Saltwater Machine

BuffaloHunter

Full Member
Jun 26, 2017
192
156
Oregon
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600. Garrett ProPointer.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hello all. I bought an AT Pro a year ago, I like it a lot. Problem is, it doesnt do well with saltwater.. Since I live on the Oregon Coast, a good saltwater machine is a must. I know the Deus is a good one but it costs a bit much for a newer guy like me. Any recommendations for a good machine ( Preferably under $900.) That does well in mineralized soil and salt water? I could bump up the budget a tad if there is nothing in that range. Thanks!
 

Upvote 0

Evilpope

Full Member
Apr 4, 2016
104
115
Griffith,In
Detector(s) used
Garrett ace 350, bounty hunter lone star pro, whites trx pinpointer, Garrett ace 400, Garrett pro pointer 2, Garrett AT gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It is a guy on YouTube he's from new Zealand all he does is beach detect I'm like 90% sure he uses a mine lab not sure model or cost
 

1KBlueTuber

Full Member
Oct 19, 2014
249
628
New Hampshire
Detector(s) used
Minelab excalibur blue tube 1000
Fisher cz-6a, 1265x,
Whites eagle IIsl
I can recommend you get yourself a Minelab multi frequency machine. If you're not going to get in the water and don't need a waterproof machine you can easily get into the Explorer line of Minelab. I use the Excalibur in the water and an Explorer SE Pro on land or wet salt sand. Here on the east coast in NH a lot of guys use the Explorer II or XS with a 13" wot coil and they find their share of gold and silver coins. You can find a nice used Explorer from about $350 up to $600. You definitely need a multi freq. or a pulse induction machine to handle the salt and minerals to get anything deep. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,408
30,017
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Pulse Induction: Whites Dual Field $800 Tesoro Sand Shark $600

Multi-Freq: Fisher CZ 21 $1,300 Minelab Excalibur $1,500
 

WaterScoop

Bronze Member
Sep 12, 2017
2,181
3,710
SW Washington
Detector(s) used
Nox 800,
CTX 3030,
XP DEUS,
Excalibur II
Garrett AT Max,
Whites DFX,
Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Wait and see what the Minelab Equinox will do. Minelab does amazing in saltwater and it’s gonna be cost effective.

Cheers

5C740B68-0FF1-4E9E-A2E0-E94A213D5757.jpeg
 

OP
OP
B

BuffaloHunter

Full Member
Jun 26, 2017
192
156
Oregon
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600. Garrett ProPointer.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thank you all for the help! I think I will wait and see if the Equinox is good, until I make the purchase. Cheers!
 

OP
OP
B

BuffaloHunter

Full Member
Jun 26, 2017
192
156
Oregon
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600. Garrett ProPointer.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
One question, what is the difference between the Equinox 600 and the 800? I know the 600 has wired headphones but surely you arent paying $250 just for them to be wireless on the 800?!
 

WaterScoop

Bronze Member
Sep 12, 2017
2,181
3,710
SW Washington
Detector(s) used
Nox 800,
CTX 3030,
XP DEUS,
Excalibur II
Garrett AT Max,
Whites DFX,
Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Wrecka

Full Member
Jun 22, 2017
182
451
Gold Coast Queensland
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My AT Pro works fine in Salt water with the Nel Snake coil , cheaper option than upgrading to another brand
 

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,682
40,649
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Do these two things before your buy: Test drive the machine you want to use and I would not get a pulse induction machine unless you want to spend endless hours digging iron garbage, and I guarantee there is a lot on every beach.
 

against the wind

Gold Member
Jul 27, 2015
24,797
24,976
Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
E-trac, Excalibur, XP Deus, & CTX 3030.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The Excalibur by Minelab.
I had an AT PRO,, wonderful machine and works flawlessly in fresh water. Not made for saltwater.
The Excalibur by Minelab is a salt water machine.
 

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
1,504
1,427
Saint Augustine, FL
Detector(s) used
CZ-21, Minelab Equinox, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Fisher CZ-21, Excal 1000, or a brand new Minelab Equinox. My two main machines were an AT Pro for land and dry sand, and a CZ-21 for water. I've now purchased the Equinox 600 which will definitely be better than the AT Pro, and might even be good enough to match the CZ-21. I'd love to be able to do both with one machine.

My vote would be for the equinox at this point but we probably won't see them until March.
 

OP
OP
B

BuffaloHunter

Full Member
Jun 26, 2017
192
156
Oregon
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600. Garrett ProPointer.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thank you all again!! Wrecka, you have my attention .. what is “ fine?” Barely gets by, or does quite well?
 

Wrecka

Full Member
Jun 22, 2017
182
451
Gold Coast Queensland
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank you all again!! Wrecka, you have my attention .. what is “ fine?” Barely gets by, or does quite well?

I have run it with 2 bars from max on the sensitivity and there is only chatter when you scrap the sand with the coil , obviously being a smaller coil you wont get the same depth
 

Tom Slick

Sr. Member
Jul 21, 2012
428
337
Mesa AZ
Detector(s) used
XP Deus & Deus II, Makro Multi Kruzer, White's DFX w/18" Arrow Coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just because a VLF detector runs quiet on the wet saltwater sand doesn't mean it gets good depth. There isn't any VLF single frequency detector like the AT Pro that will get anywhere near the depth of a simultaneous multi-frequency detector like the Fisher CZ20/21, Minelab BBS or FBS machines. Rumor has it from the testers that the soon to be released Minelab Equinox will also work excellent on the wet saltwater sand. By excellent I mean quiet with good depth. I'm a fan of both the Makro and Nokta detectors and the each have models that perform better than any other single frequency detector for both being stable (quiet) and having good depth (for a single frequency detector) but neither can get any where near the depth of my Minelab Sovereign on the wet saltwater sand. I'm talking like twice the depth on the Sovereign over the single frequency detectors. And IMHO (and 43 years experience detecting) the Makro / Nokta detectors will spank the AT Pro on the wet sand.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top