter is keeping me busy and entertained but I'm sure I'll have cabin fever by the time spring rolls around.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Spending time with the son and granddaughter is keeping me busy and entertained but I'm sure I'll have cabin fever by the time spring rolls around.

Get out and experience what the cold weather has to offer...spring up there doesn't roll around til about April...



Posted From My $50 Tablet....




“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
― James Madison
The Constitution of the United States of America

 

[Jeff Harris]

Hi tom,

Good luck with your decision. I cannot tell you that one is better than the other, both are great manufacturers. I have a CZ21. I like the ability to belt mount the box making it light enough to swing all day. Also the three tones is very important as I river hunt here in AZ and ignore the low tones because there are thousands of lost bobby pins from the women who tube down the river. Good luck with your new machine.

Jeff

 

[jyt2017]

Dew...correction. There is something worse....being on a terrible gold drought and then havin machine troubles....rofl. hh gl -Joe

Ill raise my hand high on having a really bad taste in my mouth that i bought an Xcal II. If it could break i broke it. After my last repair ML told me i HUNTED TO MUCH. BUT not many would be putting in the hours i did either. I tried to like the CZ because of that very reason. The CZ doesnt have a lot of common problems.... it is made well and Fisher does a good job of taking care of people if there is. I will say they arent all tuned the same and watch when changing those batteries. What i ended up doing was switching over to BLUE Xcals...... ive still had problems, but ive got a LOT of confidence in these machines and they have been paying off. What ive found is you can hone your skill with either and be very effective. Either will pay for its self..... but with either one..... id still consider a back up at a later date. Nothing stinks more than getting on a streak and have your detector go South. Ill also add..... i think bringing Kelleyco on board for repairs has been a very good thing.

 

[lookindown]

You cant go wrong with either machine...they are very close to each other in performance and depth...it was an easy decision for me, I wanted a machine with silent search...listening to a threshold hum for 9 hours would drive me batty...I love my CZ21.