Latest wisdom on coil covers, particularly for water hunting?

[Spungehead]

Let me start by saying I've always been puzzled why some manufacturers do coils on water machines the way they do. I'm a big Minelab fan, but I don't get why they take what is essentially a half shell, throw in the guts of the coil, then fill it with some sort of epoxy (sometimes sloppily), and supply a coil cover which definitely should be used, given my experience with their Excalibur coils, while White's doesn't supply a cover (Dual Field in this instance), but seems to build a coil in a manner which doesn't require it.
It would seem that Minelab's being filled the way they are would make them more impervious to any sort of water intrusion, but my last factory 10" coil was under filled just a hair in a spot or two, which definitely led to the demise of the coil, but well after the life of the warranty. The DF clearly has some air in there (I hate the buoyancy as much as most), but seems pretty rugged, although I have not owned one long enough to really have a concrete opinion on that yet. So here are my questions..........

-Do you folks think the DF needs a coil cover? Have you found any negatives to the aftermarket coil weight available?

-Are most Excal users simply popping off the coil cover for cleaning after each use, or have you found long term success with glorping a bunch of silicone into the cover, then mashing it on to acheive a somewhat permanent installation? ....or are more people preferring marine epoxying the bare coil, to avoid the cover altogether? I guess truck bed liner has been used in the same way.

thanks for any opinions/experiences!
Spungehead
(Andy in NWFL)

 

[muggsc]

Two coats of marine epoxy. Then a couple coats of truck bed liner on mine(not sure you need it). Works good for me.
Cal

 

[dewcon4414]

Issue with bed liner and some epoxy is it voids your warranty. I feel the way the ML coils are built it needs that extra cussion the cover provides. But what seems to be the big issue is using your detector as a prop out there. By leaning on your detector while digging you put pressure on the ear area which may separate that shell from the epoxied or just plain cracking the ears. Ive cracked two of those THIN covers ML makes which shows significant wear..... id recommend a cover on the Xcal.

Dew

 

[muggsc]

I don't lean on mine a lot. I mostly use it for hunting treasure. If you have one under warranty by all means use the cover. You just have to keep it cleaned out. Mine is way out of warranty and have been using the epoxy for 4 years without an issue.
Thanks,
Cal

 

[Critterhunter]

For me it's spray on bed liner all the way. 4 or 5 coats that dry WELL for hours in between in full sun so they set up rock hard. If you put more on without doing that it can stay soft underneath. Search the beach forum for "bed liner" ALL WORDS ANY DATE and you'll see a bunch of info on which brands don't have metal or zinc in them and such and how to do it. Don't do it under warranty. I do it with all my land and water coils, as it drops a good bit of weight (ounces count at the end of a shaft after a long day) by not using the coil cover and is so much less hassle than cleaning under coil covers. Down the road if it wears through (easy to see) then give it some more coats. Be sure to also spray the sides of the coil. Especially important if water hunting to prevent sand abrassion.