Question about the ACE 250 Think the kellyco guy is dating a minelab salesperson:thumbdown:

[Silverstar_Lawman]

Spoke to a kellyco rep today about how the ACE would work here in South Texas on this clay soil as there is alot of it here(clay). He said the 250 will not do well on this soil because of the high mineral content and the lack of a ground balance. Then I got the how about a minelab Explorer SE from him and told him I would look at it and call him back. He also said no to the 1350 that only the GTI 2500 or the 1500 would be capable here and they would function marginal at best, not that I want to spend a large sum on my first MD'er only to suffer confusion from a lack of knowledge. My gut tells me he was doing what he is required to do and sell to make the most commission he can, am I close with that or will the ACE suffer in this clay soil here in South Texas. One more thing I heard, that the sensitivity does not affect depth but this guy said it will? I ask these questions because I trust salespeople like I trust Defense Lawyers, no offense to any salespeople or Defense Lawyers, only speaking from my dealings with them, not to the character of all of them.

 

[captinharry]

don't know where you are in south texas but can tell you that I have used a A250 lately, left in my care by a friend who is in Saudi for several months.
Have used it around Houston, the mid-coast around Rockport, & have had no problems, including on the beach.
Impressed enough to order one for myself last week, which is now lost in the great void of UPS, hopefully they will find it & I will get it soon.
Kellyco has never earned my trust,

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

I know the people at Kellyco's. I live fairly close to the store. They are a nice bunch of people and they know metal detecting. They get a new person now and then but they all seem professional. I have watch them sell people a lower priced detector. They will fit the detector to the person's needs. I thought a person needed a different detector then what they where trying to sell them. Big mistake. I had the person wanting a higher priced Md. They couldn't really afford it. The Kellyco person was right and they went back to the other Md.
Contact John White( jw@kellycodetectors.com ). He is a no bull, straight talking guy who will advise you on what you need. Ask him about your soil in TX. He has probably hunted it.
By the way, I noticed loss in dept with the ace in WV's clay soil.

 

[Silverstar_Lawman]

John I sent that e-mail to john at kellyco, I don't doubt that there are good people at kellyco just the guy I spoke with today sounded like a used car salesman at a buy here pay here lot. That may well have not been the case and I just read him wrong, in any case I look forward to the response from John. Captain thank you as well, I am as far south as you can go without being in Mexico

 

[jackinaustin]

I think your on to something as to your reply from kellyco. My brother had TWO bad experiences with them about three months ago, but that's another story. As for clay, I live in Austin, Texas and we have clay here too. I have been MDing here off and on for more than 30 years and among the many other people who I know here who detect, no one has had a problem with it. From your earlier posting I would assume you and your family would be mostly coinshooting. Most of your finds would be in the 1" to 4" Depth which the Ace 250 would most doubtedly handle. Uncle Willy and Dav Hut can easily handle the sensitivity question you have. HH

 

[captinharry]

[quote Silverstar_Lawman] I am as far south as you can go without being in Mexico[/quote]

I spend time in the valley, never detected south of the corpus area however.
Doubt that you will have any problems with the 250 + its got great resale value if you upgrade in the future.
If you are in law enforcement in any form I thank you for your service, the border area is under siege by the mexican drug gangs, aided by the mexican army.
Not the place for me to vent sorry if I am out of hand.

 

[Dick from IA]

Hey Silverstar Lawman:

I sent you a PM.

 

[DavHut]

Its hard to say, but as a seasoned (read that as "old") lawman, you should likely trust your gut!

Its safe to say that any detector can have problems anywhere, but the number of folks that are using the ACE in S. Texas (and everywhere else, for that matter) are testimony to the fact that it will work.

One thing about Garrett is for sure: they test their detectors enough both in the lab and afield to ensure that you get a serviceable unit.
Could you find a better one? Probably. A better one to learn on than the ACE - that's arguable.
The GTP 1350 wont work in S. Texas?? Hogwash!

Kellyco has a love-hate reputation, it seems to me. I can name several folks who swear by them and not a few mostly swear AT them. I havent bought from them, so I am not knocking them. If I buy anything new, I call Chuck Clevenger.

 

[jackinaustin]

 

[Steve missouri]

Silverstar: I think that you are correct that the person you talked to is looking to increase his commission nearly fivefold, especially if you told him you are new to the hobby. HH Steve.

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

Steve,
I wanted a top of the line detector. I wanted to pay top price. John White of Kellyco told me rather sternly, that was not the detector for me. (I kept questioning him about it.) He recommended a much lower priced detector. When I bought my MD, I told them that another place offered extra items. No problem, Same price with all the extras.
A week after I bought my Md'er. I decided I needed a pp'er. JW sold it to me at the previous week"s special price. He didn't have to do that.
I broke my pp. It was my fault. Kellyco replaced it free. I don't care where I live, I am buying my detectors from Kellyco.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah JW is good to deal with. He posts here on the forum every once in awhile. It depends on who you deal with at Kellyco.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

I live in Oregon which is mostly volcanic soil and it doesn't get much nastier and the 250 works great here. I field tested the 250 here for Garrett. If the salesman was interested in selling you the right detector they would have never pushed the Explorer on a newbie. THey were just looking for a fatter commission.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Forgot to answer your sensitivity question. Too many people ( salesmen included ) confuse the sensitivity control with a depth control. It is definetly not a depth control. It merely makes your coil more sensitive to the targets you hope to find but it also makes the coil nmore sensitive to everything else in the ground - mineralization, pulltabs, bottlecaps, and junk of all types. It will also mask good targets if run to high. The 250 is very sensitive and that's why most of us run the sensitivity at 50% in many areas.

Bill

 

[NM5K]

Dunno, I live in Houston where it's gumbo clay, and
mine seems to do just fine. If there is a decrease in
performance around clay soil, it must not be enough to
hurt things too much. I still wouldn't be afraid to buy
the 250. If by chance you find it really is a dud in your
area, they are a cinch to resell. Hot item in general..
But I don't think it would have much trouble at all.
As far as the sensitivity, this is my $2.81 worth..
In doing careful air testing, combined with ground tests,
I can say yes, increasing the sensitivity does increase
the depth. It shows up easily on the air tests, and I
found some deeper coins that would hit sporadic or not
at all if I reduced the level from a high setting.
But...What Willy and some of the others say is also correct.
It's quite possible to set it so high that the chatter
makes it hard to note the real targets. When starting out,
I wouldn't set it too high. I'd increase it until it starts
to chatter, and then back it off a notch or two until it
settles down.
But...Once you get used to machine, and the chatter, it
is possible to get a bit more depth if you can tolerate
the extra chatter at times.
Chatter is totally random and also ID's randomly.
Real targets, trash or good, will repeat, and also
repeat as far as ID. Sooo. The deal is you train your
ear to ignore the random chatter, and only lock on to
the repeat tones. Once you get the hang, you can tell
what is chatter, and what is real. Operating like that
can give you an extra inch or two, but it's not for everyone,
and even I don't do it all the time. In general, I adjust
as I go. If the ground is quiet, I'll crank that puppy up.
If the chatter gets to a point to where it's a nuisance,
I'll crank it down. Also the coil type effects the chatter
level also. My small sniper coil I can run flat out with
little chatter. But the big coil can get kinda noisy
if you crank it too high in a hot or busy area. So you
play it by ear.
I think the 250 would do ok for you, and the price is
hard to beat. But good luck with whatever you get.
Kellyco is ok I guess. Thats where I bought mine when I
started out. I didn't have any trouble, but other reports
vary.. But I've bought stuff from other places too.
Rons up in Tennessee "forum sponser, see ad at top" is a
good dealer if you can't get what you want elsewhere.
MK

 

[BigCatDaddy]

sounds like that Florida boy is just trying to sell you a higher priced rig. How would he know how the 250 would respond in your chunk of Texas when he's sittin' in a warehouse in Florida?? There's some guys on this and the other Garrett forums that swing 250's in So. Texas and do real well with them. I've been swingin' a 250 since they first hit the market and I haven't found a spot yet that it won't pull up the goodies. Get the 250, spend 10 minutes reading the manual and get out and get some loot!!

 

[Black Davy]

n/t

 

[John-Edmonton]

I have bought a couple of detectors and coils from Kellyco and have no complaints.

 

[John-Edmonton]

n/t

 

[ivanll]

Page 27 of the 2006 Garrett Catalog have a hunting guide with recommendation of which Garrett detector to use in what ground conditions.
Take note of what detectors are recommended for higher mineralized ground like in Prospecting and Beach-Surf condition.
Clay soil can very often play havoc with some detectors no matter what brand and type.