Tesoro Sand Shark MD, Little Help!

[Notsuredomus]

Hey Now Folks.

I have been considering the purchase of an submersible detector. I plan to hunt the beach quite a bit but will probably use it in fresh water as well and possibly in extreme mineralized areas. So my question are this.

I am leaning towards P.I. because these machines have a reputation for excelling in these conditions is this true or is the performance in these conditions closer than some say. Also is it true that P.I. detectors coils can be of whatever size you require like say a homemade for instance that can be dragged over an area.

What are the main differences between the Tesoro sand shark PI detector at 600.00 and one of the other manufacturer models of double the price or more?

I was leaning towards purchasing the tesoro sand shark but in researching it I found the reviews to be very conflicted. Many have given great reviews about this detector, but the fact that so many people have also given very bad ratings has me a little concerned about my choice. The gripes that worry me are the statement that it has detection depths worse than the vlf's even in salt water conditions, it cannot see rings at depths of as few as 7 inches and that it will miss coins standing on there sides even at shallow depths.

If anyone can confirm or dispel these claims please contact me. This is quite a bit of money for me so I want to make sure I get the right detector for my needs and at a bargain. The wrong purchase made because it was cheaper never ends up being a bargain nor cheaper. So any help from my treasure hunting compatriots would be greatly appreciated.

Off Topic Question
I am conflicted between the XP Deus whick I have been saving for for about 6 months. I do a wide variety of detecting types and wanted the XP's performance and versatility. The type of detecting I have been wanting to start partaking in is under water can anyone tell me whether the XP's under water kit is made well enough to safely use your 1200.00 metal detector in this fashion.

My Dog keeps telling to get the XP Deus Normally I would trust her judgement but I question her knowledge of technology especially after what she did to my 700.00 Galaxy smart phone. So I come to you for a second opinion.

Thanks All and Keep it Wild! Notsuredomus

 

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[Terry Soloman]

The Tesoro Sand Shark is THE most underrated PI unit on the market today. Mine has helped me find over $5,000.00 (melt) in gold rings and jewelry alone on New York, and Connecticut beaches. With the 8" coil, it is as deep as a Minelab Excalibur equipped with a 15" coil. The difference between the Sand Shark, and the other PI's? Warranty (lifetime), Price, Workmanship, Made in America!

The Sand Shark is a SALTWATER machine - period. If you want a machine that does freshwater and discriminates, just get an AT PRO. If you want a specialized, WET saltwater sand and in the saltwater, the Sand Shark cannot be beat.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

PIs are good on clean beaches and can be a nightmare on dirty beaches, be prepared to dig a ton of iron trash, I use to own one, optimum word is use too. I bought it to hunt our beaches in Florida in the winter when fresh drops stopped. Too much iron on our beaches for me to enjoy the detector. If you don't mind digging 2 foot holes for iron nails, fish hooks and scrap iron you will find gold. I prefer the Excal with a large coil and I still dig targets 20+ inches deep and no iron.

 

[Notsuredomus]

Thank You very much for the reply Terry and I appreciate the help. I have experience with VLF prospecting detectors so knee deep in a creek is about all the water detecting experience I have. I do know that the high operating frequency of most gold prospecting specific detectors makes for a lot of ground balancing and unwanted noise what with changes in mineralization or worse abundant hot and cold rocks and even in fresh water the surface of the water sends off false signals constantly. I really want to start detecting the California beaches where I grew up as well as diving a few fresh water swimming holes in the mountains. I have not tested it but I am pretty sure were I to try and use either my Gold Bug 2 or Whites Gold Master at the beach it would be like having 2 people shrieking in each ear all day. I have been saving foir an XP Deus and I am still probably 6 months from reaching the sum needed to get it with the options I would like. I do however have more than enough for the Sand Shark and I have really wanted a submersible for a long time. Well thanks again good to know the detector has more than paid for itself. Decisions like this would be a lot easier if I were rich.

 

[Notsuredomus]

Treasure Hunter I have about 300 pounds of brass shell casings so discrimination really has not had a drastic affect on the amount of unwanted targets I dig. My detectors iron discrimination doesn't work worth a damn anyway. I have tried using it and it will still squeal like a banshee at every rusty tin can or broken piece of equipment from the gold rush days. Which is abundant. Thanks for the response. appreciated.

 

[cudamark]

Nothing wrong with the Sand Shark for salt water beach hunting......unless you want discrimination. What you get with some of the higher end PI machines (like the Infinium LS) is a crude version of discrimination that will help you eliminate digging all the iron targets. If you're going to use it primarily for salt water, I'd get the Excalibur, CTX, or CZ21. If you need one for both land and sea, the CTX is hard to beat. I'd forget about the XP Deus for ocean use. The waterproof kit looks pretty hokey. It's a great land machine however and particularly good at iron infested sites.