Anyone use any of the "waterproof to 10 feet" detectors lately?

[FloodcityTom]

Im thinking of purchasing one of these various brand named detectors that are "waterproof to 10 feet" but I'd like to hear from someone who has used one in the field first. I'll be using it in light rain and possibly submerge it in a six+ feet creek/old swimming hole

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[xr7ator]

A ton of them are used every day. I have submerged my AT Pro. I haven't submerged my Equinox800. Both have had flooding issues.

 

[hound]

Marketing is marketing and it's marketing 101 to stretch the truth. Can something sealed survive submersion to 10ft? Yes. Can it survive extended submersion over time? maybe. The o-rings and seals used are not the most robust compared to something that is designed for underwater use.

I haven't heard much in the way of complaints about using multiple brands of 10ft rated detectors in the rain. It's when they're submerged that issues begin to pop up.

You can design something to be rated for 10ft, but when you begin moving it underwater you're putting additional water pressure on the seals with that movement. Those ratings in specs are for a static pressure chamber with no movement. It doesn't mean it might not survive more, but that's how the vast majority of pressure test are made and rated on paper.

I did a lot of diving in the Navy. You learn pretty quickly that just because something is rated to a depth on paper it doesn't mean it's not going to leak or flood out if you take it to that rating and move it around. 10ft is tiny in waterproofing measurements. I wouldn't try swimming on the surface with watch rated only for 10ft because your arm is moving when you're swimming and pressures on that seal can go much higher than you expect. I'd only consider that rain and light splash proof. If you're on a ship at sea and a big wave hits you that's a lot of force and pressure. If you want to detect underwater the best thing is to buy something rated for diving use and then religiously take care of those seals checking them each and every time you change a battery and keeping those o-rings clean and coated in the manufacture recommended grease, which is typically silicone based.

The problem is these 10ft rated detectors are sealed units. You have no way to inspect the seals or maintain the gasket/o-rings. I doubt they have a robust QA process for checking the integrity of those seals as they're not made for diving and there's no easy way to open them up. Those seals are not made to be inspected either and even if you do so the way they're built in means you're risking the seal by checking it.

 

[smokeythecat]

Hound did a very good job of summing it up. I have heard of fewer problems with the Garrett AT series. Others have a disturbing leak history.

 

[Xraywolf]

There have been loads of reports of water failure for the Equinox, some for the Simplex. I have both and have not dunked either. My At pro I have been using extensively in the water for years and haven't had a problem, farthest I ever go out is chest deep so about 5 ft at most, the housing even less since most of the depth is used by the stem. Though you can certainly find reports of water failures of the AT as well I think it is the only one of the batch that was designed as actually waterproof while the others are marketing ploys designed as an afterthought to drive sales. Most water failures I have heard about with the AT come from a failing battery door cover gasket, which at least is preventable. Unknown why/how the Nox is failing since it is sealed, most likely through the keys.

All brands have good customer service so your risk is minimal under warranty, but its a roll of the dice with any of them, none more so than the nox.

So if you'd like to save a bit and are feeling lucky, go with the simplex. If you'd like a better assurance that its not going to fry after 5 minutes of use, go with the AT. Keep in mind an added cost to the AT is you'll need waterproof headphones which will add $100 or so to the cost, not sure about the others.
If you are quite certain the headphones won't get dunked then you can use any designed for the unit, including the ones that come with it. In practice I rarely ever dunk mine, just no need to if you are wading. One time I saw a kid panicking and verging on drowning past the swim line while I was detecting nearby so I had to throw off the headphones and drop my scoop and detector to help the kid, in over 5 years I think thats the only time they were dunked, but had they not been waterproof, obviously they would not have survived.

 

[Flipperfla]

I would be looking for an IP-X rating. This tells you how dust and water resistant something is. You can find the chart on the net. The first number is dust resistance the 2nd number is the water resistance. If it does not have an IP-X rating I would assume it is not water resistant.

 

[hound]

I would be looking for an IP-X rating. This tells you how dust and water resistant something is. You can find the chart on the net. The first number is dust resistance the 2nd number is the water resistance. If it does not have an IP-X rating I would assume it is not water resistant.

Except after glancing at both Garret's AT series and the Equinox, neither display an IP-X rating only a "Waterproof to 10ft (3m)"

 

[NWMP]

Hound did a very good job of summing it up. I have heard of fewer problems with the Garrett AT series. Others have a disturbing leak history.

I've used my Garrett ATP a lot, for several years, under water for hours at a time. I had zero water problems. And I still like/trust that machine. I have used my Nokta Makro Simplex under water about 4-5 times, for extended periods (hours). And weeks ago I noticed some screen flickering, like an electronic pulse. Then after my last multi hour water session I came out and the screen was pulsing off and on badly, at moderate to high speed. I put the machine into a closet and checked it the next day. The pulsing was low to non existent. I'm dissatisfied with this and I've contacted Nokta Makro. What my experience is telling me is that the situation is deteriorating and should be addressed. Other than that I haven't seen any fuss about the Simplex having water issues. Maybe I got one with a problem. I've used the Simplex non stop all season this year so far, and I like it. No complaints other than this moisture ? related issue............ Any water machine that you are going to submerge should have a little water sprinkled on it a few time to cool the control box down if it sat in a hot car or whatever. A super hot control box going into a much cooler lake can create thermal shock and a vacuum in the housing, just begging to suck water in.

 

[Flipperfla]

I couldn’t find an IP-X rating either. I find it odd they are not required to have one.

 

[NWMP]

I've used my Garrett ATP a lot, for several years, under water for hours at a time. I had zero water problems. And I still like/trust that machine. I have used my Nokta Makro Simplex under water about 4-5 times, for extended periods (hours). And weeks ago I noticed some screen flickering, like an electronic pulse. Then after my last multi hour water session I came out and the screen was pulsing off and on badly, at moderate to high speed. I put the machine into a closet and checked it the next day. The pulsing was low to non existent. I'm dissatisfied with this and I've contacted Nokta Makro. What my experience is telling me is that the situation is deteriorating and should be addressed. Other than that I haven't seen any fuss about the Simplex having water issues. Maybe I got one with a problem. I've used the Simplex non stop all season this year so far, and I like it. No complaints other than this moisture ? related issue............ Any water machine that you are going to submerge should have a little water sprinkled on it a few time to cool the control box down if it sat in a hot car or whatever. A super hot control box going into a much cooler lake can create thermal shock and a vacuum in the housing, just begging to suck water in.

Update to my Simplex screen flickering. It was muck/sand between the coil and its cover. The same thing happened to me years back with my Tesoro Tejon after working loose dirt fields for months. I peeled off the Tejon cover and washed coil and cover in a creek. It cleared up the Tesoros chattering issues. After doing the same for the Simplex it stabilized again, no screen flickering. I used the Garrett ATP for several years with zero flooding. I used the Simplex now about 7-8 times this year, fully submerged with no flooding.

 

[Bottlecapbill]

I've run a pro for about 6 years.......the first one flooded(year one) the second one never flooded and I would sometimes hunt the water almost every day for months on end. My makro Kruzer first control box had an issue. I'm not 100% sure if it was due to flooding or not......I think there was moisture under the screen and the battery recharging features stopped working anyway so Makro replaced the whole box for free. I've used the second one for two years now......a lot of that in the water without issue although like others I rarely go above chest deep so the control box isn't being subjected to intense pressures.

The real problem is most companies design the control boxes to be cheap and easy to assemble WHILE also being waterproof. Sadly those things aren't all fully compatible but.......I guess the bottom line is what matters ultimately. It's cheaper to just replace defective units on a small number of machines that get used in the water at all, than to make a fool proof waterproof design.

The AT series depends on one oring in the battery compartment, orings on the plugs and one rubber membrane behind the buttons to maintain integrity. If either of those seals fail it's game over. My Kruzer depends on one flat gasket under compression from the control box screws and prefabricated waterproof plugs to maintain a seal. If those plugs are defective ,that oring is defective or some of the screws aren't tight enough it will fail..........no backup. Redundency seems to be a lost concept for the designers for whatever reason. I've never seen the inside of the Nox but I'm sure I'd find the same issue. No redundancy.

Both companies helped me out and took care of the issues........BUT that was under warranty. So I've taken it upon myself to add some of my own precautions to my Kruzer. Soft silicone in the screw holes, water proof tape around the control box at the junction and good old plumbers tape on all the plug threads accept the charging port which has a tight fitting ruber cover anyway. Silicone where the cable goes into the coil and also between the cable and the cable protector. So far so good!

 

[smokeythecat]

If you want to water hunt, I would get a machine specifically made to search underwater.