Minlab 15" vs Coiltek 15"

[Groundhogg]

One of my permissions is about to bail the hay. Finally. I thought it would never dry. Of course it rained all day today. Multiple fields with 100's of acres. I'm considering a larger coil for the Nox 900. I'd like to get anyone's opinion on this. Pros, cons, personal opinions, does the extra 4" over the stock 11" coil make a difference...any thoughts?

 

[cudamark]

I love the Minelab 12 X 15" coil. Best coil I've ever used for large fields and beaches. Not a lot of extra depth....maybe and inch or two, but, the extra coverage helps a bunch. The cons would be the extra weight making it a bit nose heavy, and the normal separation problems using a big coil in areas with lots of targets.

 

[KSDirtfisher77]

Let me 1st say, I do not own either of these coils, but been doing a bit of reading on them.

The weight is about the same between the 2 coils. Coiltek 15" coil=839grams
Minelab 12×15"coil=850grams

I've read that the coiltek 15" seems to be better suited for the beach, for what reasons idk. Could be coil shape or coil windings for all I know.

I've read that the minelab 12x15 smart coil seems to perform better on farm ground type soils for whatever reasons.
I personally hunt more land & I think I will get 12x15 coil when the time comes. I know I wasnt any help, but I'm curious on what you pick. Let us know on its performance. Thanks.

 

[Groundhogg]

Let me 1st say, I do not own either of these coils, but been doing a bit of reading on them.

The weight is about the same between the 2 coils. Coiltek 15" coil=839grams
Minelab 12×15"coil=850grams

I've read that the coiltek 15" seems to be better suited for the beach, for what reasons idk. Could be coil shape or coil windings for all I know.

I've read that the minelab 12x15 smart coil seems to perform better on farm ground type soils for whatever reasons.
I personally hunt more land & I think I will get 12x15 coil when the time comes. I know I wasnt any help, but I'm curious on what you pick. Let us know on its performance. Thanks.

Actually your information was helpful. I was trying to compare the weight and not having much success on finding the minelab's. I appreciate it.

 

[KSDirtfisher77]

Actually your information was helpful. I was trying to compare the weight and not having much success on finding the minelab's. I appreciate it.

Yeah I found that weight on another site. Plus there is a particular MD shop that weighs all the coils they sell & list the weights of the coils. Sometimes weight is big factor to the buyer. I wanted the 14x9 coiltek coil, but found out it's a weighted coil.

 

[cudamark]

I have the Coiltek 15" coil too. I haven't weighed it and the Minelab coil to compare them, but, the Coiltek just seems heavier. The Coiltek goes an inch or two deeper, but, doesn't pinpoint quite as well and isn't quite as stable at the same sensitivity setting as the Minelab coil. If depth is the most important thing to you, I'd get the Coiltek. Otherwise, I'd use the Minelab. Coverage is about the same. Another consideration is the quality of the product. I've never had an issue with the Coiltek mounting ears breaking, whereas, I've gone through 3 of the Minelab 12 X 15" coils for broken ears (all under warranty) Supposedly, the new version of this coil is claimed to have stronger ears. I haven't seen one yet to verify that. The 11" coil that comes with the 900 is re-enforced in that area though. The 6" coil looks the same between the older ones that came out with the 600/800 and the 700/900 version.

 

[Groundhogg]

I have the Coiltek 15" coil too. I haven't weighed it and the Minelab coil to compare them, but, the Coiltek just seems heavier. The Coiltek goes an inch or two deeper, but, doesn't pinpoint quite as well and isn't quite as stable at the same sensitivity setting as the Minelab coil. If depth is the most important thing to you, I'd get the Coiltek. Otherwise, I'd use the Minelab. Coverage is about the same. Another consideration is the quality of the product. I've never had an issue with the Coiltek mounting ears breaking, whereas, I've gone through 3 of the Minelab 12 X 15" coils for broken ears (all under warranty) Supposedly, the new version of this coil is claimed to have stronger ears. I haven't seen one yet to verify that. The 11" coil that comes with the 900 is re-enforced in that area though. The 6" coil looks the same between the older ones that came out with the 600/800 and the 700/900 version.

Thanks for the insight. I am going with the minelab. That being said, I've seen coil reinforcement tabs for the Minelab products, any thoughts/recommendations?

 

[KSDirtfisher77]

I've read that even 6" coils had coil tab problems, idk how they get broke on the 6" coil. Is people really that rough on coils? I'm curious to the answer of this as well. I'm wondering if I should get the 6" coil support since it wasnt changed on the 900 6" coil.

 

[cudamark]

Thanks for the insight. I am going with the minelab. That being said, I've seen coil reinforcement tabs for the Minelab products, any thoughts/recommendations?

I've only had the broken ear problem on the 12 X 15" coil. I got my reinforcements from a local guy who makes them. I think he's on E-bay and lives in El Cajon Ca. The ones I got came as a set. One for the 11" coil and one for the 12 X15".

 

[jose159]

I never broke the tabs on my Minelab coils but I asked the Minelab tech about the problem and he told me that almost all the coil tab problems came from people who hunt in sand often.

 

[brianc053]

A couple comments from my perspective:
- I have the 15” coiltek. It’s so much heavier than the 11” that I also got a counterweight to fight the nose heaviness. Now the whole detector is really heavy and hurts my arm after only a relatively short hunt. (I have a bad shoulder and also something wrong with the muscles around the elbow). I rarely use the 15” on beach or field.
- I stick with the 11” because it is lighter, the coverage isn’t that much less, but most importantly: I was swinging the 15” / counterweight setup slower than the 11”, so by swinging the 11” faster (not too fast, just faster than the slow speed of the 15” setup) I suspect I actually cover the same amount of ground with the 11”.

- unrelated to the original question, but adding to the broken ear topic: I broke my 11” ears once and yea it was in the sand. For me it was because sand shifts and balance is hard to keep, and I instinctively used the detector as a brace/crutch and pushed on the coil at an angle to try to keep my balance.

Hope it helps.
- Brian

 

[sprailroad]

I never broke the tabs on my Minelab coils but I asked the Minelab tech about the problem and he told me that almost all the coil tab problems came from people who hunt in sand often.

In 35+ years of detecting, nine different machines, and any number of coils, I have had only ONE coil where an ear had "snapped" off, yep, the 11" coil with the Minelab 800. Before that, I wondered how in the heck are these guys breaking coil ears, what are they doing. Well, they were not really doing anything, I remember having to tighten the coil a little bit more, because it just would not tighten very well. One day, it just snapped off. Crazy glued it twice, but did not last. Glued it the third time WITH a pair of ear reinforcements? and had held up just fine, but then on the 800, also had the arm cuff break, bought new shafts, and the whole control pod had quit working, no matter what I did. Tried a re-set I don't know how many times, then one day of messing with it, it started working again?? Now, the 900 is built much better, thicker ears, better shaft, better arm cuff. I'm not really buying what the Minelab Tech. said, about the sand hunting. The breaking of the coil ears would be more of the thinner coil ears than " operator error " I would say.

 

[cudamark]

A couple comments from my perspective:
- I have the 15” coiltek. It’s so much heavier than the 11” that I also got a counterweight to fight the nose heaviness. Now the whole detector is really heavy and hurts my arm after only a relatively short hunt. (I have a bad shoulder and also something wrong with the muscles around the elbow). I rarely use the 15” on beach or field.
- I stick with the 11” because it is lighter, the coverage isn’t that much less, but most importantly: I was swinging the 15” / counterweight setup slower than the 11”, so by swinging the 11” faster (not too fast, just faster than the slow speed of the 15” setup) I suspect I actually cover the same amount of ground with the 11”.

- unrelated to the original question, but adding to the broken ear topic: I broke my 11” ears once and yea it was in the sand. For me it was because sand shifts and balance is hard to keep, and I instinctively used the detector as a brace/crutch and pushed on the coil at an angle to try to keep my balance.

Hope it helps.
- Brian

Get a SwingyThingy or Detecting Buddy.....maybe even the Minelab harness and the weight won't be a problem.