Ctx 3030 Repair

[Samuelljackson]

My CTX took in some water a few months back in some rough seas. It shorted but came back to life when I put a fresh battery pack on. Last month the function buttons stopped responding correctly, so I contacted ML.

Very impressive service, they paid for shipping. And I just received there Repair assessment below. I love it when a company stands behind their product.

Email:
While inspecting your CTX 3030 for repair issues, we noticed the damage was beyond repair. The water ingress was not limited to the battery compartment, but extended into the U/I Display as well, the corrosion was far too extensive to repair properly. Your machine will be Warranty Replaced, expect an entire new CTX 3030 in the mail, in the very near future. The shipment should be in process shortly, and your waiting period should be brief. I thank you for your patience in this matter and should any questions arise, please feel free to contact me at the telephone number below in the signature line.

 

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[Sandman]

Thank goodness Minelab is standing up for the CTX.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

My CTX took in some water a few months back in some rough seas. It shorted but came back to life when I put a fresh battery pack on. Last month the function buttons stopped responding correctly, so I contacted ML.

Very impressive service, they paid for shipping. And I just received there Repair assessment below. I love it when a company stands behind their product.

Email:
While inspecting your CTX 3030 for repair issues, we noticed the damage was beyond repair. The water ingress was not limited to the battery compartment, but extended into the U/I Display as well, the corrosion was far too extensive to repair properly. Your machine will be Warranty Replaced, expect an entire new CTX 3030 in the mail, in the very near future. The shipment should be in process shortly, and your waiting period should be brief. I thank you for your patience in this matter and should any questions arise, please feel free to contact me at the telephone number below in the signature line.

All I can say is wow!
You must have the gift of persuasion (the touch) in dealing with the manufacturer.

 

[NJcigarman]

Customer service like that will keep a customer for life.

 

[firemac]

Great! hope the next one has better luck

 

[MBbeachrat]

My CTX is in now waiting for reply. Hope I am as lucky. This machine is not for the surf.

 

[slhinkle]

ctx 3030 leaking

I have had my CTX 3030 since 9 4 12. It leaked within the first 60 days and I sent it in for repair. It was repaired and returned to me after 3 weeks. I took it to Aruba and it failed while I was in there. Upon my return I sent it in and it was replaced completely. Again it took two to three weeks to get the new unit. The next spring I had a similar problem again in the ocean and upon my return sent it back for warranty repairs and it was repplaced again and sent back. I just returned from St Martin where I was treasurer hunting for 2 weeks. The CTX leaked two times and ruined the alkaline battery and the rechargeable battery. So I was again out of business in a foreign country where i was planning to hunt and the CTX leaked. Each time I travel to you an exotic location to treasure hunt I take a back up. My Fisher CZ 21 with a lifetime warranty has never crapped out on me while at the beach whilr metal detecting in the ocean.. My CTX has every time. I have cleaned the gasket after every use as requested. Its bad engineering. The first water machine that was great was the Garrett at3 it developed leaking problems and Garrett went to the at4 and it leaked so Garrett took it off the market and only had the sea hunter pi til they came out with the at pro.
I can't fault the repairs or the warranty. Unfortunately when get on a first name basis wwith the service people its not a good thing. I have written to US minelab office and the Home Office in Australia. I am requesting they re engineer CTX and solve the leaking problem. I would recommend that any of you out in the field who had the same problem to do the same thing. Slh

 

[Hot zone]

What happens when the warranty expires? Perhaps that is why I have seen a used one for $1700... If they were really good they wouldn't depreciate so fast...let's hope they don't give it a slight circuitry mod and rename it like the way they revamped the Quattro into the safari... A used CTX 3030 will sell for $1200 when they rename it the FRT 44/40...

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

What happens when the warranty expires? Perhaps that is why I have seen a used one for $1700... If they were really good they wouldn't depreciate so fast...let's hope they don't give it a slight circuitry mod and rename it like the way they revamped the Quattro into the safari... A used CTX 3030 will sell for $1200 when they rename it the FRT 44/40...

The resale value is just about normal..... Look at resale value of Excals and ETracs...







American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[bigscoop]

I don't think today's "commercial" engineers realize the extent of what "waterproof" means to lot of us or the extent to which we will expose these new "waterproof" machines to. The military would probably be hard pressed to put them through harsher use. So I think when they say, "waterproof" that they should be thinking it terms of "industrial use" and not "light commercial use."

 

[el padron]

I don't think today's "commercial" engineers realize the extent of what "waterproof" means to lot of us or the extent to which we will expose these new "waterproof" machines to. The military would probably be hard pressed to put them through harsher use. So I think when they say, "waterproof" that they should be thinking it terms of "industrial use" and not "light commercial use."

Yeah, and they shouldn't hold water either.....

 

[Fletch88]

That's good news on ML warranty service, I'm just worried about 2 1/2 years down the road and the same situation arises. I'm keeping mine out of salt surf for now.

 

[el padron]

That's good news on ML warranty service, I'm just worried about 2 1/2 years down the road and the same situation arise. I'm keeping mine out of salt surf for now.

We have to give them some credit fletch because it's very hard to waterproof something that's made out of $12 worth of material

 

[Fletch88]

Lol! Here we go again! I think a simple 20-30% larger o-ring would solve most of the battery leaking problems.

 

[CASPER-2]

thats great - unless you have to send it back...and then back again
my friends -friend ...has sent 3 back that have leaked so far

 

[Hot zone]

My Quattro soured me on Minelab land machines, especially now that I am looking to sell it! Today on EBay, no one bid on a Quattro with two coils in excellent condition and an opening bid of $395... For a detector that sold for over a thou, that sucks... A Tejon that sells new for under $600 will commonly sell on EBay for about $450... Understandable when you realize the Tejon is a better detector!


The CTX 3030 being sent back for nothing more than an O-ring makes no sense... The space shuttle was grounded until Nasa resolved the O-ring issue...I would think they would have sent all owners of this lemon a proper fitting o-ring if that was the issue! if the solution turns out to be that simple, I would have no faith in their engineers and technicians!

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

The O-Ring is only part of the problem.

While replacing the current O-ring with a 20-30% larger O-ring may appear simple, it is not.
The CTX 3030 is a heavy machine and Minelab has taken great effort to keep the weight down.
A wider O-ring will mean more weight since the control housing will have to beefed up and stronger hold down clamps
will be required. It is my opinion that the clamps are also problematic (not enough hold down pressure, flimsy)
If they were not, why would dealers recommend the use of a wide rubber band around them to prevent them from releasing,
while hunting.

Lol! Here we go again! I think a simple 20-30% larger o-ring would solve most of the battery leaking problems.

 

[Hot zone]

I have worked with many o-ring problems... Usually an engineer substituted a cheaper or theoretically better o-ring without testing... They order fatter, softer, harder, or more heat resistant o-rings that end up failing at a much higher rate! To try and save their now too big o-ring to fit the slot, they propose vaseline that picks up dust and grit that damages the surfaces the o-ring is trying to seal...
The problem I see is the one you always run into with an engineer designing a new product... Rather than using tried and true methods, he wants to change everything and reinvent the wheel or worse yet... It is design by committee and everyone wants to contribute... The good ideas shot down by those that haven't got a clue! It is wise to stay away from new product until it has been thoroughly tested by users!

 

[OBN]

Seal her up....my motto, have a IP68 charge port, totally seal off the main body to battery with Aquaseal, which can be peeled away to check once ever few months....working on for this fall, I use the same method on the Excalibur endcaps for extra insurance. Then all you have to worry about is the USB port and the PP boot cover....
I think.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

I don't like this approach for three reasons:

First - After cleaning, batteries should be removed from electron devices, to prevent damage if they leak and put back in before using.

Second - Seals should not remain compressed as they will deform over time. and loose their waterproof integrity.

Third - Unless you are able to remove all evidence of using Aquaseal, Minelab may refuse to do the repair under warranty.


QUOTE=OBN;4034271]Seal her up....my motto, have a IP68 charge port, totally seal off the main body to battery with Aquaseal, which can be peeled away to check once ever few months....working on for this fall, I use the same method on the Excalibur endcaps for extra insurance. Then all you have to worry about is the USB port and the PP boot cover....
I think. View attachment 1004168 [/QUOTE]