Keep the BHID or get an Excal?

Sturgell · Feb 6, 2011

I will start off by saying I have a BHID with the newer 950 coil and it is a good machine however I would like a DD coil since I have grown to love them in the past few weeks. I am confident that I can mount up a D2 or similar coil and achieve the DD coil but I won't be able to dive. Or I could buy an Excal that comes factory with a DD and be able to dive with it.

I wouldn't be diving deep 15'> with a hookah but I really don't want my machine to flood while I am out either.

Sandman · Feb 6, 2011

Well you won't be able to take the White's out that deep. Some leak while wading even with the orange O ring..... Having used the Excal out in way deeper water than your 15 foot I can say it won't leak and work very good too. Heck, even the coil on the Beach Hunter wants to float.

I think you answered your own question.

Treasure_Hunter · Feb 6, 2011

Sandman said:
Heck, even the coil on the Beach Hunter wants to float.

I think you answered your own question.

If needed you could always use the Beach Hunter coil as a life preserver...... :laughing7:

Sturgell · Feb 6, 2011

I think I have too, I have had a few people contact me because of posts saying I might sell the BHID but haven't put it in the classifieds yet. Don't get me wrong the BHID is a fabulous machine but I think the Excal and its 17 tones will suit me better than 3 tones/lights since I also have an SE (that I haven't put too much time on yet) that I have taken to like a fish to water.

TheTreasureAddict · Feb 6, 2011

Excal,

They shouldnt be in the same league. Nothing like hearing everything in the ground.

CB

gmanlight · Feb 6, 2011

I have not heard of the orange gasket leaking.
You can send it to Whites for the 12 in coil or
I saw a post of a 10 inch excelerator DFX coil installed.

erikk · Feb 7, 2011

gmanlight said:
I have not heard of the orange gasket leaking.
You can send it to Whites for the 12 in coil or
I saw a post of a 10 inch excelerator DFX coil installed.

They have leaked and the 12 inch coil still wants to float

Sandman · Feb 7, 2011

In all fairness the Beach Hunter ID works fairly well on the dry sand and sometimes near the wet with reduced sensitivity. However I didn't find it to be near as deep as the Excal. I found the surf noise blocked some of the sounds in the head phones and there is no external volume control. We never know if the leaks to the BHID are from faulty closing the case after installing new batteries or what. Also if closing the case during high humidity could also cause trouble when you get the case wet and condensation happens inside.

seeker41 · Feb 7, 2011

with all the negative reports i have seen from experienced hunters over the last few years why does whites still put out such a poor detector

chuck

Sturgell · Feb 7, 2011

I don't think it is a bad machine at all, on the contrary it is a great machine easy to use and simple. It is not however purposely built for diving and I think an excal would be better for me because of the multitude of tones that I are growing on me with the SE. I think if White's factory mounted a DD coil it would be the PERFECT machine for a lot more detectorists, as it sits it is very sensitive to small items and discriminates out iron like nobody's business and hits hard on targets in the 9-10 inch range....I learned this on land and got to dig some deep holes. :thumbsup:

Indasurf · Feb 7, 2011

I've got a BHID 300 and I've never had any issues with it. I don't change batteries at the beach or open it up there. I always make sure the seal is clean and greased correctly before closing it up for any reason.

It hits deep if you run it in all metal and just use the lights to not dig iron. I've also got some bad black sand locations on my beaches and if adjusted correctly it can run pretty quiet. I also like the super fast recovery and as mentioned it does hit well on the smaller stuff.

There's plenty of hunters that use and like this detector. I also own and use a CZ-6A, CZ20, and Infinium. I've made many terrific finds with the 300 and I also like it in fresh water too. JMHO :icon_thumleft:

lacey333 · Feb 8, 2011

I know there are a ton of loyal ex cal fans out there but the BHID is every bit as good a machine! Any of the leaking gasket issues they may have had are gone. I have a new model with the orange gasket and the 12" spider coil and have had no problems at all. I met up with another member from Tnet who has a couple of excal's and we did some depth comparisons on a quarter and I was able to get tones on it a few inches deeper than he was! They are both great machines and they both have their pro's and con's but for me customer service is every bit as important as the quality equipment and that's where White's outshines them all! I know of people that were without their minelabs for months while waiting for a simple repair! that is unacceptable to me!! especially if you live somewhere where you have months of downtime because of winter! and as far as the whole floating coil thing, I don't find the amount of buoyancy to be enough to hinder hunting, if anything it helps you to skim your coil just above the bottom nicely! :tongue3:

So I would keep the BHID, send it in to whites for service and they will probably send it back with the new, bigger coil at no charge! good luck with your decision and HH!

Mike

trainer · Feb 9, 2011

Never had a problem with mine and this one is the 300 went to the caribbean with a friend who favors a minelab and he brings two of them because of the many breakdowns these machines have Thats two !!
The only problem with this machine I find is that it has no volume, believe me I tried the threshold thingy but this thing is loud My ears are still functioning well because I used earplugs.
Other wise minelab has a good machine there but its just the time it takes for it to be repaired

Indasurf · Feb 9, 2011

trainer said:
Never had a problem with mine and this one is the 300 went to the caribbean with a friend who favors a minelab and he brings two of them because of the many breakdowns these machines have Thats two !!
The only problem with this machine I find is that it has no volume, believe me I tried the threshold thingy but this thing is loud My ears are still functioning well because I used earplugs.
Other wise minelab has a good machine there but its just the time it takes for it to be repaired

Just add thin rubber gasket material to each ear-cup until you have the perfect volume.
You do this once and it never changes. I found the perfect stuff at Lowe's hardware (easy fix).

Octopulse · Feb 10, 2011

I have been using the BeachHunter 300 with great success. I sold my Excalibur and got the White's machine as the Excalibur's weakness is that it will often null on deep gold when in DISC.

I found this out when I investigated a "null".....scraped away a few inches of sand and then no more null but a coin/ring tone !

Sorry, but my confidence was shot when I discovered this out. If you run in AM then all is well.

I love the BeachHunter.....can be a bit chatty sometimes but is plenty deep for me and feels well built.

Hey, I'm an Aussie but I prefer the machine from the USA !!!

Tony.

Octopulse · Feb 10, 2011

lacey333 said:
I know there are a ton of loyal ex cal fans out there but the BHID is every bit as good a machine! Any of the leaking gasket issues they may have had are gone. I have a new model with the orange gasket and the 12" spider coil and have had no problems at all. I met up with another member from Tnet who has a couple of excal's and we did some depth comparisons on a quarter and I was able to get tones on it a few inches deeper than he was! They are both great machines and they both have their pro's and con's but for me customer service is every bit as important as the quality equipment and that's where White's outshines them all! I know of people that were without their minelabs for months while waiting for a simple repair! that is unacceptable to me!! especially if you live somewhere where you have months of downtime because of winter! and as far as the whole floating coil thing, I don't find the amount of buoyancy to be enough to hinder hunting, if anything it helps you to skim your coil just above the bottom nicely! So I would keep the BHID, send it in to whites for service and they will probably send it back with the new, bigger coil at no charge! good luck with your decision and HH!

Mike

Mike is spot on with his post. They are both good machines (with neither being perfect) but at the end of the day it was the BeachHunter that won out for me.

Tony.