Upgrade from Garrett Ace 250?

[Infector101]

I started metal detecting three years ago with my Garrett Ace 250 with the standard coil. It's great for coin shooting shallow coins in a park or school field but recently I've been thinking about upgrading because I want to start hitting up old farming fields and wooded areas effectively and start finding those older coins everyone else seems to find with ease. The Garrett is good in places where I can put the coil right next to the ground and only need to go down 4 to 6 inches but in uneven fields I can't get the depth that I need. I want to know what would be a good replacement for the Garrett Ace 250 or if getting a different coil might help my depth issue. I think I would be willing to spend up to $600 or so on a new metal detector. Thanks for the help.

-Infector101

 

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[Coldshot]

Might try a 11DD coil or a butterfly, I dont know if they have a butterfly for that machine though. should give you better depth and a wider range. I am sure you will get a lot of replies on this one. good luck

 

[Swartzie]

Yeah. Sounds like it's time for an upgrade. On my 250 I went to a 10 x 14 DD Excelerator coil as an upgrade. It did give me a couple more inches.

-Swartzie

 

[U.K. Brian]

Last thing you need is a bigger coil. Your only delaying the day that your forced to upgrade the detector its self and the fact that you have bought the new coil will limit you in the upgrade route.

Look for a detector with a ground balance control, could be Garrett or another brand we can't say because soil conditions vary so much. A more powerful detector using the same coil size as your present machine has the advantages of weight and balance plus less target masking and better ground handling. Then in the future if you want more depth and the type of site will allow it ie not very bad mineralisation or high rubbish content then go for a larger coil though for many sites a smaller coil turns out to be the better bet.

 

[George (MN)]

The Garrett AT Pro air tests 10" on dime, 11" on quarter & 12" on nickel, using sensitivity 7 of 8. The deepest dime I got with Ace 250 that IDed corectly was 4". Using the AT Pro the depest dime found so far that IDed correctly was 7" deep, in a heavily detected park where the dime likely sat 20-30+ years. Soil hard & dry, somewhat mineralized. In this soil 3"-5" is about as deep as I can get with a stable ID on a dime. The Teknetics T2SE & Fisher F75SE or LTD have extreme power in boost mode for areas where coil can't be on ground, but about $1,000 or so new. Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[U.K. Brian]

Not air tests again. No coins in the air. If anyone can locate the old Polish "Testy" report (its way out of date) but the one interesting thing that it illustrates is that some of the deepest and most expensive detectors show the most loss in depth between air and ground tests.

We can't really recommend a model or brand because ground conditions vary so much. See what is being used sucessfully in your area. Your budget, especially if your prepared to go for a secondhand detector which may well still carry a warranty, will buy you some of the best out there. If your not interested in wet salt beach detecting then things become a lot easier as single frequency detectors will provide all you need.

 

[George (MN)]

Various people in different locations & different ground conditions have tested the Ace 250 and AT Pro and found the improvement on coin-sized objects was 2" to 4" deeper, depending on the soil types. I always use the manual ground balance & don't recall anyone with an AT Pro having to turn down the sensitivity below 5 & that was salt beach & they still got 8" coins. Sensitivity 7 works fine just about anywhere else, sensitivity 5 under powerlines. But 5 feet away, back up to 7. Good separation & ID at depth. Also like Teknetics G2 same innards as Gold Bug Pro DP. Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

The Garrett At Pro is a good upgrade for you. It's similar enough to the Ace display - that helps with the learning curve. You'll be adding features such as increased depth capabilities due to the 8.5X11 DD coil, ground balance features, target ID numbers, higher frequency, iron audio and proportional audio.

Call us if we can answer any questions or help you in any way!

Wayne

Metal Detector Sales and Rentals | Fisher and Garrett