How long does a metal detector last before.......

[wheatymike]

....... the components start to degrade causing lose of sensativity and depth and overall performance. Just curious. Your thoughts. 5 years 20 years?

 

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[Tom Slick]

Minelab very often stops repairing a model shortly after ending said model's production. White's, and Tesoro will quite often repair detectors that have been out of production for 10 to 20 years. I'm concerned about my Sovereign GT needing repair in the future now that Minelab has stopped prodution of the Sovereign.

 

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[63bkpkr]

To the original poster - My units still work fine but then they were made by a reputable company that stands behind its machines and I mean close behind them. One of the weak points of any detector are batteries that are left in them long enough for them to break down chemically and leak all over. That will kill a lot of components!..........63bkpkr

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Yeah they say if you're not going to use your detector in a month, is to remove the batteries so they don't leak.

 

[Frankn]

BATTERIES**********************************************************************
Only use top quality batteries and you don't have to worry about leakage.
I use Duracell, the copper top batteries. They come dated. They are good for years before you have wonder about them.
I have never had one go bad before it's date. In fact, I have never seen one leak.
The other option is rechargeables. I don't think there is a problem with them, that is unless you are using them in your 787 lol Frank

 

[dieselram94]

Yeah I guess the 787 is DOA for awhile LOL!

 

[Rick-SeMI]

I have a few detectors.
Purchased a Fisher 1225x in 1988 and in 2005 the On/Off Volume control died.
I called Fisher and they had one for 5 bux. I replaced it and it is still going strong after 25 years!
The others I have had no trouble with.

 

[Frankn]

After reading some other posts, I was really surprised to hear that Mine-lab doesn't work on detectors that are no longer in production. I have used several brands but have gotten fantastic support from Whites , So my beach and yard detectors are Whites. I use to have an old 500XL 2 Box from whites that I thought would live forever. I loved that detector, but lost it in a fire. I prefer the true 2 Box setup so I can separate them and use them to trace or follow targets in true 2 Box fashion. I wonder how many other manufacturers discontinue service on older models? Frank

 

[CASPER-2]

MY 1995 XLT STILL GOING STRONG

 

[gleaner1]

Theoretically speaking, solid state electronics last forever.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Theoretically but not mechanically. Lol. Ones thought by man. The other man made. Just not possible. Probably more so today since they want to save a buck and use cheaper materials. Wish it wasn't that way. Remember when your moms and dads washer lasted 25-30 years with minor fixes. Now (mine for instance) pretty much rebuilt whole washer (under warranty). And it's about 5 years old. I think man made electronics had a better lifespan than the mechanically made. Then, of course, there's the quality of material. Make it for 50 and sale it for 800.

 

[Frankn]

GarretDiggingAz, Well, I never saw mechanical linkage to a fuel system suddenly accelerate and lock on full throttle, but the new wire controls do it pretty good with electronics. I agree with you on the washers, dryers too. I use to get 15 to 20 years out of them. Now after 3 years I repair mine piece by piece. Your mark up pricing is a little off. I worked for a company that made a part for it's equipment that cost them $6.60 to make. They sold it for $660. Don't ask! Also you could repair things in the past, now you replace parts like whole modules. The new tec. manuals look like this. Replace mod. A, if it still doesn't work, replace mod. B etc,etc, New trouble shooters just follow the script. In the past trouble shooting was a logical process followed in extremely bad cases by SWAG. Frank

 

[Normsel]

Heck if you get 20 yrs out of detector that's longer than most marriages. I wouldn't feel guilty buying a new one after 20 yrs

 

[Frankn]

Normsel, If you were still happy with the babe after 20 years , would you feel guilty about dumping her for another?
The point is, why blow the money on something just because it is new. I still use a 13 year old XLT and it will match anything in it's class. Frank

 

[GrizLeeBear]

Buy quality over features and treat it well. Take the batteries out if you store it for a while. Never leave it in a hot car. Keep it clean and dry. It also helps if you can avoid driving over it with a motorhome...really, I did that once.

 

[TerryC]

I have had a couple dozen machines. None have given up the ghost but I had one that I wore out the on/off switch. It was one of those plastic covered, metal "clicker" style buttons. TTC

 

[dieselram94]

GarretDiggingAz, Well, I never saw mechanical linkage to a fuel system suddenly accelerate and lock on full throttle, but the new wire controls do it pretty good with electronics. I agree with you on the washers, dryers too. I use to get 15 to 20 years out of them. Now after 3 years I repair mine piece by piece. Your mark up pricing is a little off. I worked for a company that made a part for it's equipment that cost them $6.60 to make. They sold it for $660. Don't ask! Also you could repair things in the past, now you replace parts like whole modules. The new tec. manuals look like this. Replace mod. A, if it still doesn't work, replace mod. B etc,etc, New trouble shooters just follow the script. In the past trouble shooting was a logical process followed in extremely bad cases by SWAG. Frank

View attachment 727759

Frank, I agree. My old Dodge with mechanical injection is by far more reliable than these new computer controlled, emission controlled diesel motors. These new ones are always in the shop for electrical problems....and it is never cheap. The old dodge is almost at 402,000 miles now and I think that speaks volumes

 

[Frankn]

Well, the Dodge part of the MH has had no problems in almost 40K miles. It is an '03 chassis. The electronic controll in the Fantastic fan went up. They sent me a new control unit, free. The reed switch in the automatic Kewee steps went up. They sent me another switch free. The water pump seal started to leak. They sent me a new pump, free. It appears the American companies back there products. Frank

 

[dieselram94]

Well, the Dodge part of the MH has had no problems in almost 40K miles. It is an '03 chassis. The electronic controll in the Fantastic fan went up. They sent me a new control unit, free. The reed switch in the automatic Kewee steps went up. They sent me another switch free. The water pump seal started to leak. They sent me a new pump, free. It appears the American companies back there products. Frank

View attachment 728324

Yeah, you have one sweet rig there, I remember the pics you posted. If it was much newer you would have all those awful emission controls on there. I am very envious of that rig Frank

 

[262jp]

My fisher 1265-x is still going strong since buying it new in 1990.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Frankn. That's a small markup. Lol. I just read a post about a guy who took apart his BH LS. His board was 1x3. Basically the size of a memory stick for a PC. The body was quite a bit bigger. I told him the extra space was to keep the board cool. Lol
Then I told him the extra size was to also make ya feel you got money's worth. $30 for board, $30-50 for chassis (body), another $30 for rods. Then we pay $600+ for our units. Don't know if all detector guys are like this.
I saw a video about a guy who built his own. It looked like infinium. Was in a tube like 2" dia x 6" long. Looked odd but it did work. He just never said price.