More 10x12 SEF Info To Consider

[fsa46]

After a total of only about 10 hours on my 10x12 SEF I thought I'd blow the sand out around the edges of the coil cover. There seemed to be more than expected and a lot of water kept coming out as I blew it out.

I decided to remove the cover...WOW, I couldn't believe the amount of sand inside the cover in such a short time, I mean a LOT, ( wish I had taken a picture).

Anyway, I decided to clean it up real good and when it dries I'll put it back on and put some type of sealent, ( Shoe Goo, Goop or something similar ) around the edges.

Although I wasn't having any type of problem, it wasn't good. I don't like to constantly be removing my cover so I'll address the issue before it becomes a problem.

Just thought I'd pass it along because of all the interest in these SEF coils.

 

[deepdiger60]

After a total of only about 10 hours on my 10x12 SEF I thought I'd blow the sand out around the edges of the coil cover. There seemed to be more than expected and a lot of water kept coming out as I blew it out.

I decided to remove the cover...WOW, I couldn't believe the amount of sand inside the cover in such a short time, I mean a LOT, ( wish I had taken a picture).

Anyway, I decided to clean it up real good and when it dries I'll put it back on and put some type of sealent, ( Shoe Goo, Goop or something similar ) around the edges.

Although I wasn't having any type of problem, it wasn't good. I don't like to constantly be removing my cover so I'll address the issue before it becomes a problem.

Just thought I'd pass it along because of all the interest in these SEF coils.

Thats amazing the covers always seem to be a tight fit but somehow sand and dirt get,s in there , the coils i use on beaches i always seal the covers 1 less thing to worry about , i use DAP 100% RTV silicone marine sealant it stays soft and it is playable if need be it peels right off . Jim

 

[Finderskeeper]

I go without a cover. I use......NOTHING!

I find that the cover is not really needed as I am very careful and do not bounce my coil off the ground much.

I will also say this. I have found that after using the 10x12 in the Gulf of Mexico for quite a while now, I have to sometimes run the sensitivity down to the sub aqua levels especially in the gurgling surf. It is an awesome water coil but needs to be throttled back a bit in salt water. It still outperforms most other coils that I have used. Very stable and deep even in the water.

With the cover on, I was having problems with falsing and as everyone else states, water and sand incursion under the cover. I tried sealing the cover on with Goop and even other sealants, but it seems that no matter what I did, the cover would get water into it and also really fine sand. I ended up dumping the cover.

Now I may eventually seal the bottom with truck bed spray, but I have heard that you have to be careful which brand you use as some brands have ingredients in it that is detrimental to RF which the coil uses and so makes it perform poorly.

So far, I have found that no cover is better for me.

 

[Critterhunter]

Do a search in this forum or in particular the beach forum for "bed liner" EXACT PHRASE ANY DATE and you'll find the brands people use. Never heard of the coil signal being hurt due to RF issues. Mainly the talk was about any minerals or metals that might be in the spray, like say zinc to retard rust.

I used the Rustoleum brand. People just spray whatever brand they buy heavy onto a piece of cardboard first and then scan over that in both disc (to see if it nulls or such) and then in all metal so see if there is any reaction. If not then it's good to go far as I've read. I did that with the Rustoleum bed liner spray.

What's cool is that it only adds about 2/10ths of an ounce or so if you put say 4 or 5 coats on. Be sure to do the sides of the coil too as sand will wear away coils there as well. Some even do the tops of their coils and the finish looks factory fresh thanks to the ripple pattern of the spray, like a factory coil casing. Saw a WOT done top and bottom and it looked killer.

I used blue painters tape to protect the top of my coils. Next time I give it a re-do I won't even tape the top. Just over any coil decals and give the top a light coating 1 time once the bottom/sides have 4 or 5 coats. The trick is to let each coat dry very well before the next, like 3 or 4 hours in the hot sun, otherwise the inner coats may never get rock hard like they should.

On coils that are already roughed up from use with scratches I don't sand, but if it's smooth and new then sand for a better stick. Then clean with rubbing alchohol to get any oils or dirt off. Prep for that first coat is key, then the others just spray right on one after the other.

Found this stuff is thick so if too heavy of a coat is put on it'll run in thick drips. Be careful of that if not taping over top of coil. Light application with each coat is the trick.

A year or two down the road if you see the spray wearing through just spray a few more coats on it.

I tried fixing a friend's 800BBS coil (the old heavy one) on his Excalibur that had wore down to the seams and they cracked since he didn't use a coil cover for many years. I made the mistake of filling those tiny seam gaps with some Shoe Goo and then spraying over that with 4 or 5 coats of the bed liner. The sand ate up the Shoe Goo real quick and wore it away. I should have just filled those gaps with heavier coats of bed liner. He went on to use epoxy on the coil and it has held up well, although it looks terrible being white. I probably would have mixed a black die in the epoxy to make it look better.

That coil, even with large gaps in the coil casing, still was working fine in water, due to this coil (like most coils for the Sov/Excal) being epoxy filled. Still, I wouldn't trust that, which is why we decided to do something about it. Eventually anyway I could see that coil's casing coming apart in two pieces with further wear if it wasn't stopped.

 

[dewcon4414]

For repairs you are better off with LocTite marine epoxy or aqua seal. Im old school more so on the beach than dirt hunting. I went thru 2 coil covers in 6 mos. they wore throw on the corners. Then i stated putting LocTite on the covers to harden them. No problems since and the coil does add 1/8 cover and 1/8 air gap for those of us who really make the sand fly. The BBS machines arent as picky about a little sand under the cover like the FBS is.... plus on the gulf not a lot of minerals anyway. Takes a second to pop off the cover..... and inspect the coil. I can tell you once you put bed liner spray on IF you go back to using the coil cover the sand will get imbeded in the spray unlike epoxy. Those of you with warranties.... the use of bedliner spray or not using a skid plate can void your warranty on any ML coil. I dont know what Kelleycos policy is on their coil.

Ive used the SEF on my Exp since they came out.... it never comes off. For the price its just an impressive coil worth having.

Dew

 

[fsa46]

For repairs you are better off with LocTite marine epoxy or aqua seal. Im old school more so on the beach than dirt hunting. I went thru 2 coil covers in 6 mos. they wore throw on the corners. Then i stated putting LocTite on the covers to harden them. No problems since and the coil does add 1/8 cover and 1/8 air gap for those of us who really make the sand fly. The BBS machines arent as picky about a little sand under the cover like the FBS is.... plus on the gulf not a lot of minerals anyway. Takes a second to pop off the cover..... and inspect the coil. I can tell you once you put bed liner spray on IF you go back to using the coil cover the sand will get imbeded in the spray unlike epoxy. Those of you with warranties.... the use of bedliner spray or not using a skid plate can void your warranty on any ML coil. I dont know what Kelleycos policy is on their coil.

Ive used the SEF on my Exp since they came out.... it never comes off. For the price its just an impressive coil worth having.

Dew

You're right Dew. All my water hunting coils are done with the Loctite Marine Epoxy with excellent results. I was going to just seal the edges but decided to do the epoxy like my other coils. It's what Minelab recommends to use and DOES NOT void the warranty. Kellyco doesn't warranty the coil for any length of time. My literature says Detech covers the warranty.