DON'T Go in the water ! ! ! :confused:

[squirrel1]

Something else that may help is to take the battery off the detector and leave it off until you use it. This will allow the seal to relax and not take a set.

 

[Jason in TN]

This is just a idea that may help, on the rubber gasket try a little vasoline, it works on pool pumps to get a water tight seal.

Don't know about vasoline it may damage the rubber it is petroleum based product. I have used 100% silicone the non hardning kind on every waterproof seal I have had on a detector and it has worked well.

Jason

 

[Grumpyolddiver]

I talked to Brian this afternoon and Minelab will send out a new head and battery pack.Should have by early next week.I have thought of all kinds of ideas as to this leaking issue.And so far am wondering what other than put it together and let it float in the bathtub first to see if there is any seepage.Just a thought, is it possible that there could be some flexing between the battery and the detector when sweeping back and forth in the water??? I Really,Really Don,t Want to have any more water problems but it works so well in the water !!! All help is appreciated Grumpy

 

[ZOFCHAK]

WELL........... I Really like the way this detector can separate gold from the iron. But.......... If the battery compartment leaks after less than 20 minutes what's the use in taking it anywhere near the water. Minelab stepped up and gave me a new detector.( Thank You Minelab)And after less than an hour this one has drowned the battery again. !!!! I have a call in to Brian at Minelab and am waiting for a call back.At this point I am real glad I didn't sell My E-trac. Has anyone else had water problems besides me???? And yes the o-ring was properly in place both times.The battery never got more than 16 inch's below the surface of the water at any point either. So now I have a great water machine that can't go near the water &^%^*(%##@%&. REALLY Grumpy Now , Doug

That seal was a concern of mine since the moment I saw the design. I'm probably still going to buy a CTX, but only for land and shallow water detecting.



My concerns about the seal prior to the public release.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?86,1708344,1708344#msg-1708344

 

[Jason in TN]

I would use a light coating of 100% silicone non hardning type on the oring think this will help and take care of your problem.

Jason

 

[Sand Scoop]

I also had a small amount of moisture in the battery compartment the first time in the water,Also had the green corrosion on the terminals which I cleaned with WD40 and Q-Tips, Since then I've had it in the water (salt and fresh)quite a few times without any problems.

 

[Jressman]

I have had mine really wet, but not under water. After seeing this I will follow the issue closely and won't submerge my CTX until its resolved. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[nail finder]

Does anyone have a picture of what the gasket should look like. I dont see a gasket in my ctx.

 

[GpSnoopy]

Does anyone have a picture of what the gasket should look like. I dont see a gasket in my ctx.

There's a good picture of it here from "tmanly" in a previous thread.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?86,1715277

 

[nail finder]

I don't have one of those I guess I need to call minelab

 

[C&RHunter]

I had the CTX in a fresh water lake for 2 hours this morning, with about 1-1/2 hours up to my shoulders. I left everything intact and washed the sand off, after arriving home.....Instead of pulling the battery right then, I decided to wait until the machine dried off. Well guess what. I just pulled the battery out about 10 minutes ago. There was some water drops inside and the green corrosion had started. It was still kind of a goo, so I used q-tips and an unused tooth brush to clean all the green stuff off the contacts and out of the crevasses, and wiped out any moisture. I wonder if a seal could be made to go just around the electrical connection area, in addition to the red seal? I will call my Dealer tomorrow and talk with him before calling Minelab........And to make things worse, I just recovered some clad change and a junk ring during my hunt.....Not a good day.......

I just got off the phone with the Minelab customer service facility. They are going to replace the head assembly and battery from my CTX, just as with grumpyolddiver. Received my return shipping label and am heading out to drop off the return now..........The replacement will probably not get under water until the solution to the problem has been made...........HH

 

[Reeseb]

No issues with mine at all and many hours in the water. I coat my gasket with a little silicone grease like I do with my Excal connector. I think this good practice for all water seals. Keep it clean, properly fit and lightly greased.

 

[Jason in TN]

No issues with mine at all and many hours in the water. I coat my gasket with a little silicone grease like I do with my Excal connector. I think this good practice for all water seals. Keep it clean, properly fit and lightly greased.

I had said that and agree 100% pure silicone grease is the way to go put it on mine the first day I got it.

Jason

 

[grouser]

great advice and I will add this,,,,,, if your are the type to leave your battery on the charger as soon as you get home,,,,,, and leave it there untill the next hunt then you need to COVER THE CONTROL HEAD while it sitting there collecting dust ,,,,, one flake of dust or long cat hair and you are asking for trouble,,,, JMHO

 

[greenmeanie]

If a cat hair can make it leak then I say design issue.

 

[grouser]

it's not designed to work 3 meters under water with a foreign matter stuck between the o-ring and battery,,, come on really?,,,, don't split (cat) hairs with me here you know my intention

 

[Jason in TN]

A t kind of dirt or yes even a hair can make a gasket leak. The gasket could have been made a bit thicker think it would have been better. At least they are taking care of detectors that leak so far and replacing them.

Jason

 

[squirrel1]

Boys and girls, the pressure that's applied to the seal assembly aint much when using the latches. The average human hair is 110 microns wide. And yes this could cause a leak. I really believe the gasket should have been made a little thicker. But even if this was the case the gasket would still need to be kept clean along with the housing and still changed at regular intervals. I don't plan to submerge mine, it' s not the reason I bought it. But if I was going to submerge I would keep the battery unit off the machine until I got ready to use it. I would probably have me 2 or 3 seals and use those seals for my water hunting only. And take them out and store until my next water hunt ensued. I find it very difficult to ever make the setup on the CTX water tight over the long haul. I can see the latches wearing with time increasing tolerances causing leaks. A new seal applied on every outing should decrease water leak instances. But I'll bet we cotinue to see some in the future. I hope I'm wrong, but we'll see.

 

[C&RHunter]

I have had my CTX in the water a total of 4-5 times. I always made a visual inspection of the seal for something on it the first 3-4 times. Before my last hunt, I used an unused toothbrush and gently brushed around the entire seal and visually checked for anything on the seal, just to be safe.........That was the hunt that the seal leaked for the first time. I don't think it was a case of something being on the seal. (and yes, it was seated in the groove it's supposed to be in). And remember, the battery area of my machine on the last hunt was about 12-14" below the water surface for about 1-1/2 hours, not even close to the 3 meter rating where the pressure is considerably higher. I don't know why the seal leaked, but feel that the seal could probably be some thicker to create a better seal, between the battery and the case. I am confident that Minelab will come up with a solution to the problem, but I will not get the battery below the water surface until then.....I will add, I have only used the CTX in fresh water. As far as operation goes in the water, it operated flawlessly the all the times, (total of 10-12 hours) it has been in the water.........HH

 

[Ray-Mo.]

In fresh water lake and she did well putting both gold and silver in the scoop.Guess I better keep a close eye on her though.....