I own two detectors now, a T2 and a F75... they are not good for detecting in wet salt water sand... almost useless in really wet salty sand at the waters edge.
I am considering a water detector to use when I go to the beach and also to use in fresh water at other times. I am not going to use the detector under water, I just want a detector that I know is designed to be used in water. My water detecting will be limited to a foot or less at the waters edge.
You've put some thought into this - smart fella! Okay, so now we have the rest of the story. You want a machine that works optimally in salt AND fresh water and has no worries with water immersion... although you expect to not out more than shin deep.
First, take a look at some of the awesome stuff folks like gulfhunter, bda, RobRcer, bulgarian and others pull from the "mine" - knee to neck deep water. Aside from physical limitations or a phobic fear of marine critters, why limit yourself to just a foot of water? The tides move things around a lot and there is loot to be found in deeper water. You'll want a detector that can handle that, should you decide to give it a whirl.
Also, dual use in fresh and salt water is a daunting challenge for manufacturers to get right. To date the only ones that really pull it off are the multi frequency VLF and PI instruments.
Both have their place, and their adherents, but the PI's have a drawback: they dont discriminate iron worth a flip. Depending on the ferrous trash at any given beach, they will have you moving alot of sand for bobby pins and ferrous EO's. If you dont mind that, then that gives you some more options. With all the ferrous trash extant at the average beach site, I consider it a con against the PI unit's.
Popular multi-freq VLF units are:
- Minelab Excalibur.
The Top Dog on the beach among surf pirates. $$$$
- Fisher CZ-20 (Out of production, but the CZ-21 is coming out soon. Fisher to reopen repair service for the CZ-20, as well) CZ-20, $$$. CZ-21, $$$$.
- Whites Beach Hunter ID
Seems a good compromise on function and cost. From the posts in this thread, its obvious that some of the gripes you hear about with the BHID are unfounded. $$$
Some popular PI units:
- Whites PI Pro
Many supporters. $$$
- Garrett Sea Hunter Mk II ($$-$$$) and Infinium ($$$$)
The old standby and it's offspring. The Sea Hunter was originally designed as a dive unit.
- Tesoro Sand Shark
Solid and simple $$-$$$
- Fisher Impulse (out of prodiction, AFAIK... meaning with New Age Fisher Corp, there is probably no service available) $$-$$$
Kinda short lived - again, I think it, too, was designed for dive use.
There are others, of course. Mostly specialty units and a good bit costlier than these.
There is one I haven't mentioned until now. That's the Tesoro Tiger Shark. It has a SALT mode, yet the reports of its ability to function in the surf are mixed, mostly on the negative side.
I have one and can tell you little of its surfside ability, since I dont make it to the beach but once or twice a year. On the other hand, I can tell you that it is an excellent fresh water unit, which I use often.
Basically it is a Bandido or Eldorado in a waterproof case....thats good stuff.
I made some comments about it on the Tesoro forum if you care to read them:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,566970,567007#msg-567007
In the main though, I suggest you consider fresh and salt water as two separate environments (they are). There are only a few detectors that cross over the fresh/salt water boundary well. This is in your favor, as it narrows your choices considerably.
This was fun and I enjoyed looking at this from your perspective. Thanks for the post.
