I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

[RCMoonPie]

I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

I had made a post similar to this one last year. Life happened, and I had to use my "bread" somewhere else.
So now I am back and looking for a way to spend my tax-return!

I will have around $800 to spend.
I know a lot of you have multiple MD's for various uses.
I however, am only looking to purchase ONE good MD to get me started out with at this time.
I will be diving BOTH fresh and salt waters to depths of around 20-30 feet.
My freshwater situations will be still-water swimming holes in search of rings, chains, coins, and other baubles.
I will also be hitting some creeks with light currents for the same mentioned treasure.
My saltwater situations will be pretty much the same, and searching for the same items as in the fresh except...
I want to cover a few places where I found 3 rocks that look like creek stones...they look nothing like the rocks normally found in the ocean...really out of place if you know what I am saying.
Just waiting for the right weather.

If you have any advice on a MD that could suit my needs....please take the time to post!
I just got SSI certified last summer and am wanting to MD while also logging more dives.

I appreciate your help folks!

 

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[Jason in TN]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Not claiming to be a pro. But for the saltwater I have not found a underwater detector i like better than the whites Beach hunter ID. Do not know about the 30ft dive though I am not sure what depth it is rated for. It can be purchased for well under $800.

 

[wreckdiver1715]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

RCMoonPie, one of my favorite snacks when I was a younger man, and yes I still drink RC. However, I try to avoid the moon pies, or I will have to buy more lead shot for the BC.
OK my friend, you will most likely get a wide variety of opinions, and mine is just that. I use the Minelab Excalibur 1000. I paid over $900 for mine back in the day and have not had much in the way of problems. Of course I treat the ol Excal just like I do the rest of my dive gear. You will hear stories about the knobs comming off. True though it may be, and yes it happened to me just once. A quick adjustment with an allen wrench during the post dive inspection and rinse of all your equipment is the best course of action to avoid this problem, and again during the next pre-dive inspection, Make it a checklist item!
Other than that and the over pressurization of the battery pack, my bad for leaving the detector unprotected in the back of the van.
Thats it! in the six + years I have been using the same detector, those are the only two problems that I have ever had with the Minelab. This is one fine machine, and I have dove the South China Sea off of Okinawa, Pacific ocean from Hawaii to Midway to Guam to Wake Island, the Persian Gulf and the Atlantic coast of Florida is my back yard.
Know for the big question you are thinking to your self...
Has the Minelab Excalibur paid for it self with finds? Yep! many times over.
So if you need to Waite a little longer, I would pony up the extra green backs to make this machine a part of your dive gear.
One small codes-el, I have only used one other machine besides mine and it worked just fine, and the owner swore by it.
Good luck, and happy hunting
P.S. I'm just a novice
visit Kelly-co.com

 

[NCHermit]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

First off,I'm no pro!
If you are going to hunt water only,I think I'd go with the Whites PIPro.
The other and probably the best machines you could get would be.
Minelab Excalibur
Fisher CZ-20

 

[neilo]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Without doubt recommend the Excalibur, some other brands perform well in fresh water but fail dismally in salt water.The other plus is the discrimination of the machine over P I machines, sure in some cases the PI machines might go deeper but you will be digging a lot more rubbish Iron targets,which will be knocked out by the Excalibur. When you are detecting time is precious and you dont want to waste it digging junk especially if you are diving. Good luck hope you find plenty Seeya Neilo

 

[NCHermit]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Sorry I just noticed you said 800 bucks.
Whites PI pro
Fisher 1280x
Tesoro sandshark
used Fisher CZ-20
used Minelab Excalibur
For discrimination,Excal,CZ-20,1280x
Dig all,PIpro,sandshark

 

[RCMoonPie]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Okay....its looking like the Excaliber is the preferred favorite.

How easy is it to use for the beginner?

How does this work....
Like I said...in freshwater I will be looking to find coins, rings, chains, watches, etc..
Do I have to set the MD specifically to find either coins...or gold rings and chains....or will it find both?
I guess what I am asking is...do I have to decide up front whether I am looking for just coins....or am I looking for gold items?
One of the freshwater places I will be diving is still water swimming hole that has been used for probably around 200 years! But due to its access...It is my belief that it has probably never been searched by MD! So if I am set up to find coins....will the MD bypass a classring? A gold chain? watch?
Or should I use a tank to scan for coins.....and then burn a tank to scan for gold?
I just dont know.

Same question for saltwater...I know an area where thousands take their families in the ocean where a jetty meets a beach. The area behind this jetty is extremely calm and current free and it creates a "kiddie pool" where families feel a little safer for their kids to play. (a false sense of confidence for us in the know...but I digress).
I have never spent the day their that I didnt here a lday speak about losing her gold or diamond earring or wedding-band, or a guy lose his wedding band or watch. Although there isnt a current...sand "eats" and swallows all that is dropped with one light move of the foot!

Is there an MD that will find nickles, dimes, quarters as well as grabbing the small gold on a diamond stud earring, or a gold band or gold chain?

This may sound like a goofey question to some of you....but I just dont want to miss a chance for a good find because I have dicked with my discrim too much.

Help.....I am a noob!

 

[NCHermit]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

On my CZ-20 I run discrim on the lowest setting.That takes care of most of the iron,but it still finds gold,silver,coins.When in an area that is low or free of trash,I'll run all metal mode,sens wide open,volume wide open and really listen for the whispers.Gold is heavy and gets deep quick in the ocean.

 

[wreckdiver1715]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

I am pressed for time this morning, so I will give you the short answer. With most any detector you can search for all metal objects from iron nails to aluminum pull tabs to silver and gold. Or you can set you machine to discriminate between each of these metals and hunt for just gold or just silver.
It will take you some time to go through the dreaded learning curve, but don't be discouraged it will come to you in relative short order. But always remember, and never forget... Gold sounds just like pull tabs, so dig it all.

Q

 

[neilo]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

When using the Excalibur set it up with Discrimination turned on but with the actual discriminating knob turned down to minimum setting.This position will blank out any iron signals, and also allows the machine to operate its Iron mask feature which allows good non iron targets which are close alongside iron targets to be heard.These good targets would be normally hidden in the iron blanking feature of most other detectors. You will have no problems picking up small gold items, rings, coins and jewelry with the Excalibur. You will find small fine gold chains will be missed by most detectors including the Excalibur as the target area is too small.
As with any detector once you start eliminating targets eg. ringpulls by using your Discriminator you will lose depth and miss out on gold rings. Most gold rings only give weak signals, similar to scrap alfoil, so it is important to dig the weeker low toned signals . Look at Minelabowners web site for more info, Seeya Neilo

 

[lou423]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

I had a fisher 1280-x detector in the 1980's and it worked pretty good for me...
Right now I have a sand shark and it is ok...not great.
Get yourself a pulse induction metal detector if you are going to use it in salt water .
Good luck and let us know what you find...

 

[neilo]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Lou you say get a PI machine for salt water,the Sand Shark is PI machine which you say is okay but not great.The main problem is digging constant rubbish due to no discrimination, the PI machines I think worth a look at are the Garrett Infinium or Seahunter 2 which both have some sort of discrimination. The main drawback with the PI machines is you cant use them in some areas eg parks
ovals,and sports grounds due to their difficulty in accurate pin pointing, and working close to metal structures eg play equipment.
At least with the Excalibur it can be used anywhere, land, sea or lake with no problems.
Good luck seeya Neilo

 

[osiris661]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Hello;
I live in south Florida and do mostly beach and water hunting so here is my 2 cents. I have used a variety of the water detectors and own a few. The one I like the most which is in your price range is the Whites Beach Hunter ID. The Excal is fantastic but WAY too expensive in my opinion, PI machines are really great and I use an older but quality model Whites Treasure Master PI1000. The problem with PI machines is that there is no discrimination and if you plan to hunt on the beach, shallow tide, or anywhere that does not require you to actually dive in the water with scuba gear then a PI machine is not the way to go as you will be digging until your arms fall off only to discover lots and lots of junk. For whatever reason, the Tesoro Sand and Tiger shark models are Extremely unstable down here in Florida. Not only is this my own opinion but that of other detectorists and dealers in the area. My best advice to you would be to do some research with dealers and other detectorists in the area which you plan to hunt and see what their feedback is.
800 dollars should be enough to get you a stable dependable water metal detector to start with, I would highly suggest that with any detector you purchase you buy an instructional video or book to give you further insight on how to use it.
Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[suwannee pirate]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

I have several water machines and just recently picked up an excalibur 1000. I picked it up on ebay for 800 . I didn't get a warranty,so no protection against equipment failure. Kellyco has the best deals on minelab detectors and that way you get a warranty with it. If you arn't concerned about a warranty go ebay .There is usually one there. Good Luck Bob aka; suwannee pirate

 

[Chagy]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Hi,

I have a Whites beach hunter ID and I think its great. its good to 25ft under water, BUT if you are planning to search in Treasure Coast waters be aware that must of the shipwreck sites have lease holders (salvage companies) and it is not permitted to dive in the wreck sites with MDs.

Best of the season,

Chagy.........

 

[Sandman]

Re: I need advice from you "Pros" on a water MD...

Everything Neil said goes double for me. I dive and have used most of the detectors in and out of water. I love the Excalibur 1000 as it is very deep and has that discrimination you need. Plus you can run it in the "Pinpoint mode" which is just an all metal mode if your looking for relics or square nails too. But I mainly set the disc. as low as I can turn the knob and Vol. as high as I can stand so I can hear the tiny sounds of tiny gold. You won't have to set the Excal any different to change from coins to rings either, nor ground balance. My Excal has paid for itself many times over, but then detecting is all I do for a living as I am retired.

I've used the Whites Beach Hunter II and it isn't waterproof deeper than 25 foot. In shallow water the flat coil gets pushed around to much by the waves for my liking. Otherwise it's not bad. Fisher's CZ-20 has a salt curcuit and is good down to 250 feet, though I've only had it down to 120 foot. It is also very good and many divers use it. It carries a lifetime warranty as does the Tesoro Tiger Shark. I enjoy the Tiger Shark because of it's changeable coils for different conditions and it is good down to 250 feet also. It also has a Salt Mode and pinpoints well even for grass searching. I especially enjoy using the Clean Sweep Coil for this detector as it covers much sand, 18 inches per sweep to make short work of a beach.

Excal and CZ-20 are the most expensive at over $1000. new. The rest are lower with the Whites being the cheapest.

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