EQ800 Weights and Shaft Measurements

[CharlesUpstateNY]

Total EQ800 Weight 46.4 oz, 1,315 grams, 2.899 lbs

Control Box, handle 14.5 oz, 409 grams
Arm Cup w/screw 3.6 oz, 102 grams
Coil 17.6 oz, 500 grams
Upper shaft 3.2 oz, 90 grams
Middle shaft 3.7 oz, 106 grams
Lower rod with nylon bolt and rubber washers 3.8 oz, 108 grams

Upper/Middle shaft OD .875 inches
Middle shaft small end OD .780 to .782 inches
Lower rod OD near the snap pin .768 to .770

Note: See the difference between the lower rod OD and the middle shaft small end OD, the cam lock does not tighten on my lower rod, at full lock the lower rod is still loose and twists back and forth against the snap pin likely due to the smaller diameter of the lower rod.

How much weight can you save with an aftermarket carbon fiber shaft vs the factory 2 piece aluminum shaft? 4 oz minus the weight of a cam or pinch lock and the plastic plug for the top of the tube. The factory upper and middle shaft is 34.75 inches long. Rock West Composites sells a .875 OD x .785 ID carbon fiber tube, .047 wall thickness. 34.75 inches of it weighs about 2.8 oz vs 6.9 oz for the factory aluminum upper and middle shaft.

 

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[dirtlooter]

now that's breaking it down. it would be nice if you could just "swell" the end of the lower shaft to be a tighter fit without splitting it. pretty nice job of info. thanks

 

[vferrari]

Is that the middle shaft lower end OD or ID? I would think the delta between the middle shaft ID and the lower rod OD would be the critical dimensions, otherwise you would have to have the tolerance on middle shaft tube thickness to know there is a gap problem the lock can’t overcome.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I really do not have the time in yet to criticize the weight of the EQ yet, but I could swing the CTX for 4 to 5 hours and just had enough of it - my elbow said "Go Home".

In just my 10 minutes of swinging with the EQ - trying to be as nice as I can to Minelab - it was an elbow cranker.

I'll be using my "Original Detecting Buddy" with it.

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

now that's breaking it down. it would be nice if you could just "swell" the end of the lower shaft to be a tighter fit without splitting it. pretty nice job of info. thanks

I know people are irritated with the loose lower rod, and they have a point it shouldn't be loose brand new out of the box. The way I look at it, I can sit and gripe, I can return to Minelab for repair, or I can fix it myself in 10 minutes and just go detecting.

The reality is the cam lock is going to wear out just like it did on ALL of my Explorers and I'll have to shim it. I have some .010 inch thick brass shim stock on hand, I'll cut and roll a small piece and super glue to the lower rod where the cam lock pinches and that will be the end of that. I think length adjusted for me is the lower rod 3 holes up into the middle shaft so I'll position the shim at that location on the lower rod where the camlock pinches with the lower rod adjusted to my height. Seems like I have some stainless shim also, don't remember the gauge but for salt water hunting that would be better than the brass.

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

Is that the middle shaft lower end OD or ID? I would think the delta between the middle shaft ID and the lower rod OD would be the critical dimensions, otherwise you would have to have the tolerance on middle shaft tube thickness to know there is a gap problem the lock can’t overcome.

That's the small end (small diameter end) OD of the middle shaft.

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

In just my 10 minutes of swinging with the EQ - trying to be as nice as I can to Minelab - it was an elbow cranker.

The Equinox is lightweight BUT there's 1.56 pounds in front of the handle and less than 1/2 pound (.425 pounds) behind the handle to counter balance it that's the problem. Worse just the coil is 1.1 pounds and its way out on the very end of the shaft. Nearly 2 lbs lighter than my Explorer that's awesome, but how to better balance it.

I'd redistribute the weight like a motorcycle side car. For beach or open field hunting where you swing a lot more than you dig it would be worth it. For relic hunting or coin shooting a park less than ideal but I'd probably still go for it to eliminate the wear and tear on my arm and shoulder.

Look at this crude drawing. This is what I'm talking about. Grab an aftermarket Excal carbon fiber shaft with handle, fix a short sidecar length of carbon fiber shaft to the rear and clamp the Equinox control box and handle to the extreme rear near the arm cup. The control box and handle with battery weighs 1.3 pounds that would nearly perfectly counter balance the Equinox front to rear, just a bit nose heavy to keep the coil down vs floating up. I doubt the coil cord is long enough to reach so a short extension cord would likely be needed.

Now is this ideal for working the buttons and viewing the screen, no but being able to swing it 5 hours vs 3 or not at all. This is why I broke down the weights

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

I'm going to order some of this .004 x 3/4 inch wide stainless shim tape. One and a half wraps should firm up the lower rod, and half a wrap tighten up the middle to upper shaft cam. May need to rough it slightly with some fine sand paper so the cam can get a grip on it. https://www.mcmaster.com/#1143n24/=1du75ss

 

[smokeythecat]

The bottom line as charlesupstent stated so wisely is return it for a fix, diy or go to another brand. Regarding the wobble they arent going to do anything else at this stage.