Cold Weather Detector

[Armorer73]

I am moving to Alaska this coming January. Does anyone have any recommendations on a detector? I am looking to do my first upgrade from my Bounty Hunter. I am interested in a machine that will work in extreme cold weather.

 

[BryanM362]

If the ground is frozen, you wont be able to dig. I would think in Alaska, it will be hard as a rock in the winter.

 

[DDancer]

I hope some northerners will speak up Seems like a good question for Steve Herschbach. My experience with cold weather is that it does not affect my detectors so much as it affects the batteries. What ever machine you upgrade to make it a good one. As to cold I've strapped on hot packs to the battery compartment or housing near them to help keep them up in cold weather. Cold affects the chemical process in the batteries and kills them off quicker in cold weather detecting~ besides and extra one in your pocket or glove helps too I know there are some Canadians here who have a trick or two also. Luck and enjoy the north.

 

[Alchemist]

Being from Wisconsin, I have yet to try any frozen detecting. That beings said, the first issue that comes to my mind is not so much the battery issue as it is getting into the ground. The northern tier states can get as frozen as Alaska...and I'm not about to get out an ice pick or miner's pick to try and loosen ground.

I have seen other posts about some folks migrating out to the woods where the blanket of leaves and other foliage can make the ground more forgiving in spots. Other's I've read have actaully used heating devices (of what sort IDK) to heat the area of ground where the signal lies.

Hopefully you're not moving to the far northern reaches of the state...you may only get 3 months or workable temperatures.
In any event, good luck.

 

[huntsman53]

When I saw the question, I was going to say my' butt but no one and I mean no one is going to drag it across hard, frozen ground except myself.

Alll joikng aside, you might want to pose that question to all of the manufacturers of metal detectors! They should be able to tell you whether the diodes, transistors, potentiometers, circuits and circuit boards can withstand sub-freezing and sub-zero temperatures. Some electronic devices do not fair well in severe cold due to what some of the components are made of.


Frank

 

[dirtscratcher]

I've detected with my explorer, and t2 with friends using a 705 and another with an atp at 5 below. That day was a early cold snap on a plowed field that was froze about 5 inches but with a small pick it was doable.