Semi frozen ground

[mcmich]

Curious if the Equinox works in cold weather and semi frozen ground. My Whites did not like the real cold weather, especially ice crystals in the ground. Probably have another few weeks before the ground starts to freeze.

 

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[smokeythecat]

Excellent question. My XP Deus machine and my Tesoros LOVE icy ground.

 

[relicmeister]

I think my equinox will function way better than me in icy conditions. Right now ground is not frozen but under a foot of snow

 

[Goldstar1]

I used the Equinox in frozen ground last march/april when I first got it and it seemed to do fine although I was pretty new with it then. I dont know how cold it was maybe in the 40s. The problem wasnt the detector but digging the target, its like chipping away ice and you better hope you dont find anything valuable or interesting because you will most likely destroy it.

 

[dirtlooter]

should do better than being left in a hot vehicle too long

 

[1KBlueTuber]

Worked fine here in NH with about 2” layer of frozen ground this week. Sad we’re under 6” of new snow now. Depression has set in.

 

[A2coins]

My Garrett kills it in Mich winters yours should do well also Im sure

 

[vferrari]

Per the Equinox manual (p. 65) the minimum operating temperature is 14F. Note also, that charging the battery is NOT recommended below 32F, so if you rigged up your detector with an external power pack on the stem to enable charging the detector while on-the-go, do not connect the battery pack to the Equinox if the air temp is less than 32 otherwise the chemical reaction in the battery during charging will go awry and you will permanently/prematurely lose battery capacity.

In contrast the Garrett AT Max manual says to avoid using the detector in sub freezing temps, but I have seen plenty of folks using it in the snow and obvious sub freezing situations and it seems to do just fine. It also uses alkanes or NiMH AA rechargeables which have a lower capacity in cold conditions but do not suffer from the issue regarding cold temp charging from both a chemical standpoint and because Garrett doesn't support on-the-go charging.

 

[Woodsy]

Below about 30, your lithium battery wont fair well at all. It wouldn't be healthy for it ether.

 

[vferrari]

Below about 30, your lithium battery wont fair well at all. It wouldn't be healthy for it ether.

All types of batteries lose capacity and maximum power capability when operated in cold conditions but they all also self-heat through resistive heating. A lithium ion battery can be safely operated down to -40F similar to NiCads, so there is nothing special about operating Li Ion cells in cold weather vs. other battery types in this regard. Although, I agree operating all batteries in extreme temps hot or cold should be avoided, if possible. The only issue with Lithium Ion batteries in cold weather is attempting to conduct a charge with the temperature below 32F as I previously mentioned.

Source: https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/discharging_at_high_and_low_temperatures and https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_at_high_and_low_temperatures

As far as lithium ion battery service life (how long battery can be recharged and maintain most of its maximum capacity) and temperature - the following article states that lithium ion batteries tend to retain a longer service life given the same number of charge/discharge cycles, if they are operated in colder vice warmer temperatures, though the minimum temperature reference is 0C (32F).

https://batteryuniversity.com/index.php/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

 

[Woodsy]

All I'm saying is: it wouldn't be healthy for his permanently installed lithium battery. I agree with a2coins. Put you equinox away, and pop a set of Duracells in your old Garrettt, and dont let it be a worry.

 

[vferrari]

All I'm saying is: it wouldn't be healthy for his permanently installed lithium battery. I agree with a2coins. Put you equinox away, and pop a set of Duracells in your old Garrettt, and dont let it be a worry.

And all I am saying is that I would go with confidence with whatever is my best detector is down to the operating limit specified by the manufacturer no matter what type of battery it uses.

Regarding the Equinox, the battery is actually user replaceable with a commonly available lithium cell type and not permanently installed and is warranted for factory replacement up to 1 year as long it is operated per the manual which includes operation down to 14F. Point taken though, popping in some duracells is a lot easier.

Also, I think I would have my head examined if I was out detecting somewhere with the temp much below 15F, lol, but I have been close, right Smokey?

 

[mcmich]

Its either this or that