Does wet ground detect deeper?

[gleaner1]

M-Badger's post got me thinking about the ever-debated "halo effect" and its relationship to detection depth in wet or dry conditions. I think that most people would agree that wet conditions allow deeper detection.
Why is that? The halo effect becomes more pronounced when wet.

Detectors are sensitive to metal oxides. Silver oxidizes. US silver coins have 10% copper which oxidizes even more and adds to the mix. Where does the oxide go? It leaches out around the coin. Add water, conductivity increases, and the halo effect becomes more pronounced. Fertilizers are salty, adding even more to the effect. Copper and brass have even more halo effect because they produce a lot more oxide around the target.

On iffy targets, not too deep, in dry soil, that I think might be a nail, I push the spade deep an inch or so to the side and "move" the soil in the target area just a little bit. This disturbs the matrix "halo" around the target and if the target is iron, the signal drops out. If the soil is wet enough, I can mash my boot heal down onto the target area and get the same results. Why is that? Iron halo effect.

The halo effect and the soil moisture effects go hand in hand. You cant have one without the other.

Dry conditions are better to hunt for silver in iron infested areas. The oxide "halo" surrounding iron is less reactive when dry, decreasing masking, allowing silver to come thru better. When I go to the trashy sites, I wait until its bone dry, and I have better results.

I wouldn't worry about detecting in bone dry soil. I can find dimes at 6 inches with an old Garrett Freedom II. If I am really on a deep seeking mission in trash free areas, I like wet, but I think the difference is only an inch.

Wet or dry, halo or not, just learn your machine and hunting areas and you will get the deep ones for sure.
There are always trade-offs in detecting.

 

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[lafatlife]

Good Post!!

 

[Lowbatts]

The deepest, clearest signals I've dug were in bone dry ground. From park to playground to farm field all the same. Wet farm fields will destroy your ability to hunt because they are not only chemically charged, but often have tons of iron bits throughout.

I have gotten good signals in frozen ground that disappeared when the ground thawed. I attribute this to very localized frost heaves.

Two problems with wet ground, it's more dense and it expands, deepening the targets within it. Oops, thrid problem, it affects the spread signal seen from decaying iron objects. Never put much weight into the halo thought bubble with the exception of iron.

We know of one other medium that decays in the ground rapidly, aluminum foil. But when I find a large qty of aluminum foil that is old, and has mostly decayed, this leaching does not produce enhanced signal characteristics, it seems in fact the opposite happens. Coin type targets on the other hand would be easy to note if they leached into the ground if their mass were notably decreased. There goes the notion of pristine silver coming out of the ground.

 

[gleaner1]

Lowbatts, I'm starting to agree that silver depth is not affected by wet or dry or halo. Not enough of the coin "rusting" or oxidizing away. Maybe there are some (forgive the term) old-timers out there that can shed some light because they have lots of experience, and have nice old gardens, and they could test silver in wet and or dry conditions with confidence.

I think maybe I was "thinking" it was better wet, and I slowed down and concentrated more thinking "great, its wet, and the stuff's gonna bang thru good!". After looking back, I may have found more, but not necessarily more silver coins. So, I'm going to get back to basics and not let wet or dry bother me when it comes to deep silver.

 

[Lowbatts]

I think Lucky Larry has really pounded this topic in a couple other posts. Don't have a chemical background myself, just a hack bench tech. But my experiences have shown me the deepest finds came in dry soil.

As far as wet ground, you need a lot of continual soakng for the water to get past about 5 or 6 inches in the dirt anyway. This does significantly alter it's density and depth. Wet ground is bigger ground, typically.

 

[mlayers]

I perfer to detect in moist ground after a rain. Why If I am detecting someones yard I do not like to leave and have the grass turn brown after you disturb it. When it has moisture it doesn't go in domain stage and turn brown. I want to come back to the property and hunt again. If you are at the park and make dead brown spots the care taker may start complaining and the city put a stop to it. So when It gets hot and dry out I go to the beach and detect in the sand....Matt

 

[Lowbatts]

I perfer to detect in moist ground after a rain. Why If I am detecting someones yard I do not like to leave and have the grass turn brown after you disturb it. When it has moisture it doesn't go in domain stage and turn brown. I want to come back to the property and hunt again. If you are at the park and make dead brown spots the care taker may start complaining and the city put a stop to it. So when It gets hot and dry out I go to the beach and detect in the sand....Matt

Agreed. I do not hunt the ballfields in summer, even those that are watered regularly. It would very bad form to leave even a nicely done plug that might kick up under a players foot. Only surface digs during playing season.

 

[goodmore]

I agree. Dry plugs leave a bad impression. Not to mention that wet soil is just plain easier to dig in. No sore hands. Less time digging. No launching targets when prying. What else? Oh well. What I want to know is does the freezing and thawing during the winter move targets around or is this a myth?

 

[Lowbatts]

I agree. Dry plugs leave a bad impression. Not to mention that wet soil is just plain easier to dig in. No sore hands. Less time digging. No launching targets when prying. What else? Oh well. What I want to know is does the freezing and thawing during the winter move targets around or is this a myth?

No idea on general displacement or movement. I'm surethe greatest downward movement occurs just as the coin gets under the grass. Root growth probably affects downward movement more than anything else in an otherwise undisturbed setting. After that it's a gravity/mass thing and/or subtle seismic action.

Does the coin "sink" or is it overgrown with mass as grasses build up the content above it through growth and decay cycles? A little bit of both i'm sure.

Then come the chipmunks.