Garrett Infinium

[LarryL]

Hello, All,

Relatively new to metal detecting although it's been a longtime desire.
I'm at the coast in Washington, and have tried some detecting at the beach. I'd like a detector that works well on land, at the beach and in the surf, both fresh and salt water. I have a Tesoro Compadre (used) and a Famous Trails (really cheap and really used). At the beach, the Compadre doesn't work at all (expected) and the FT works minimally.
Saw an ad for a used 2009 Garrett Infinium, for sale by the second owner, reported in excelent condition.
Any issues for a machine this old? What's a reasonable price? What's the best way to check it out?
Has anyone else bought a used one and sent it to Garrett to check it out?
What was the experience like, and how much did it cost?
Was anything wrong, and if so, how much were the repairs?
Am I better off getting a new machine with a warranty?
Is the Infinium going to be replaced with a better machine anytime soon?
Thanks in advance.

Larry

 

[John-Edmonton]

If you are relatively new to metal detecting, I wouldn't suggest a PI such as the Infinium. It's a dig all machine, with some discrimination abilities. I did buy a used one, it worked well for 3 hunts, then I had to send it in to Garrett to be repaired. It turns out that I needed a newer coil, one with the thicker coil wire to make it function better in the water.. Ifr at all possible, get the serial# and call Garrett. They will be able to tell you of it's history and about the newer coil.

What's it worth? I think 5-600 dollars if it is running properly. Below is an article I wrote some years back:

Is The Infinium The Holy Grail Metal Detector?

[size=x-large]"The Infinium does have some discrimination characteristics. It's not like an accumulative type or notch found on VLF type detectors. In fact, the Infinium is entirely different then any other type of detector. What the Infinium can do as far as discrimination is concerned, is give a tone HIGH-LOW for iron, aluminum and gold. It also gives off a LOW-HIGH signal for silver, copper and again iron. So iron and other junk is always the wild card in both types of signals, as it is a Pulse Induction type of detector. However, the Infinium also comes with an iron check, which again helps with getting a better probability of what type (iron or not?) target it is. Now the Infinium has a bit of a learning curve, and if you are new to metal detecting and lack basic theory on how the machines operate, don't buy one. It will be a lesson in frustration for you.

Now having said that, other little techniques are on your learning curve to be discovered. For instance, the smoothness/roughness of the tone gives a hint as to whether it is an iron rusted target or not. The "Sustain" length of time that the Infinium gives after reading a target gives you a hint as to its size. The Infinium gives a double bleep on bobby pins and wire. So......if you only want to dig gold, only dig the HIGH-LOW signals. That removes a lot of signals that you can leave in the ground. Also, use the iron check, which even cuts out more targets. If you want to dig mostly coins, including old deep silver, dig only the LOW-HIGH signals. Again....use the iron check.

Is the Infinium the holy grail of detectors? No it isn't. It's a PI and loves iron, like all PI's. Iron can not be discriminated out like a VLF detector. But it goes DEEP! It must be ground balanced and a proper frequency must be picked for maxamum performance. I have pulled rings out at over 14 inches with a nice strong signal. It is one of (if not the) deepest machines available. It was designed to get gold in some of the highest mineralized soils in the world. It works in all salt water/beach environments and is water proof too.

Is it a good coin shooter? Perhaps, but only in areas where there are few targets. It's not practical for park environments, as it picks up all metals, even those that your VLF will miss. I have had some success using it in the woods, digging only the LOW-HIGH signals. It should also perform well at relic hunting too.

Where it worked best for me was in hunted out beaches where most of the targets had been removed. The best beach hunters dig ALL targets. The Infinium isn't for everyone, and is not a do it all detector. But if you give it the time it deserves to learn it properly, and use it in its proper environment, it is a killer. I have my best gold ring year ever in 15 years using this machine."[/size]

 

[Overvoltage]

Well, that about says it all. I definitely have to agree with John, I would not recommend it to someone just getting into detecting either. You will be hard pressed to find one machine that will work well in all the areas you mentioned. The Infinium is great on the beach and in the surf (get a straight shaft for it) as far as using it on land such as parks, well I once read an analogy where someone refered to using the Infinitum in a park to driving in the fog with your high beams on. For what you would spend on a used Finney, I would recommend getting an AT Pro. Hunt everywhere with it. Save your findings and when you have enough to buy the Infinium you will be experienced enough to not get frustrated with it and you will have the ATPro to fall back on.

 

[Dancer]

Yep, the two above posts sums it up very well. The Infinium is not an entry machine. But when your ready its quite a weapon.