18X15 SEF coil for GT

[shagdue]

Hi y'all!

I am purchasing a GT from one of the Sponsor's and trying to decide if the (two coil" package with the 18X15 SEF coil is worth the extra $150.00. It will probably be heavy on the swing but would cover more ground

Most hunting is on the beach.

Thanks!

 

[deepdiger60]

Are you going to hip mount the GT ? that 18x15 can weigh a bit what i would do is call the dealer and try to switch for a 12x10 SEF instead i see no reason why not it,s a little cheaper and much !! lighter the 12x10 works great on beaches and land ,and it separates targets very well . JMO Jim

 

[matthias]

Hey there. I had one of those huge coils for my GT and traded it away for three reasons: ONE- it was very heavy...TWO- my sites dont include any beaches but rather smaller trashy sites...and THREE- I can hardly Pin Point with my 10" stock Tornado coil so you can just imagine the tough time I had with the 15x18 SEF, LOL. It is a fine coil and if I hunted on the beach I think I would want something that big. You can get it now and try it and if you dont like it maybe you can return to dealer or post it in the classified forum for sale or trade.OR Dont get it now and learn on the stock 10" Tornado which is a great coil. When you are comfortable on that coil you can shop for a number of different large coils. I hope this helps. I really dont think you can go wrong either way. The GT is a great machine with lots of available accessories and coils. Good luck and happy hunting. Matt

 

[Critterhunter]

That coil will for sure give you more coverage, but it will not get as deep on coin or ring sized targets as the 15x12 or the 12x10. In fact, the 15x12 is so big that it's kind'a suspect if it will get more depth than the 12x10 on say coins or rings about the size of a dime. I know at least that that coil will not get as deep as the 12x10 on coins smaller than a dime as they tested that in the official field test.

Without the coil cover (I used spray on bed liner) the 15x12 is LIGHTER than the stock 10" Tornado that still has it's coil cover on. The 12x10, without it's coil cover, is actually lighter than the legendary light weight of the Sunray S-12 coil.

I found the 15x12 was deeper than stock in my mineralized beaches, but oddly it wasn't as deep as stock in my mineralized land sites. I also found it gave best depth or at least ID at depth with the sensitivity well below what was max stable. Probably around 2 to 3PM or so on the dial. I believe this was due to it seeing too much ground matrix and degrading the target signal when too high of sensitivity was used. The 12x10 is for sure deeper than the 15x12 or 10" Tornado on land for me, and I suspect it is even deeper in sand than the 15x12 was.

For that reason, if your beaches or land sites are mineralized, I'd weigh your choices and lean towards the 12x10. Yes, the 15x12 is awesome in coverage for gridding out a beach, but the 12x10 is still a nice step up in coverage over the stock coil. If I were you I'd stay away from the 18x15 unless you are cache hunting where it's extra size would help. However, while I'm sure it will get less depth at the beach than the smaller coils on coin/ring sized targets, if coverage is more important to you than depth then that's the only way I'd consider that coil.

I've only read of a few guys who have used the 18x15, and remember not hearing any good things about it for beach let alone land hunting. I seem to remember a guy saying he wished he didn't trade his 15x12 for it. To me that's a cache coil or a coil for deep but large relics. Not for coin or ring hunting.

Also, if you plan to use an SEF in the water, I know the 15x12 was more drag than I cared for myself. I haven't tried the 12x10 in the water yet, but I think I've heard others say the S-12 is less drag. If I were primarily a water hunter I'l consider the S-12 or just the stock 10" Tornada too. When I get around to water hunting with the 12x10 I'll post about how the drag is.

 

[shagdue]

Wow!

Thanks guy's. Good stuff!

 

[matthias]

Hey shag, here is an old pic from when I had my 15x18. It is pictured next to the 10x12 which is the size most GT owners prefer. Good luck and HH. Matt

 

[Critterhunter]

And if you are ordering from Kellyco (probably, because I think they include that 18x15 as an extra coil in their one promotional package, and if you decide you want the 12x10 instead of the 15x12, then make sure they don't tell you they don't carry the 12x10 anymore. The Sovereign version of the 12x10 is hidden on their website rather badly, so you have to find it in the right place on there. For that reason some of their staff might think they don't carry the Sovereign version. I'd ask for JW if they say that, as I bet he knows where to find it on their site and such. Also, you can google "12x10, sovereign, kellyco" and you'll find it that way on various links on their site.

 

[deepdiger60]

Kellyco still has it,s SEF sale going on, the 12x10 is 144.00 disregard the price on the 18x15 SEF it,s a mistake it says social sale price is 499.00 but it is not , either one of these coils i pictured works great on the beaches . Good luck Jim
http://www.kellycodetectors.com/offers/sef_social_sale.php

 

[Critterhunter]

And if you tell Kellyco you want the "findmall special" you should get free shipping on any of the SEF coils as JW said that months back I think.

 

[shagdue]

Thanks again guy's!

Critter, Matt, Jim....

I think I will go with the two coil deal from KellyCo AND pick up the 10X12. My "thunking" is to try the monster 15X18, play with it in the wet and dry sand. If it's not for me, sell it. Heck, I could even do a test on all three coils in the wet stuff and post the results.

KC list the 18X15 on sale at $299.00. Is that realistic for the expected performance of that coil? As I have read, bigger is not necessarily better.

Fleebay has one listed at $125.00, probably from guys like me!

Sam

 

[Critterhunter]

I've love to read your test reports on comparing the coils. I'm sure that big coil will get deeper on say coins about the size of a half dollar and bigger, but in terms of from quarters, dimes, or rings my money is on the 12x10 getting the most depth.

 

[shagdue]

I pulled the trigger on the 10X12 coil from KC at the findmall price. Thanks again Critter!

I will post the results from the three coils soon. Plan on doing all the clad, copper, gold, tabs, fish hooks, bikini's......oops lost my train of thought.

Thanks again to all the GT folk's!

Sam

 

[Critterhunter]

Looking forward to reading how you like the coils and how they compare in depth on various targets. Love reading that stuff myself.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Sam,LOL a S-1 probe is sure a nice accessory for the GT.Good Luck Ron

 

[imalookin2]

I have the 12X15 and do not think it is much deeper than the stock 10" Tornado. The stock coil is a good one though so I use it the most unless the beaches are bleak and I am looking for pockets or lanes. The bigger SEF does cover ground fast and it is still pretty light. I chest mount my GT so fatigue is not so much of a problem. On my beaches sometimes covering ground is more important than depth. Those larger coils do pick up small stuff and some times they are hard to pinpoint, at least for me. I have not used that larger SEF you mention. They are not as heavy as they look. Mine is just about the same as the 10" stock. Kellyco is putting them into their package deals so that tells me they want to get rid of them. Either they don't sell or they stink. I have no idea but there is a reason. Good luck!

 

[shagdue]

Wow, you guy's are awesome!

Should be here Friday, except for the 10X12, next week sometime. I will use the weekend to get use to the GT and the stock coil., recommended setting's, etc. Plan on the test next week.

I have read a ton on this site and the friendly site (Craig there is the GT pro). I had the White's DF PI, hated it because of all the junk. REALLY looking forward to the GT and contributing my nickle's worth.

Thanks again!

Sam

 

[Critterhunter]

They are not as heavy as they look. Mine is just about the same as the 10" stock. Kellyco is putting them into their package deals so that tells me they want to get rid of them. Either they don't sell or they stink. I have no idea but there is a reason. Good luck!

The 15x12 without a coil cover (I used spray on bed liner to protect my coils) is lighter than the 10" Tornado with the coil cover still on. The 12x10 without coil cover is lighter than the S-12, which is legendary in it's light weight. The FBS (Etrac/Explorer) versions of these SEF coils weigh a good bit more than the Sovereign/Xcal versions, though. A bunch of us weighed all these coils a while back and put a weight chart together.

If you are refering to Kellyco putting the 18x15 in package deals to get rid of them that might be true, because you hardly ever hear about that coil. The 12x10 and 15x12 are more popular, especially the 12x10. The 15x12 is already pushing the limits of still having coin-sized target sensitivity, and in fact gets less depth than the 12x10 on at least coins smaller than a dime, and might in fact not get as deep on a dime, than the 12x10. The 18x15 is well beyond the point of no return in terms of coin/ring sized sensitivity to show increases in depth on those over other coils, not to mention even the 15x12 in my soil got less depth than the 12x10 because it was taking in too much ground signal in my somewhat mineralized soil. The 18x15 is meant to be a larger target coil, for such things as larger relics or say cache hunting. Sure, it can be used for gridding large areas on the beach for coins and rings and will excell in terms of coverage, but in terms of depth the stock 10" coil, 15x12, or 12x10 will get deeper on a coin or ring.

However, Kellyco has had various 2nd coils in the "Pro" package or whatever for the GT over the years. I believe a while back it was the 15x12 they included if you stepped up to that higher 2-coil package, and before that I *think* the 12x10 was included in that package for it. But yea, probably they figured people are buying the 12x10 and perhaps the 15x12 all on their own anyway even after buying a Sovereign, so why hurt our sales of those by including them with our pro 2-coil package. They might have figured why not get rid of the 18x15 with that deal and then later we can sell them a 12x10 or 15x12.

I've heard almost zero about the 18x15 on the web from users, and believe me I've done my share of digging up any information about the SEFs and even other aftermarket coils from dark corners of the web. That alone should tell you something since it's almost non-existent in talk about it, just like the round Penetrator Detech coils. Almost zero user reports on those coils out there. That somewhat surprises me, as I heard the initial versions of those coils were pretty bad, but that later versions were much better. I would figure the 14" Penetrator (I think the new versions of these coils are called Excelerators, or vise versa) would be popular, as that's about the max coil size in a DD to still see gains in depth on coins, and the reason why the WOT is popular. If that Excelerator (or Penetrator?) is as good as a WOT I'd figure I'd see more talk about it, because the WOT is more expensive and I think the Penetrator/Excelerator is a lighter coil if memory serves. The WOT is 14.25". The Penetrator/Excelerator is either that or a true 14" but I don't know for sure.

Early on I was eyeing that 14" Excelerator/Penetrator (whatever it's called these days) before the SEFs came out. I dug around on the web and found almost zero user reports on it. At the time Kellyco was including this coil with their pro package, but the lack of reports made me shy away from it. When the SEFs came out and the reports started coming in, I hopped on the 15x12. In my soil, however, it was not as deep as the 10" Tornado, but oddly it was deeper in my mineralized sand than stock. Later, I traded it for a 12x10, and for sure this is the deepest coil on coin sized targets I have ever used on any machine, and also the best separating coil right/left wise, the most stable, and is for sure the best coil I've ever used on any machine.

That said, the 10" Tornado is one awesome coil too. The best of any of the 10" coils I've ever used on any of the Minelab models (compared to the old 10" Explorer coils or the old BBS Sovereign coils).

 

[shagdue]

If you are refering to Kellyco putting the 18x15 in package deals to get rid of them that might be true, because you hardly ever hear about that coil. The 12x10 and 15x12 are more popular, especially the 12x10. The 15x12 is already pushing the limits of still having coin-sized target sensitivity, and in fact gets less depth than the 12x10 on at least coins smaller than a dime, and might in fact not get as deep on a dime, than the 12x10. The 18x15 is well beyond the point of no return in terms of coin/ring sized sensitivity to show increases in depth on those over other coils, not to mention even the 15x12 in my soil got less depth than the 12x10 because it was taking in too much ground signal in my somewhat mineralized soil. The 18x15 is meant to be a larger target coil, for such things as larger relics or say cache hunting. Sure, it can be used for gridding large areas on the beach for coins and rings and will excell in terms of coverage, but in terms of depth the stock 10" coil, 15x12, or 12x10 will get deeper on a coin or ring.

Bingo Critter!

I was thinking the same thing. I may even contact them to cancel the order and go with the single coil package from NED. (better price).
The main reason I went with KC was the extended two year warranty and the larger/questionable coil.

Sounds like the 18X15 would only be good for shallow but wider coverage. Maybe okay on the towel lines here in Myrtle Beach summer time. Stay with the 10 or the 10X12 when wet.

Thanks again!

Sam

 

[Critterhunter]

And I found the 15x12 was too much drag in the water for my tastes. I haven't tried the 12x10 in the water yet, but there is a small chance it has more drag than an S-12 in the water due to the nature of the shells of both coils. I'm happy with my 10" Tornado being assigned to water use only anyways, so that stays on my water rig (original shaft), while the 12x10 stays on my land rig (custom light weight shaft), so all I have to do is swap the control box and off I go.

 

[DDOU812]

That coil needs one thing. . . WHEELS