sgoss66
Well-known member
I can't speak for any other shaft manufacturers, but I can say that in my case, I spent ALOT of time way back during the design stage of my lower rods, working and testing to get the width of the lower rod piece (and the washers) "just right," so that when tightened down to the point where the coil won't "flop," the coil ears are vertical -- and thus not "stressed." Yes, as jayhop noted, I could see how if a lower rod's washers (of ANY brand) are VERY worn, making the "width" of the plastic piece of the lower rod that fits between the coil ears smaller, then the tendency to crank down on the coil bolt more -- as the washers become thinner and thinner -- could eventually result in "bent-in" coil ears, and possible, eventual breakage. So, yes, inspecting your washers periodically is not a bad idea...BUT...
The bottom line here, which Minelab seemingly refuses to acknowledge or address, is that THEIR COIL EARS ARE MADE TOO THIN, AND TOO "BRITTLE." Let's face it, the only reason why the coil ears "bend inward" in the first place, when the coil bolt is tightened "too much," is because of how THIN the ears are. Anyone here who has used other coils in the past -- even most Minelab coils -- knows that these coil ears are thinner than most. The ears on most other coils are thicker -- and in some cases MUCH thicker, and thus breakage has not been an issue in the past. Anyone who has used, for instance, a Detech coil for an FBS machine, in the past, knows what a "beefy" coil ear looks like. I would be awfully surprised if anyone ever broke a Detech FBS coil ear. Bottom line, coil ear breakage over the past many years has been a relatively rare occurrence on most other machines, as compared to the relatively "frequent" issues with the Equinox's ears. I am actually shocked at some of the things I've heard that Minelab has said to customers, trying to "shift blame" to us Equinox users, including that our machines "are simply being used too much/too heavily."
I'm disappointed that Minelab has tried to place the blame on "customer usage," as opposed to simply acknowledging that in their attempts to make the machine as light as possible by using as little plastic as possible, their design included coil ears that are simply too thin/weak to hold up to the stresses that are sometimes placed on them. It would have been alot smarter for Minelab, in my opinion, to admit the issue early on, and simply adjust their injection mold that produces the "outer shells" of the coils (including the coil ears), instead of alienating customers by essentially telling us "it's our fault." Their failure to address this issue is going to become a much bigger deal, now that our machines are beginning to fall out of warranty (mine already has...)
Steve
The bottom line here, which Minelab seemingly refuses to acknowledge or address, is that THEIR COIL EARS ARE MADE TOO THIN, AND TOO "BRITTLE." Let's face it, the only reason why the coil ears "bend inward" in the first place, when the coil bolt is tightened "too much," is because of how THIN the ears are. Anyone here who has used other coils in the past -- even most Minelab coils -- knows that these coil ears are thinner than most. The ears on most other coils are thicker -- and in some cases MUCH thicker, and thus breakage has not been an issue in the past. Anyone who has used, for instance, a Detech coil for an FBS machine, in the past, knows what a "beefy" coil ear looks like. I would be awfully surprised if anyone ever broke a Detech FBS coil ear. Bottom line, coil ear breakage over the past many years has been a relatively rare occurrence on most other machines, as compared to the relatively "frequent" issues with the Equinox's ears. I am actually shocked at some of the things I've heard that Minelab has said to customers, trying to "shift blame" to us Equinox users, including that our machines "are simply being used too much/too heavily."
I'm disappointed that Minelab has tried to place the blame on "customer usage," as opposed to simply acknowledging that in their attempts to make the machine as light as possible by using as little plastic as possible, their design included coil ears that are simply too thin/weak to hold up to the stresses that are sometimes placed on them. It would have been alot smarter for Minelab, in my opinion, to admit the issue early on, and simply adjust their injection mold that produces the "outer shells" of the coils (including the coil ears), instead of alienating customers by essentially telling us "it's our fault." Their failure to address this issue is going to become a much bigger deal, now that our machines are beginning to fall out of warranty (mine already has...)
Steve
