Opinion on used water machine

[E-TREC-Virginia]

Hello Everyone.

I usually post on the E-Trac forum, but I needed some advice/input from the experts on a used water detector that I'm thinking about buying. I've never used a water detector before and know very little about them, except what I've read in reviews and the various dealer sites.

It's a used Garrett Sea Hunter Mark ll with an 8" coil.

How does this machine compare to the following machines

White's BeachHunter
White's Surf PI Dual Field
Minelab Excalibur II (this one might not be a fair comparison)
Fisher 1280x Aquanaut
Tesoro Tiger Shark

I want to make an informed decision and not regret buying something and then wish I waited for a different machine.

In your comparison, can you please indicate what water machine you would choose (does not need to be from my list above).

Thank you for your time and happy hunting.

 

[bcoop]

The Sea Hunter is a good quality machine and will do as well as the machines you are wanting to compare it to and better than some.

There are many opinions on which machine is the best, but no single machine can do all that you need it to do. A PI machine can help hit those deeper targets that are sanded in that you can't hit with a VLF machine, however your going to hear bobby pins and every other small piece of wire and junk to go along with it. If your beach is an iron infested beach, you will hate every minute with a PI machine.

A PI machine has its place in the hands of an avid beach hunter, especially if you hunt regularly, including the off season months when recent drops are vacant and the finds are deep and sanded in. Garrett is an exceptional company and customer service is TOP NOTCH, they make quality equipment and will service you well. A Sea Hunter Mk II is a quality machine and you can add additional coils to improve performance.

Minelab Excalibur machines are probably the most common beach machine out there, they eliminate the iron and junk allowing you to spend more time digging coins or the low tones that are significant to finding gold and jewelry. Some will say the Excalibur in all metal mode will hit as deep as any PI machine on the market. I can't testify to that.

I purchased a Detector Pro Pulse last year before my annual beach vacation. I wanted to try a PI machine to see if there was any advantage compared to me using my Excalibur or E-Trac. I found that using a PI machine takes up a lot of my time, I would get a signal and take out 1 or 2 scoops of sand and scan my hole to receive a double beep which would turn out to be a bobby pin. If the bobby pins where 6 or 8 inches deep I could identify the double peep and pass it by but if they were deep I would have to take a scoop or 2 of sand out before I could identify it was junk. By no means did I master the PI machine because I only used it for about 8 hours and quickly returned to using my Excalibur to steer clear of the junk. I have contemplated selling my PI machine because it really does not fit into my hunting needs since I don't live on or near the beach and my beach detecting at home consists of wading fresh water lake swimming areas. Some say the 2 best PI machines for detecting Gold are the Dual Field and the Detector Pro PI, I will say this, the Detector Pro PI is a deep seeker for sure.

Happy Hunting.

BCOOP

 

[scubadetector]

n/t

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

I'll be in both fresh and salt water. Fresh water looking for Civil War relics and the usual stuff at the beach.

 

[scubadetector]

A PI machine in fresh water WILL drive you batty. Small pieces of rust, nails, , from what I have been told by others it will be frustrating. The Excal is a wonderful machine. I have friends with them. Never used one. Lots of horror stories on repairs. I only used a 1280X in fresh water. Only one tone but found a lot of gold. Used a BHID and its a DFX thats waterproof. Good machine. Good reviews on the Tigershark in fresh water on small gold, No idea about relics.

What I chose and what others will choose is way two different animals. LOL If yoiu read back you will find that people swear by their machines like the DetectorPro diver or wader. I user the Fisher CZ-21 and love it. The main reason I have NOT tried an Excal is I dive and I am in shallow water. I need to hear boaters and jet skiers that have NOOOO idea what a dive flag is. As a wader your choices of detectors are many. All the noise an Excal makes would not be good for me at all. I have only used the CZ in salt water for 3 weeks in Florida.. Found 688 coins and one gold ring.

You can also find threads here of how some have waterproofed a Garett Ace 250. Very inexpensive machine but very good.

So if I were you, I would read the back pages of this forum and then pick a machine and LEARN to use it. Also read the threads on water safety. I personally know of TWO detectorists that drowned while wading and I heard from the wife of a third after one of my best friends died. Just KNOW your surroundings and IF you get in trouble DITCH your stupid machine and scoop. They are absolute TRASH compaired to your life.

 

[sandman256]

I've used many of these detectors and can say the Tiger Shark and 1280 are mainly for fresh water, both excellent but single beeps and salt concentrations and black sand affect them. Excal's are good for the water and dry sand but hope you never need repairs. The CZ-20 or 21 is also a good choice for both fresh and salt water. The discontinued CZ-6a is the land version of the 20 and is hip mountable. As Bcoop said the PI's are deep, but you spend lots of time digging deep holes for junk. In the off season when recent drops are few this helps to find the deeper rings and hairpins.

 

[goldnugget]

I would wait on an Excalibur, Great at the Beach in the Water,Wet Sand and Dry sand

 

[OldBeechnut]

I'm, guessing but you will be hunting VB area or the Atlantic..

Sandman is right on!!

Excal would be my first choice, the Df is a bad choice for VB, the 1280 won't work at VB, the ID is OK..I have a seahunter and a CZ20...I would go CZ20...always one going for a good price if you keep a eye open...never had a TS, but VB is salty...

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

I'm, guessing but you will be hunting VB area or the Atlantic..

Sandman is right on!!

Excal would be my first choice, the Df is a bad choice for VB, the 1280 won't work at VB, the ID is OK..I have a seahunter and a CZ20...I would go CZ20...always one going for a good price if you keep a eye open...never had a TS, but VB is salty...

Thanks everyone for the great input and thoughts on selecting a quality water unit. My first choice would be the Excal (I'm a Minelab type of guy), however, the Fisher CZ21 looks like a great machine as well and I might be able to swing a trade for my Whites M6 and all of it's goodies (see the Classified Metal Detector Forum if anyone is interested). Then I would have all my bases covered (land and sea). Well, maybe some day I'll get a GPX 5000 for gold (you can only dream)

Have never hunted VA beach. Most of my hunts are in the Atlantic Beach area and Bald Head Island.

Thanks and HH.