Lower shaft twisting

[juit]

If they fix this is no bibbie man

 

[Jason in Enid]

All I can say from what iam reading its disgusting.

Iam so pleased that I did not order one and I was one of the detectorists at its launch during the Detectival 2017 rally in the UK..

The rest of us are happy you dont have one either. Why are you here on the Equinox page if you have no desire to own one?

 

[Hotrod65]

Update ---- Although I am satisfied with Minelab stepping up and replacing the shaft under warranty, I am quite disappointed on how they handled it. I was informed that I had to ship the failed lower shaft to them using a pre-paid UPS label. That is fine, but they refuse to send the new shaft to me until they have the confirmation it has been processed for shipping to them. I asked if I can simply buy one as I do not want to be w/o my detector for any length of time and I have a vacation starting Monday July 2nd which involves taking the Nox. They advise they have no shaft parts available for purchase for the Equinox.....But assure me they will get the shaft to me before we leave for vacation. Well I am sure you can guess where this is going, I shipped the shaft to them on 6-22 at 7am Pacific time and send the tracking number to the person I was communicating with in service. I get an immediate response the new shaft will go out in the mail! Great....well it did not get shipped until today 6-26 and the FedEx tracking number says delivery by end of day July 2nd....when we are GONE ON VACATION! What kind of service is this? Seriously could they have used a slower carrier, why not USPS priority mail? Now I will have no detector for vacation! Very frustrating to say the least.

 

[jas415]

JBM, you are really missing out on a great machine! For me the 'wobbling' has not been any kind of issue and I would bet that around the world there are less than 20-30 of them with the issue. Most of them were initially because the user did not actually tighten the lock down! Noise cancel is not an issue, seeing the screen is not an issue, it doesnt go black in the sun, charging is very simple, and on and on!

Actually I think it is overall the absolute best machine ever built by anyone for the price! But, if one chooses to not get one, great. But, again, you are missing out on a great machine!

 

[Neil]

Get an Andersons shaft. They use a double button with holes tha doesnt allow the shaft that movement. In the water you put far more torque on every thing. ... from cuff to coil. It really takes a tole on the locks. With the sand and water as a lubricant it wears those locks. I recommend using the ML shaft as a travel or back up shaft. Even the Andersons 3 piece shafts stresses they arent for daily use.

I dont have an Equinox but a suggestion to try might be to see if the tesoro middle shaft fits the equinox rod. Its double holed and it would be easy enough to drill the other hole for the button to come thru on the equinox lower rod. Thats like a $25 dollar fix if it fits.
HH
Neil

 

[Hotrod65]

I will be ordering an aftermarket for daily use and keep the stock Minelab for travel. Unless they improved the cam locks and add additional row of button holes the same thing is going to happen again. When using the shaft in the ocean in 1-2' of moving water there is a lot of torque on the coil as well as sand mixed in the water, not the best environment for an adjustable shaft.

 

[Digger 45]

I have the wobble in the shaft also, it isn't a big problem until i get it in the water then it is real noticeable, i can see the slack where the button is in the hole in the middle shaft but the lock should tighten to take care of that, but even when the lock is as tight as it will go there is still slack and wobble in the unit.

 

[Hotrod65]

In follow up as to Minelab's handling of the replacement of the lower shaft, after sharing my disappointment that their promise of getting the shaft to me before my vacation was not met, they stepped up and shipped the shaft via UPS 2 day air, so should have it before I leave, thank God! But that is just part of the problem, the middle shaft which is on back-order is the culprit with those lousy cam locks. I asked if they are redesigning that part and they have not replied to that question.

 

[SlDigger]

Just tour my 800 down to send in for the wobble in the lower shaft sounds like I might be without it for a while since they don't have any middle shifts .
Hope that isn't he case I have only had it for 1-1/2 weeks before it started to wobble.
Mine lab have sent me a UPS label to return it and have not sad anything about time.


Will let everyone know about the time line and the repair

 

[nagant]

I had this problem years a ago with a similar type shaft. Took a piece of a beer can wrapped it round the inner shaft and life went on

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

That doesn't look like wear to me, it looks like the hole got blown out or fractured during drilling.

 

[nagant]

Well the holes is too big or the pin isn't mounted stable so it twists with the shaft. I wrapped some PTFE thread tape at 2 spots, helps but no cure.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

Well the holes is too big or the pin isn't mounted stable so it twists with the shaft. I wrapped some PTFE thread tape at 2 spots, helps but no cure.

I saw that ML used a round spring wire yet these snap lock pins typically are flat spring steel that might be less likely to twist.

 

[Hotrod65]

That doesn't look like wear to me, it looks like the hole got blown out or fractured during drilling.

I assure you no drilling, it's all wear. The issue n my analysis is the locking collar. The cam lock has a pad inside that when tightened puts pressure on the lower shaft and holds it by friction. The button is mainly used for length adjustment and is not designed to stop the shaft from twisting but does provide some mechanical assist. When using the detector in salt water the friction from the locking collar is not enough to keep the lower shaft from twisting at the end of each swing of the shaft. The button now becomes the part that keeps the shaft from twisting. The play when new was nil, however I noticed after a month there was quite a bit more play. As it got worse and worse then the only thing keeping the lower shaft from twisting 360 degrees was the button pin which basically wore out the hole. The cut carbon fiber on the edge of the hole is not strong and did not hold it's shape. I assume if you only use in dry environment with no water and the extra drag on the coil you may never have an issue. But for beach hunters it's a different story. My son's 800 is doing the exact same thing, he taped it up with Gorilla tape before it got as bad as mine. I have to assume Minelab is going to redesign the middle section.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

That doesn't look like wear to me, it looks like the hole got blown out or fractured during drilling.

I assure you no drilling, it's all wear. The issue n my analysis is the locking collar. The cam lock has a pad inside that when tightened puts pressure on the lower shaft and holds it by friction. The button is mainly used for length adjustment and is not designed to stop the shaft from twisting but does provide some mechanical assist. When using the detector in salt water the friction from the locking collar is not enough to keep the lower shaft from twisting at the end of each swing of the shaft. The button now becomes the part that keeps the shaft from twisting. The play when new was nil, however I noticed after a month there was quite a bit more play. As it got worse and worse then the only thing keeping the lower shaft from twisting 360 degrees was the button pin which basically wore out the hole. The cut carbon fiber on the edge of the hole is not strong and did not hold it's shape. I assume if you only use in dry environment with no water and the extra drag on the coil you may never have an issue. But for beach hunters it's a different story. My son's 800 is doing the exact same thing, he taped it up with Gorilla tape before it got as bad as mine. I have to assume Minelab is going to redesign the middle section.

I meant damaged during manufacturing not by you so sorry if that was not clear. Okay now we are getting somewhere, underwater use got it. A three piece lightweight travel shaft isn't going to hold up well to underwater use imo. Salt water beaches are a harsh environment even if you only hunt the wet sand, in the water more so. I think a 1 piece straight shaft is in order.

 

[Hotrod65]

No worries.

I hunt the low tide which is usually in wet sand to 6" of water, the water coming in and out from the waves so it's moving all the time, I'd say the coil is 50% of the time under water not the entire detector. I already ordered a Plugger 36" shaft. Just hate spending another $100 for a shaft, the lowest tech item on the detector.

 

[Terra1959]

Just a Pluggers lower shaft lock will fix this issue for a few $

If you water hunt, drilling a drain hole in the lowest rod (above the coil bolt) to let sand & water out may help with unwanted weight low down - also helps when rinsing out after a hunt
Just be sure to go up a inch or two before drilling as the rod to coil bracket sits inside the plastic lower rod for a short length upwards.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

No worries.

I hunt the low tide which is usually in wet sand to 6" of water, the water coming in and out from the waves so it's moving all the time, I'd say the coil is 50% of the time under water not the entire detector. I already ordered a Plugger 36" shaft. Just hate spending another $100 for a shaft, the lowest tech item on the detector.

Minelab is damned if they do and damned if they don't. lol For years people complained about how heavy their machines are, built like tanks but weighed a ton. Maybe they went too far the other direction on the EQ.

 

[Hotrod65]

Just received the Plugger 36" one piece shaft, very nicely made and the lower shaft lock is very tight, twisting issue and aluminum corrosion issue resolved.

 

[zac]

I bought a carbon fiber tube on EBay for $23.56 and a clamp from Plugger for $10. One hack saw cut and three holes. It’s a very simple job and it feels so much better than the stock rod. Just make sure to start with smaller drill bits and work your way up incrementally to the correct size. Also tape it where ever your cutting or drilling. I think the tube size was 1000 mm long, 22mm OD and 20mm ID. There’s also a video of someone making one on YouTube. Good luck!