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cz 20-21 vs minelab excailibur? Which one should I get

88junior

88junior

Well-known member
Guys I am looking into the future on this I am going to get a water detector next year and can't decide which one to get. If I get a cz I am going to want one with the 8" coil. A friend of mine swears by his excalibur! So I am kind of in limbo here. I will mainly be hunting freshwater beaches. I don't dive but want to get out at least chest deep in water. So if you have used either give me some guidance. Thanks
 
Your trying to compare detectors like cars, Which is better a Chevy or Ford? BOTH are top notch machines and all you need to do is pick one and learn what its telling you.
 
I have owned two Excal's and my Sister owns two also. Probably the best water machine out there, however it WILL break and the out of warranty IS costly. Quite often they break within the three year warranty so at least the repair cost is covered. The turnaround time for repairs really s**ks at least when my Sister and I dealt with them on several repairs. I changed over to the CZ21 with the 10.5 coil and I am digging deeper than my Excal. I have had to send send my 21 back for repair in which they changed the coil, but turnaround time and customer service was great. This is only my opinion, and I do own both. If money was no issue, and I bought a second new one like my sister did in order to have no down time while her other was being repaired, I guess I would still be using the Excal.
 
I also have heared that the Minelabs mess up more than the CZ's! I believe I will go with the CZ 21 with 8" coil and have less worries dealing with a detector malfunction and long repair downtime. Thanks for the replys guys!!
 
Heck I understand you have a CZ5 and are used to the tones so its a no brainer to go with the CZ21 which is basically a land CZ in a waterproof box locked in salt mode...

Excalibur is basically a Sovereign in a waterproof box and had not problem getting used to the medley of tones (sort of like John Phillips Sousa's following you around) but not the case for many who don't differiante tones well and lets face it going to have to learn a new unit.

To me probably a dead tie and either has their favorites and this is coming from a CZ guy who has used both so that ought to tell the forum something as personally would feel comfortable with either and do remember the troublesome pinpoint button of the CZ20 has been eliminated on the CZ21 so good luck in your choice...
 
Both are great detectors. The Excal needs to go on a straight shaft. Mine is modified to have a push button switch that puts it in a momentary all metal / pinpoint mode. In stock form, I'd go for the CZ. With the mods, I am using the Excal a little more at the ocean beaches.

I still prefer the CZ in brackish or fresh water. CZ does seem deeper in those environments.
My 2 cents.
Cheers,
tvr
 
Dive flag whats that?? OOPS! sorry i ran you over. I set up the Excal on a straight shaft for wading and CZ 21 for diving, works for me.
 
LOL Wading, what's that?? :nono: RARELY will you see me with a scoop!!! I also know my machine so well, I don't need another to learn. To each their own.
 
The tones on the Excal are very telling ....You can find the size of an object better than you can running the CZ .....You will be listenning to a constant threshold using the Excal that can get on your nerves at times ......The CZ is quiet and has a much more simplistic approach to it's tones .....They are both pretty much the same depth wise .....One may be deeper than the other at any given site , but on average they are both pretty equal ..... You really can't go wrong with ether one ....EXCEPT that Minelabs customer service has suffered over the last couple of years , and so has quality control .... They are also charging MORE for some of their product's also .....GO FIGURE !!......Jim
 
Hey Robert Up here in NH they drop the lakes in the fall for spring runoff. You ever tried diving in a foot of water or less, that's where my wading is done!:rofl:
 
LOL nooooo can't say as I have tried to dive in a foot of water or less!! They don't drop the lakes in Michigan!. SYNTHNUT, question for you. Just because I am curious. Why does it matter underwater what the size of an object is?

With all the very old toys, boat anchors, guns, tools, fishing lures, and other neat targets, I could care less what I am digging up. My dream is to find a thompson submachine gun. That might be a possibility because John Dillinger had a house on one of the lakes I play in.

We all have our different hunting styles and differences of opinion, but I don't mind digging a can top or two or a can or lid to a jar, just because I know other neat things dropped out of boats and sunk to the bottom never to be seen again. Even in 6' of water. That old plane I found was awsome to me. Along with the 4 brass boat propellers I have found.

LOL I for one like big targets.
 
Especially with the older CZ20 due to the design of the pin point button. Detuning with a CZ and getting the size of the target is very accurate once you know how to do it. Plus, the pin point button, when diving, is thumb activated....you don't have to turn a knob to go from discrim to pin point like on the Excal ( unless you modded it to have a pin point trigger).

Lastly, running in all metal ( ie autotune ) mode on a CZ, once learned, is very telling and you can figure out a lot about the target. Thing with that mode is, you have to use it for a long time, and in places not too trashy. Blaring, loud, wide signals turn out to be way different targets than softer, fainter smaller ones. Problem is, you have to dig up lots of targets in order to become familiar as to what they are and how they sounded.
 
The reason we use Excalibur 800 for saltwater is because the machine is a gold magnet! The Excals just love gold range targets and just seem to work very good on gold in the salt! I believe BBS and DD coils help with that. All in my group have switched to the 800. Some used to use CZ 20s but they found less and less gold as those with Excals... so they switched. In the salt Excaliburs seem to have the right balance/mix for efficiently finding gold jewelry.

I've never hunted freshwater with Excaliburs, but I would think they would work just as good there too. When I tried a CZ in the surf the problems I encountered were constantly trying to GB the 8 inch coil, and the unit was more difficult to swing in the water as the square shape gave more resistance. Plus the CZ wanted to float a bit and gave off constant false signals in DISC with SENS above 5. With an Excal I just set it and forget it- so to me the Excal is easier to use in the surf.

With that said, one should purchase a balance rod for the Excalibur, and I prefer the tones of the older blue-tube machines- though the Excal II is a bit more sensitive. Sometimes a bad thing. To me there is no doubt that the Fisher CZ 21 is a better overall design! The 8 inch 21 collapses without dis-assembly to fit in a suitcase for travel. I like the quick hip mount option of the 21 and the Hot Auto Tune mode. That's how I would hunt in the saltwater with a 21- volume/sens at max in Auto Tune, GB at 1, then target ID in DISC at 0. Plus, I've often played mind games... If I could only have 1 detector for the rest of my life... what would it be? For me the answer is simple- I would pick the CZ 21 8 inch and use it for everything- land or sea! I feel the 21 would make for a much better all-round hunter than the Excalibur.

If it has not already been mentioned, you should try your friends Excalibur first if you can. At least 2 or 3 times. You'll either love it or hate it. But if you find some gold, I bet I know which detector you will own! As far as reliability goes, that has never really concerned me. With the price of gold these days I've lost track with how many times I've paid for my Excals! I have 2 currently and even if they only lasted 1 year, would buy another! They just find the gold for me in the sea! But to tell the truth, I do not like using my 800 on the beach and would prefer the 21 for that. If you will only hunt freshwater, then a 21 would be a good choice. Dang, I may need to get a 21 myself now!
 
Well I can honestly say, I find more gold than my friends with Excal's here in fresh water. BOTH the Excal and the CZ are locked in salt water mode. I always hip mount my machine so no problem with the design. Neither machines find gold chains very well. I have only used my CZ in the surf for 3 weeks. Never gave me a bit of trouble with the GB. I have a 10" coil. I found 688 coins and one gold ring in those 3 weeks. Wish I would have been diving and not wading.

AS I said earlier, both are top notch machines and either one will give you results. Using it enough to learn it is the ticket.

Glad your finding gold seahunter. I seem to only find pulltabs and a little change.
 
Not much can be added to what has been said, other then for me..I love Both, Great machines, each will serve you well if you take the time to learn...Like scuba said
 
I visit a saltwater beach only once or twice in a five year period, with the way the economy is sometimes less than that. My buddy that's got the Excalibur uses his two to three times a year in Florida, he has a backup Excalibur I can get which he has used once with box and all along with the hip mount for 700 dollars so now I believe I am going to get it then if I don't like it I may sale it to someone who does! Is that a good price for one?
 
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