Discussion on Equinox Coil Covers

[smokeythecat]

Like V said, be careful not to void the warranty.

 

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[FloridaSon]

My feeling is I clean my guns after I go shooting, I can remove and rinse off the coil/cover. Tools of the trade. :-)

 

[HighVDI]

I got a NEL tornado coil on my F75 and it needs frequent coil cover removal/cleanings.

 

[RobNC]

So the safest thing is obviously NOT seal it up. I've read good reasons to NOT seal the cover onto the coil. There are advantages to sealing it on but it had better be a perfect job or it will leak is what I'm gathering.
Like most of you I've decided to leave it alone and simply clean under the cover as needed. While it is a pain it's probably the safest thing to do. The whole "voiding your warranty" point was enough to get my mind changed.

 

[relicmeister]

I bought polyester waterproof backpack rain covers which have elastic around edge. These are inexpensive and can be cut and sewn or zip tied to fit ant coil fairly snugly. They keep the dirt off the coil and prevent stubble and twigs from getting caught up in the struts.
This is helpful on dry land but not a solution for water hunting

 

[flyadive]

You don’t need no stinkin coil cover!
On my Whites MD , it fit so snuggly that I would cause more damage removing it all the time to clean it!
After a few hunts it would fill up with very fine dirt and sand it would give bad readings.
The first time it happened I thought there was something wrong with the detector! Finally I figured out the problem.... took it off and I was out finding treasure again! I don’t know how much stuff I missed with the dirty coil cover on ! I removed it a long time ago and never never never never damaged the coil or ware it out! Never! Never.....
It’s not worth it , Missing anything is not an option!
You will ware out the MD or want to upgrade before you ware out the coil... I’m on # 5 MD !

.....wait a minute??
I take that back.... please use them covers and never clean them! Please?? !!

 

[vferrari]

You don’t need no stinkin coil cover!
On my Whites MD , it fit so snuggly that I would cause more damage removing it all the time to clean it!
After a few hunts it would fill up with very fine dirt and sand it would give bad readings.
The first time it happened I thought there was something wrong with the detector! Finally I figured out the problem.... took it off and I was out finding treasure again! I don’t know how much stuff I missed with the dirty coil cover on ! I removed it a long time ago and never never never never damaged the coil or ware it out! Never! Never.....
It’s not worth it , Missing anything is not an option!
You will ware out the MD or want to upgrade before you ware out the coil... I’m on # 5 MD !

.....wait a minute??
I take that back.... please use them covers and never clean them! Please?? !!

After all, that is why they are removable, to give you the option to go coverless.

However, I think it depends on where you are hunting. Powder Beach sand, manicured lawn, no problem going coverless. Rocky farm field or back country prospecting, bad juju not having a cover to protect against the unintentional ding, or continuous scraping against gravelly soil that can cause an epoxy crack or exposed coil wire.

I know the bottom of my covers look like cr@p, so I can't imagine exposing the coil epoxy to such abuse. If all I did was beach hunting in powder sand, I might consider not using the cover.

BTW - If your coil is not brushing the ground, you are losing a lot of depth. Any air gap is bad if it can be avoided because air is a lot less conductive than the ground when it comes to the very weak magnetic fields you are trying to detect. For every inch of air your coil is raised above the ground, you can be easily losing much more than an inch of depth in the soil.

Another thing to consider is that if you have a failure during the coil warranty period (perhaps a broken wire in the cable) and you send in a coil that looks abused on the underside because no cover was used, the manufacturer might void the warranty even if that has nothing to do with the failure.

 

[flyadive]

After all, that is why they are removable, to give you the option to go coverless.

I said you take a chance doing more damage to the coil removing the cover because they are so snug.

However, I think it depends on where you are hunting. Powder Beach sand, manicured lawn, no problem going coverless. Rocky farm field or back country prospecting, bad juju not having a cover to protect against the unintentional ding, or continuous scraping against gravelly soil that can cause an epoxy crack or exposed coil wire.

I hunt beach, mountain river rock.... you don’t find anything good using the easy paths ... I jump through hoops going to where man hasn’t been in a few hundred years


BTW - If your coil is not brushing the ground, you are losing a lot of depth. Any air gap is bad if it can be avoided because air is a lot less conductive than the ground when it comes to the very weak magnetic fields you are trying to detect. For every inch of air your coil is raised above the ground, you can be easily losing much more than an inch of depth in the soil.

I consider myself a professional for what ever that’s worth .
I know how to run the coil over the ground


Another thing to consider is that if you have a failure during the coil warranty period (perhaps a broken wire in the cable) and you send in a coil that looks abused on the underside because no cover was used, the manufacturer might void the warranty even if that has nothing to do with the failure.

Never ever happened
USE the cover, better for the next generation.

Never ever happened
USE the cover, better for the next generation.

 

[vferrari]

After all, that is why they are removable, to give you the option to go coverless.

I said you take a chance doing more damage to the coil removing the cover because they are so snug.

However, I think it depends on where you are hunting. Powder Beach sand, manicured lawn, no problem going coverless. Rocky farm field or back country prospecting, bad juju not having a cover to protect against the unintentional ding, or continuous scraping against gravelly soil that can cause an epoxy crack or exposed coil wire.

I hunt beach, mountain river rock.... you don’t find anything good using the easy paths ... I jump through hoops going to where man hasn’t been in a few hundred years


BTW - If your coil is not brushing the ground, you are losing a lot of depth. Any air gap is bad if it can be avoided because air is a lot less conductive than the ground when it comes to the very weak magnetic fields you are trying to detect. For every inch of air your coil is raised above the ground, you can be easily losing much more than an inch of depth in the soil.

I consider myself a professional for what ever that’s worth .
I know how to run the coil over the ground


Another thing to consider is that if you have a failure during the coil warranty period (perhaps a broken wire in the cable) and you send in a coil that looks abused on the underside because no cover was used, the manufacturer might void the warranty even if that has nothing to do with the failure.

Never ever happened
USE the cover, better for the next generation.

Never ever happened
USE the cover, better for the next generation.

Hey, thanks for meeting me half way. Lol. Glad going coverless is not an issue for you. I'm not a detecting "pro" so I still have a lot to learn and am open to advice and other points of view. Thanks for the input and am glad nothing bad ever happens to your gear. No way I can swing the coil as precisely as you, as my scuffed cover tells the tale. Seems we can agree on...practically nothing, apparently, so at least we have that in common. Happy hunting my friend.

 

[baddley]

So what is the procedure or process to take off the coil cover or clean it up ?

Scott B

 

[vferrari]

So what is the procedure or process to take off the coil cover or clean it up ?

Scott B

See this post: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/equinox/600453-cleaning-your-nox-800-a.html#post6093175

 

[RayinAlaska]

Since I don't want to remove the cover to clean both the coil and cover, I sealed the top edges of the cover with black color RTV silicone. However, I made sure that the cover and coil were thoroughly clean and dry, and that none of the silicone got between the coil and cover. This procedure takes a long time because of the multi-shape cover, but since I can't use the detector until the summer (usually by the end of May), I had plenty of time to do it. As long as the silicone does not get inside the cover, no damage is done and it can be removed if needed. I do the same with all of my detectors, specially the ones for gold-nugget detecting.

But as some have said numerous times, the easiest thing to do is to remove the cover to rinse.

 

[RayinAlaska]

Alright, I tried to use Temflex to help seal the coil cover and it simply didn't pan out. So onto the next solution. A more permanent one. Black silicone around the edge of where coil meets coil cover.
I've also uploaded a couple of pictures showing the lack of sealing with my new 6" coil and the minelab coil cover.
View attachment 1679551
As you can see, there is a gap and it is due to the coil cover not properly edged to match the coil itself.
View attachment 1679552
Here again we see a large difference between the coil and coil cover. This is what allows in all the dirt, dried grass clippings, and other debris.

In reality, for the cover to completely seal around the coil, it would need to have a rubber gasket. This coil is designed with gaps to arrow for water to zip in and out when water-detecting. Yes, debris gets in there, but I doubt any detector has a water-proof coil cover. Maybe water zipping in makes the detector less buoyant? No idea about this, just a thought. But I am certain that there is plenty of air trapped between my EQ-800 coil and cover since I sealed it

When I was sealing mine as I told above, I noticed that the cover has two notches or holes along the top edge, probably to allow for water to fill and drain (whatever the case may be) the bottom of the coil.

 

[FloridaSon]

I take them off, I've have been beach hunting for years and never had any coil issues (No covers on). I took the 800 cover off after seeing how much gets under it. After each hunt clean and inspect for wear.

If you see a lot of wear you can olways put a thin coat of marine epoxy in it.
Do not seal the coil cover to the coil, if you do not perfectly seal it (sand will get in) something will get in and you've got issues.

I have converted to no cover on beach. At first the sharp edge digs in as I scuff the sand when swinging but it wears off enough in a couple outings. Cover still fits tight. The cells can load up with certain types of sand when damp. Any surf rinses it all. Also inspect for wear after hosing it off each use.

 

[Minelab Matt]

It's a non-issue in my opinion.

What's so tough about taking it off and giving it a quick rinse?

Only take a few seconds.

Matt

 

[cudamark]

I just drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of my coil covers. After every hunt, I'm going to spray the detector down anyway, so, blasting the holes of the coil cover is just a part of the procedure now. It doesn't get every spec out, but, it flushes enough to where it's never been a problem. After checking and comparing what I would find without the holes and removing the cover, with flushing the holes and then inspecting under the cover, I find the difference to be insignificant. Therefor, I haven't removed my coil covers in months, just keep flushing.

 

[midalake]

I have converted to no cover on beach. At first the sharp edge digs in as I scuff the sand when swinging but it wears off enough in a couple outings. Cover still fits tight. The cells can load up with certain types of sand when damp. Any surf rinses it all. Also inspect for wear after hosing it off each use.

The Equinox has a cover? LOL Don't think I have hunted with a cover in over 30 years.

 

[FloridaSon]

Update: Ran into some very sticky mud like beach renourishment sand yesterday that filled each cell on the coil with wet sand. Added a lot to the weight so I may rethink my ‘no cover’ mindset. Like the other guy said “you can quote me but remember the date” as it may change with new information.