Which underwater detector ?

[underwaterhunter]

Hi people.
We are almost finished our year long refit to our 47ft catamaran.We are in NC at the moment but in 2 weeks will be heading out on our circumnavigation , via Cuba , Bahamas , Caribbean and then Pacific. I am a avid diver , ex navy diver , diamond diver etc. I have a compressor on the boat and am very keen on getting a multi purpose detector. I will be using it on all those exotic beaches i find , with my kids in tow as i am sure they will find hunting exciting.So....i need your advice on which ones i should be looking at. I have a budget up to $1500. All the research has brought me to the conclusion ..either whites Surfmaster PI pro or garret's seahunter Mk 11. I dare say that i don't mind digging anything and everything. I will also be searching reefs and all interesting areas i find off Cuba etc.I will be diving any thing up to 100ft or anywhere else i think a ship may have foundered.
All your advice will be appreciated
Thanks

 

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[wwwtimmcp]

I love my j.w.fishers pulse 8. it goes deep and finds everything. I used a fishers 1280x for years and re hit all my old areas. it was like night and day. places I thought were clear would squeal big time. this thing is so powerfull it can find things a foot away from the coil. railroad spikes,etc. I found a hubcap 3 feet deep, a white gold ring over 18 inches deep,and a gold necklace 2 feet deep. this is the same detector many law enforcement agencies use. hope this helps.

 

[old man]

If you want the Best deep seeking and most reliable detector ? Then my recommendation would be the Aquapulse.
http://www.aquascan.co.uk/aq1b.html

 

[SEAHUNTER]

I would have to agree with ww that the pulse 8X is a great machine and with old man that the aquapulse is good also. However you can buy two Garrett Seahunters for the price of either of those machines. Once you learn how to use the Seahunter it is as good or better than the more expensive machines. This past summer the Seahunter's brought up 80% of the treasure found at the jupiter site. Plus you can have two, giving you a backup, which is so important. You know metal detectors only break when you are finding things.

 

[signumops]

Seahunter is dead on. I have a Garrett Infinium now, but have used U/W Garrett detectors for fifteen years as well as Aquapulse. I've had other U/W detectors, but all round, the Garretts work BETTER on dry land than the Aquapulse, and for coin plinking, generally are a better buy.

 

[Hangingfor8]

I use the aquapluse when I'm on our 1715 lease, but for all around I still like an excal.

 

[trsrseeker]

There is no one size fits all underwater metal detector. They are all a compromise. I own and use the Aquapulse, Whites Dual Field PI pro and the Excaliber 11. Each site is different and different areas on the same site may require different machines. Also own the JW Fishers Pulse 8. To me the Aquapulse is a huge upgrade and far superior machine to the JW Fishers which I no longer use as a result. If I had to choose only one machine to have aboard I believe it would be the Excaliber 11 for its excellent discrimination capabilities in trashy areas and have multiple handles to use it for diving (stock handle) and wading (straight handle). Enjoy your voyage!! Personally I would suggest that any machine worth owning is worth having a duplicate of as soon as finances allow. Nothing like redundancy when you are on a vessel far from civilization.

 

[LM]

I can't speak about all the others, but I'm really hard on gear and I've beat the tar out of my Garrett Seahunter MKII. I mean really kicked its butt, and its held up fine.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Very informative thread!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[underwaterhunter]

Thanks Guys ! besides Kellyco , wher can i buy a White's Surf PI Dual Field Metal Detector for the best deal ?
Once again , thanks

 

[stevemc]

I dont think you will find any new ones cheaper than Kellyco. If you might want a used one, eBay has them once in a while. They are good. I have several White's Surfmaster PIs and they are real powerful. Very sensitive to alloyed metals like Gold Jewelry and old silver cobs. I have a Garretts Seahunter xl 200 and I have had that for at least 20 years, and it is not a good beach detector. Or for diving. It is a slow pulse detector like the J W Fisher, you need one with a fast pulse to find the deep, tiny and poor conductive stuff like alloys. It just wont find alloyed metals, like gold jewelry, old silver cobs, unless it is real close to the coil. I still have it, but have not used it for years. When I got my first WhitesPI, it pulled me out of my slump, and started finding some gold. Then I got a PI Pro and that is fantastic, even faster pulse rate than the regular surfmaster. Very deep on gold jewelry, silver cobs-I did an air test this summer with a Garrett Seahunter XL500 and my White's PI Pro, and on silver cobs, mine was at least twice as far in distance picking them up. I have used the J W Fishers Pulse 6 and 8 and they are also slow pulse PIs and really only pick up big things at any distance, and again small stuff if it is near the coil. I cant believe they even find any gold jewelry with one, as they really are an ancient design and really slow pulse rate. A friend uses the Dual Field, and does well with it. I have an Excalibur, one of the first ones made, the blue sword with aqua handle on the sword, and it is good, but it is a VLF machine, and does discriminate some, but doesnt go deep, and kind of touchy, constantly crosstalking-it doesnt have shielded coil wires, lots of learning curve with it, needs adjusting for different places and in water, that kind of thing. If I was going to get another machine, it would be the White's Dual Field, bigger coil, and even better electronics than the PI pro. Another thing, I have had both of my White's for years I think at least 15 years for the regular PI and 10 or more for the PI pro, and never one problem, not one. Turn them on and go. Never even a have to bump it or anything. Batteries last a long time in them too. Only problem with any PI, you will be digging some deep holes.