DOES THE EXCAL HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE ETRAC AT THE SALT BEACH

[DetectoDude]

Hi, I have an Etrac, I use with a good bit of success at the salt water beaches. I never go any deeper than ankle deep so being waterproof doesn't matter to me. That being said; will the Excalibur perform any better under these conditions for me or should I stay where I am?

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

Probably the biggest advantage the Excal has over the Etrac is that you can go into the water with it, and that is a MAJOR ADVANTAGE. Your missing out on a lot of jewelry, unless your at a beach where no one ever goes in the water. I am willing to bet the jewelry finds are at least 20 to 1 or higher for water vs wet beach.

 

[Cuerno]

20 to 1 more jewelery in the water? no wonder all I found was corroded pull tabs in the wet sand, the last time I went into the surf (2004) I was like a spinning top, I take a deep scoop of sand out and the wave puts it back, its not like lake hunting. Well I'm about 200 miles from the surf and this coming year (retired) I'm getting me a Excal II and go there twice a month to see if its 20 to 1 or get my a$$ kicked again. I'll still use my E-Trac for the wet sand at low tide, we will see which is deeper.

 

[XT18000]

I see you are from the San Antonio area; don't waste your time going to Galveston
as there is so much trash and junk there now from there rebuilding the beaches it's
not worth the drive, better to head for Port Aransas or South Padre.

 

[Sandman]

As was said the Excal has a huge advantage in being waterproof. By using a land detector near the surf or only ankle deep, you are sooner or later going to either fall down, get the detector wet or drop it in the waves. I wouldn't chance it.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

My 20-1 is just a guess, but from experience I know I find a heck of a lot more in the water then I ever find hunting the sand. Wet sand was under water during high tides and contains jewelry lost then, especially during the swim season. I do hunt the shore during the winter when the surf is just too rough to get in, I look for cuts, holes and depressions in the shore caused by wave action. I have a long sleeve farmer john suit and 2 shortie suits, one 3/4 sleeve and one short sleeve as well to increase the time I can hunt in the water....

In the water your hands shrink, you have sun screen on, your holding hands or horsing around with friends, riding boogie boards, surf boards, waving your hands back and forth in the water as you talk to friends, treading water or swimming..... Also in the water there is a lot less trash then on shore....I have found nice rings on shore, but I have found a lot more in the water and seen some really nice jewelry come up out of the water by other hunters.....

Good luck and good hunting..............

 

[Cuerno]

My 20-1 is just a guess, but from experience I know I find a heck of a lot more in the water then I ever find hunting the sand. Wet sand was under water during high tides and contains jewelry lost then, especially during the swim season. I do hunt the shore during the winter when the surf is just too rough to get in, I look for cuts, holes and depressions in the shore caused by wave action. I have a long sleeve farmer john suit and 2 shortie suits, one 3/4 sleeve and one short sleeve as well to increase the time I can hunt in the water....

In the water your hands shrink, you have sun screen on, your holding hands or horsing around with friends, riding boogie boards, surf boards, waving your hands back and forth in the water as you talk to friends, treading water or swimming..... Also in the water there is a lot less trash then on shore....I have found nice rings on shore, but I have found a lot more in the water and seen some really nice jewelry come up out of the water by other hunters.....

Good luck and good hunting..............

What would you recommend for a wet suit that would help with cold sea water up to waist high. Are there some for summer to keep cool and one for cold weather?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

My 20-1 is just a guess, but from experience I know I find a heck of a lot more in the water then I ever find hunting the sand. Wet sand was under water during high tides and contains jewelry lost then, especially during the swim season. I do hunt the shore during the winter when the surf is just too rough to get in, I look for cuts, holes and depressions in the shore caused by wave action. I have a long sleeve farmer john suit and 2 shortie suits, one 3/4 sleeve and one short sleeve as well to increase the time I can hunt in the water....

In the water your hands shrink, you have sun screen on, your holding hands or horsing around with friends, riding boogie boards, surf boards, waving your hands back and forth in the water as you talk to friends, treading water or swimming..... Also in the water there is a lot less trash then on shore....I have found nice rings on shore, but I have found a lot more in the water and seen some really nice jewelry come up out of the water by other hunters.....

Good luck and good hunting..............

What would you recommend for a wet suit that would help with cold sea water up to waist high. Are there some for summer to keep cool and one for cold weather?

Personally for the winter I would recommend a long sleeve farmer john style wetsuit maybe 3.5 mil When both top and bottom is on it gives you 7 mil over the core of the body.

I have 3 wet suits, a Oceanic long sleeve 3.5 mil farmer john, combined it is 7 mil over body core, a Dive and surf short sleeve shortie 3.5 mil, and a Dacor mid sleeve shortie 3/2 mil (#mil on body core 2 mil every where else.....) I bought the Farmer John used off of Ebay for $37 shipped to my home, and the other 2 wetsuits I bought in garage sales used. I paid $20 for the Dacor, and $15 for the Dive and Surf.

 

[Sandman]

I have at least five sets of wet suits for all types of weather. I got rid of the warmest suit, a dry suit mainly because I couldn't stand the rubber gasket around my neck. Felt like when Gramma put a scarf on me. For wet suits I strongly advise going to a dive shop to try them on. Sizes don't run standard and vary between manufacturers. You are going to also need dive boots and nothing beats having a warm head so a hood should be included. Don't go cheap on the suit either as good ones will last a lifetime. Unless your like me and the body gets larger.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Don't go cheap on the suit either as good ones will last a lifetime. Unless your like me and the body gets larger.

...And all this time I thought mine wwere just shrinking from being in the water.......

 

[Sandman]

Don't go cheap on the suit either as good ones will last a lifetime. Unless your like me and the body gets larger.

...And all this time I thought mine wwere just shrinking from being in the water.......

That is what I thought at first too and kept buying larger suits to keep up with shrinkage like ya gotta do with pants.

 

[DetectoDude]

I think when I asked this question I didn't ask it right. What I was trying to say, is I am going to go to and area where I am not permitted to detect in the water. So, what I am asking is if I got an Excal do you think I would do better with it than the Etrac in the wet sand and dry sand. Thanks.

 

[Cuerno]

Well if you are not allowed to inter the water and the E-Trac has been doing fine in the wet sand then I would say you don't need the Excalibur but if you got the money buy one used, they hold there value and you can hunt in the rain.

 

[steve from ohio]

Hi, I have an Etrac, I use with a good bit of success at the salt water beaches. I never go any deeper than ankle deep so being waterproof doesn't matter to me. That being said; will the Excalibur perform any better under these conditions for me or should I stay where I am?

I too had an E-trac and used it in the wet sand. I nearly lost it twice to rogue waves that hit when low tide was out. Luckily I was able to save it from getting dunked just in the nick of time.

I would highly recommend not going near the water with the E-trac. If you get the coil wet and lift the coil above your waist, you will get salt water into the control head area from the water that wicks its way through the coil shaft and the coil wire inside the shaft.

The warranty does not cover the E-trac for water damage. I was starting to have problems with my E-trac and I am sure it had a lot to do with salt water. I was getting corrosion on the coil wire fitting to the control head. Keep the E-trac away from any salt water at all times. The E-trac does well at the beach but it has limitations that make it really more of a worry than it is worth.

Of course being able to get it in the water is another advantage of the Excalibur over the E-trac on the beach. You will be missing a lot of targets by not going into the water where there are a lot more valuable targets.

Clean up of the Excalibur is easy with being able to just go to the shower areas of most beaches and washing it off under the shower.

Lets face it. Metal detectors are tools. You could chop a tree down with a hammer but it would not do the job better than a chain saw. Each detector has its advantages and for the beach, a good Excalibur, White's dual field, Tesoro sand shark or an Infinium are the tools that I would recommend for a succesful hunt. There are of course others that I did not mention that also would be a better choice for the beach than the E-trac.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I think I could rephrase your question to say;

Does Minelab FBS technology work better than their BBS technology in wet saltwater sand?

I would think so but never actually done a side by side comparison.
Maybe the Excal III will run FBS?

 

[Bazza]

Hi
I own both machines and only detect wet sand to knee deep with both machines, as a preference to dry sand detecting or any other for that matter.
Disclaimer:
I have owned the Excal II for just under 3 months and E-Trac for around 18 months, I have been detecting for 30 years with many different brands.
I think your question has more to do with stability and depth on the sea shore as opposed to versatility of use.
My observations are these:
The E-Trac is ergonomically far superior, one can swing it for hours without aches, the Excal was designed for under water use and is balanced for that purpose.
The E-trac has programable discrimination, excellent for those who want to avoid a proliferation of a particular unwanted target, the Excal has dial discrimination up which can be frustrating, as it usually remains at 1 (lowest) to allow of gold items.
The E-Trac tends to get jumpy with water motion when the sensitivity is high, and tends to have slightly less penetration than on hard sand.
The Excal performs this task better, and is more stable in the surf, loves rings and finds smaller (good) items deeper than the E-trac.
My suggestion is to go the straight shaft and or hip mount an Excal for this style of detecting, in saying this, I prefer the performance of the E-trac, but the Excal is better overall in these conditions.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Bazza

 

[Sandman]

Excellent reply Bazza.

Welcome to Tnet. too.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hi
I own both machines and only detect wet sand to knee deep with both machines, as a preference to dry sand detecting or any other for that matter.
Disclaimer:
I have owned the Excal II for just under 3 months and E-Trac for around 18 months, I have been detecting for 30 years with many different brands.
I think your question has more to do with stability and depth on the sea shore as opposed to versatility of use.
My observations are these:
The E-Trac is ergonomically far superior, one can swing it for hours without aches, the Excal was designed for under water use and is balanced for that purpose.
The E-trac has programable discrimination, excellent for those who want to avoid a proliferation of a particular unwanted target, the Excal has dial discrimination up which can be frustrating, as it usually remains at 1 (lowest) to allow of gold items.
The E-Trac tends to get jumpy with water motion when the sensitivity is high, and tends to have slightly less penetration than on hard sand.
The Excal performs this task better, and is more stable in the surf, loves rings and finds smaller (good) items deeper than the E-trac.
My suggestion is to go the straight shaft and or hip mount an Excal for this style of detecting, in saying this, I prefer the performance of the E-trac, but the Excal is better overall in these conditions.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Bazza

Nice report Bazza.

The only thing I would mention, is if you hunt using the harness and bungee, (which I always do) the weight issue is Nil. I can hunt from dusk to dark using an Excal and not have any arm fatigue or arm pain, now the harness does nothing for the leg pain from all that walking, but that could be an "age" thing...

 

[saltfisher]

Im getting a sovereign GT, and going to waterproof it. Or incase it when going waste level. My question is....

Where do you guys find most of the rings/gold/silver and such? I hunt Delaware and Maryland beaches and it seems when the tide is low, and the waves are comming in and out you can see a slew of shells spinning and slushing around. Its like there is a pocket. Trying to explain where this is....... when the wave goes back out to sea after comming in, its the lowest, shallowest part before it fills back up with another wave. Make sense? Like the shells are holding in that area..... like a troff. I figure if all those shells are holding there, then other stuff could too.

Thanks

 

[Woodland Detectors]

20 to 1 more jewelery in the water? no wonder all I found was corroded pull tabs in the wet sand, the last time I went into the surf (2004) I was like a spinning top, I take a deep scoop of sand out and the wave puts it back, its not like lake hunting. Well I'm about 200 miles from the surf and this coming year (retired) I'm getting me a Excal II and go there twice a month to see if its 20 to 1 or get my a$$ kicked again. I'll still use my E-Trac for the wet sand at low tide, we will see which is deeper.

Agreed