Hi everyone, I was wanting some info on possibly purchasing my first water detector. Up to this point I have only detected on land and my land machine is a minelab e-trac. I am wondering what kind of price range I can get into a decent water detector for fresh water use? I am just looking for a water machine that I will be happy with. Thanks all and HH.
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need info on first water detector purchase
- Thread starter pointer80
- Start date
scubadetector
New member
Well are you wading or diving? What is your price range. For fresh water you have a lot of options
Minelab CTX3030
Minelab Excal
Fisher CZ20/21 1280X
Tesoro Tigershark
Whites BHID
Garret AT Pro
Detector Pro Wader
If your diving you can eliminate the CTX303 At Pro and the Detector Pro. If I missed any besides the cheap Chinese CWAP it was totally unintentional. You can find good used ones on Feebay and Craiglist. Asking which is the best is like asking which is better a Ford, Chevy, or Toyota. Ask different people get different answers.
If your wading you also need a long handled scoop and they start around 150.00.
Its you call do research and decide which is the best for you. I love my Fishers. Others love their machines.
Minelab CTX3030
Minelab Excal
Fisher CZ20/21 1280X
Tesoro Tigershark
Whites BHID
Garret AT Pro
Detector Pro Wader
If your diving you can eliminate the CTX303 At Pro and the Detector Pro. If I missed any besides the cheap Chinese CWAP it was totally unintentional. You can find good used ones on Feebay and Craiglist. Asking which is the best is like asking which is better a Ford, Chevy, or Toyota. Ask different people get different answers.
If your wading you also need a long handled scoop and they start around 150.00.
Its you call do research and decide which is the best for you. I love my Fishers. Others love their machines.
scubadetector
New member
Well if your talking about less than 500 you will need to find a good used machine OR look at the Ace 250 mod in a waterproof housing. Tesoro Tigershark or Stingray 2 (older) or a Fisher 1280X. The others are probably above your price range.
I would not skimp and get a Chinese machine. None are worth the powder to blow them up. A good machine will pay for itself quite fast if you get out there and use it.
I would not skimp and get a Chinese machine. None are worth the powder to blow them up. A good machine will pay for itself quite fast if you get out there and use it.
I do not agree on the Chinese machines - I bought one second hand for around 50 USD. It was a copy of 1280 - not as deep - but it made me to buy a real 1280x, then I had Detector Pro Wader and now I have the Tiger Shark and Sand Shark from Tesoro to do both fresh and salt water.
The guy I sold it to (for around 35 dollars) has found 30 silver and 5 golden rings in a swimming hole never detected before. That has paid many times over the purchase price. I would not buy it new, but it you find a good deal on a chinese waterproof detector, go for it.
For the fresh water, I would not be afraid of Detector Pro Pirate - the headpohones should survive a drop in the water, but are not really meant for being under water. I liked the Wader, but it had to go because I had too many detectors at that time
The guy I sold it to (for around 35 dollars) has found 30 silver and 5 golden rings in a swimming hole never detected before. That has paid many times over the purchase price. I would not buy it new, but it you find a good deal on a chinese waterproof detector, go for it.
For the fresh water, I would not be afraid of Detector Pro Pirate - the headpohones should survive a drop in the water, but are not really meant for being under water. I liked the Wader, but it had to go because I had too many detectors at that time
scubadetector
New member
pelanj said:
I am a bit lost here. You say the Sand Shark does good in fresh water? Its a PI machne. It will find every piece of iron there is. I also saw a Chinese machine up front and it broke the very first day. It also couldn't detect over 3" To each his own. But, I am trying to help someone get started with a machine they will not get discouraged with and be able to keep and learn.
I am not a dealer no will I bash most machines. I just want to help. And if your serious about water detetecting, you should get solid advice and know how to be safe out there. Good luck
I have a friend that uses the minelab excaliber for water and does very well with it.
I use a tesoro sandshark for salt water. A fisher cz21 for fresh and its good is salt too. I find this a good combination for me. A good used cz can be picked up between $550 and $650 at least thats what I've got them for.
I have used a fisher 1280 (fresh water) and did not like it. I had a tesoro stingray 2 that I really liked and have hated myself for getting rid of it, great in fresh water. I also had a tesoro tiger shark (fresh water) for some reason I didn't get along with it buts thats just me. Both tesoros have the advantage of being completely functional as land machines too. If the control box is mounted under the arm they are very well balanced and feel much lighter than they are.
The garrett ATpro may be a good choice but I have no experiance or knowledge of it.
I use a tesoro sandshark for salt water. A fisher cz21 for fresh and its good is salt too. I find this a good combination for me. A good used cz can be picked up between $550 and $650 at least thats what I've got them for.
I have used a fisher 1280 (fresh water) and did not like it. I had a tesoro stingray 2 that I really liked and have hated myself for getting rid of it, great in fresh water. I also had a tesoro tiger shark (fresh water) for some reason I didn't get along with it buts thats just me. Both tesoros have the advantage of being completely functional as land machines too. If the control box is mounted under the arm they are very well balanced and feel much lighter than they are.
The garrett ATpro may be a good choice but I have no experiance or knowledge of it.
I have both Tiger for fresh and Sand for salt. That is how I meant that sentence.
Well,then it is Chinese and Chinese. The one I had was clearly inspired by the 1280, it sounded the same and I got 8" depth on coins and large golden rings. That was fresh water and 10.5" coil. The real 1280 was a little deeper with the 8" coil.
My point also was that finding a good site is important.And that you can pay for chinese detector in one find there. I would not buy a no name detector for 300 USD, but 30? Heck yes,before I find a good deal on a used quality one.
I did that and after saving up some money, I bought the Tesoros both new with warranty.
Well,then it is Chinese and Chinese. The one I had was clearly inspired by the 1280, it sounded the same and I got 8" depth on coins and large golden rings. That was fresh water and 10.5" coil. The real 1280 was a little deeper with the 8" coil.
My point also was that finding a good site is important.And that you can pay for chinese detector in one find there. I would not buy a no name detector for 300 USD, but 30? Heck yes,before I find a good deal on a used quality one.
I did that and after saving up some money, I bought the Tesoros both new with warranty.
dewcon4414
Well-known member
You bought Chinese...... let me just say even a blind squirrel will find a nut occasionally. But also you have bought several others since. Any water proof detector will work.... but you are doing your research. Fresh water is different than salt..... not much gets desolver quickly like in salt and you dont have nearly the salt mineralization to deal with. You want to get a reasonably priced machine but you have been using an Etrac so you know the worth/value of a good machine. If it were salt water..... id be saying buy the very best because it WILL pay for its self. My money would be on the Tersoro or AT Pro both find smaller gold than some of the others Scuba mentioned which are higher priced.
Dew
Dew