I JUST BOUGHT A USED CZ 20!!

[nomad 11]

And now can someone tell me whats the best way to prepare it for water use?i want to make sure its water tight. i only plan to wade waist deep water but i have never water hunted before and i know this thing is going swimming a few times before i get the hang of using the detector in one hand and switching hands with a long handled steel scoop.how can i be sure the gasket on the battery door is sealed every time i replace batteries?i would greatly appreciate any or all advice on this great water detector.

 

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[Streak!]

And now can someone tell me whats the best way to prepare it for water use?i want to make sure its water tight. i only plan to wade waist deep water but i have never water hunted before and i know this thing is going swimming a few times before i get the hang of using the detector in one hand and switching hands with a long handled steel scoop.how can i be sure the gasket on the battery door is sealed every time i replace batteries?i would greatly appreciate any or all advice on this great water detector.

the only thing you need to worry about is getting the battery door gasket on clean and tight. when I change My batteries................I clean all the surfaces off related to the battery compartment, making sure there is no dirt, debris or sand. Its a good idea to clean the outside thoroughly prior to taking it off. Then I (VERY) lightly coat the gasket with a little silicone lube, and reassemble it. I DONT mean silicone sealer, but rather a lube, like Sil-glide for ignition wires. You can get at at napa...and a tube will last you YEARS. I use it on the coil wire connector on my non water machines to. It keeps things clean and dry, and is a corrosion inhibiter. It will also help seal any tiny imperfections in the gasket itself, and keep it from drying out! Tighten the battery screws firmly, but dont overdo it. done!

 

[Monty]

Most of the leaks I have seen or heard about occur because of over tightening. It warps the mating surfaces. Be sure the gaskets are clean and malleable. Dried up gaskets are sure to cause a leak. Monty

 

[seeker41]

follow everyones advice on the battery door/gasket!!!!! and. either do not use the pinpoint button(you dont really need it) or pay very close attention to it as they were prone to leaking!

 

[gleaner1]

Good advice from these guys. Not really much to do to prep the cz20, just get out and use it. My original 1993 had a loose screw in it after 2 hours use. Sent back, fixed no charge. The first time ever in the water, it leaked like a sieve (bad faceplate seal), and went brain dead on me. Sent back, fixed no charge. The invoice said "dried unit out, tested okay". This was fresh water. Mine had the five year warranty. I never had leaking problems after that, and I don't hear about any particular problems with leaking from anyone.

Do not worry too much about the battery housing. The sealing is very well done on the battery wires going into the control housing. If it does leak thru the battery cover gasket, the inside guts wont get wet no matter what happens on the battery side.
A good finger tightening of the screws, using a dime, is all you need.

I like the cz20 because you can hip mount the box and the rod/coil assembly weighs about 1.5 pounds. It's like swinging a dry stick, zero fatigue. Speaking of fatigue, if you hip mount the box, the coil wire will fail on you, due to continuous bending, at the strain relief on the control box, or worse, at the rod. Split a 6" length of 3/8" black rubber fuel hose down the length and wrap it around the coil wire up over the strain relief, and use a few ty-wraps to button it all up. This is like a "super" strain relief and adds a bit of life to the wire. Do something similar at the rod. Allow PLENTY of wire between the control box and the rod to prevent excessive bending stresses in the wire when swinging. Not if, but WHEN, the coil wire craps out, get some nerve, tear the unit down, cut out the 10" piece of bad coil wire, and re-solder. You can do this 3, maybe 4 times before the wire gets too short. If the coil wire fails at the rod, you will lose a lot of wire, an may not be able to salvage. No biggy, just order a new coil and solder it in.

 

[Sandman]

Follow the others advice on mounting and use. This is the Silcone Grease that you should only use on the gasket. Clean the gasket after opening and apply this grease and close it up. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE SCREWS as this pulles out the inserts and they never tighten again.

I covered my Pinpoint button with clear bathtub Silicone sealant (caulk) as you really don't need the pinpoint button in the water anyway and this stops any leaks from happening. Use fresh good 9 volt batteries and they will last quite a long time. Fisher sells a neck mount strap that I use and it works great.

 

[Lowbatts]

I think you're gonna have some fun! All these guys are right on. Take care, the CZ20 is a tank and works great. Are you going to the beaches in Chicago, the Chain or one or more of the rivers?

The river beds are rocky in the best places to hunt around here, the beaches are coarse sand and not much trouble. The Chain varies from the sand bars to the piers between fine sand and stony muck.

Still using mine after many years of hard service in water and in the field. I still like it in otherwise noisy environments because it runs so good and quiet and hits so hard on silver.

 

[Sandman]

I hate to say it but these days I think the CZ-21 or older 20 are the best deal over a Excal II with all the repairs they seem to be having. I have a older Excal that must be around seven years old, but I love my CZ-20 and Tiger Shark too. I just gotta get a new Clean Sweep Coil for the Tiger when they get the connectors.

 

[gleaner1]

If they made a cz20 with interchangable coils, I bet their sales would triple.

 

[gleaner1]

Some cz20 mods and crap.

 

[nomad 11]

And soooo!the silicone grease helps to lubricate the seal?does it also keep it pliable?what about petroleum jelly(vaseline) as a substitite?the battery door seal from what everybody is telling me is the main thing that i have to worry about as a leak.what about the front control box cover?are there any rubber o rings behind it that would dry out?any feedback?

 

[Lowbatts]

Vaseline is petroleum based and may destroy the gasket, do not use it. Silicone is the preferred type of sealant for rubber gaskets.

 

[gleaner1]

And soooo!the silicone grease helps to lubricate the seal?does it also keep it pliable?what about petroleum jelly(vaseline) as a substitite?the battery door seal from what everybody is telling me is the main thing that i have to worry about as a leak.what about the front control box cover?are there any rubber o rings behind it that would dry out?any feedback?

The battery seal is molded from a high quality silicone compound. It wont dry out or crack. I too would avoid vaseline on the gasket. I don't use lubricant on my battery gasket, but it can't hurt to use the good stuff. Just keep the surfaces clean and free of dirt/sand. You can order new gaskets, they are pretty cheap. All the switch shaft seals are silicone compound and won't dry out or crack.

The front cover seal design is very good. The gasket used is high quality material, and is clamped between the face plate and main body by 4 screws and long standoffs that extend from the face plate all the way thru the box to the battery compartment end. The 4 screws that hold it all together are in the battery compartment, hidden by the foam rubber strips. The face plate gasket is not serviceable, unless you disassemble the control box, which is surprisingly easy to do.

When warranties run out, I get to tearin' 'em down.

 

[GeorgeC]

Petrolume Jelly

Vaseline is petroleum based and may destroy the gasket, do not use it. Silicone is the preferred type of sealant for rubber gaskets.

I got this from the manual I found on line in regards to the battary door seal.

Battery Compartment
1.
Remove the battery cover and check for water
after each use in water.
2.
Keep the sealing surfaces of the battery cover and
control housing clean and free of scratches and
nicks. Remove and clean the neoprene gasket
frequently. Lubricating the gasket is not required
or recommended unless it is nicked and/or cut, in
which case use only a very thin coating of
petroleum jelley. Do not use silicone grease.

 

[Escape]

The is what’s in the CZ21 user manual. Don’t use either.

Battery Compartment
1. Remove the battery cover and check for waterafter each use in water.
2. Keep the sealing surfaces of the battery coverand control housing clean and free of scratchesand nicks. Remove and clean the neoprenegasket frequently. Lubricating the gasket is notrecommended. Clean the gasket with mild soapand warm water only. Do not use petroleum jelly orsilicone grease at any time.
3. Re-install gasket correctly (see illustration next page)

 

[doggoneitdignit]

How much did you purchase your CZ-20 for used, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

You might want to send him a personal message as he "just bought it" seven years ago.