Is it worth upgrading to a 10inch coil for my CZ7a?

[CZFisher-man]

Hi, I use a Fisher CZ7a fitted with the stock 8inch coil and was wondering if it would be worth buying the 10inch coil for the CZ.

I only do beach metal detecting mostly on wet sand, so have vast amounts of open beach to search.

Would it be a worthwhile investment or a good upgrade, will I gain any benefits from the extra 2 inches in the coil size?.

Also would the fact that it would be a new coil be better than my stock coil which is probably quite old now, although it is still in good condition, do coils deteriorate and loose performance with age?, if so a new coil would be good idea, or would that not really matter?

Or should I just stick with what I have, the stock 8inch coil on my CZ7a.


Thanks for any advice, info, comments and replies, all greatly appreciated.

 

[NEBeachcomber]

You'll gain a little more depth and have better ground coverage. Unfortunately you"ll also gain a little more forearm muscle in the process.

Assuming your CZ7A is shaft mounted (not a CZ7A "Pro")... it can't be hipmounted easily. As a result, I think you might find the 10-1/2" search coil to be a little on the heavy side for long periods of use?

If it were me... I'd buy a used 10-1/2" (at a reasonable price) and give it a try. You can always sell the coil later if you don't like it.

-NEBeachcomber

 

[CZFisher-man]

Hi, thanks for that advice.

Just one other thing I noticed is that their are 2 different shaped 10.5 inch coils, one is the same as the stock coil shape but of course slightly bigger and the other coil is a different design and doesn't have the hole in the middle of the coil?, if you get me?

What is the difference and which is best?

Thanks.

EDIT: I also just noticed Sun-Ray do a FZ-12, 12.5" spider concentric coil which will fit my CZ7a.

 

[NEBeachcomber]

Just one other thing I noticed is that their are 2 different shaped 10.5 inch coils, one is the same as the stock coil shape but of course slightly bigger and the other coil is a different design and doesn't have the hole in the middle of the coil?, if you get me?

What is the difference and which is best?

I suspect the solid coil may be for the 1200 Series detectors (1260, 1265, 1266... etc) and the open coil is for the CZ Series.

I'm not certain but I think Fisher also made an open "Spider" type coil for the 1266x detector as well?

As to which coil is best... I would suggest the Fisher 10-1/2" Quicksilver spider coil as it was designed for CZ Detectors

EDIT: I also just noticed Sun-Ray do a FZ-12, 12.5" spider concentric coil which will fit my CZ7a.

From what I've read the Sun Ray FZ-12 is a great search coil and is in popular demand. These coils are no longer manufactured and used FZ-12 coils are bringing more than they sold for when new.


-NEBeachcomber

 

[CZFisher-man]

Not sure if I was getting confused but is the loop and the spider coil the same or different?

 

[NEBeachcomber]

Loop and coil are other names used for "search coil".

A "spider coil" is a round, open search coil that I believe was originally designed by Fisher and can be found in 8" or 10-1/2".

There are also some search coils which are "solid" and have no openings inside of the circumference of the search coil, and others that are of an open ring design (hence the "loop" term... I think?) .


=NEBeachcomber

 

[CZFisher-man]

Hi, what it was, I thought that the 8 inch coil that came with my CZ7a(with the stem fixing at the rear of the coil) was also available in a 10.5 inch version the same shape but of course bigger.

BUT- the 10.5 inch CZ coil that people often upgrade with is a different shape with the stem fixing in the centre of the coil, although it is still a round shape.

Thanks, sorry to sound so confusing!.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

10.5 CZ stock coil has a slightly different cosmetic design but is an open coil..Benefits would be mostly coverage with a slight depth increase..As a larger coil sees more the 8 would handle the wet salt sand better.

 

[pasttom]

You smarter guys can correct me if I am wrong, but it is worth noting that increasing coil size from 8 to 10.5 inches virtually doubles the volume of area/datum the MD must interpret to rend a response to what it 'sees'. Therefore a slight decrease on swing speed would be required for optimal or even equal performance. In other words, you will get more ground and deeper but at a somewhat slower pace and for sure a heavier unit. I had high hopes when I got a 10.5 for my CZ5 as I have a chest mount and thought the weight would be negligible, nope. A few hours and I am nearing dead arm territory. I haven't noticed any better finds. But that is one small test group and a not very rigorous test. For my money (figure of speech) working on technique and maybe better headphones and/or scoop would yield better results. IMHO
Tom

 

[Coilfisher]

Well, I just put a 10.5" spider on my CZ-3D, and I can tell you it is a heavy son-of-a-gun.
So much, that I may not even use it long.
Just feels akward.
I love Fisher detectors, but they really should have made a light-weight coil for the 10.5".
I do not know what they were thinking.
I am sure underwater--you don't notice it.
I am being fair and honest in this regard.
Try it and see. I am sure you will get more depth.