Taking the Excal from fresh to salt water.

[Dirt Poor]

I'm going to do some salt water hunting in a day or two, and was wondering if I'm gonna have to change my settings much. I always use it in fresh with max sensitivity, disc mode, with almost no disc. My battery connector plug seems to get a little water around the 2 prongs, but it's not getting into the pod. I think maybe the thin rubber gasket has lost it's form a little, and maybe it's not seating as tight as it should. But the machine works great.

 

[Finderskeeper]

Pretty much the same but....seeing how it will be now in salt water.........use all metal or pinpoint mode in salt water unless you get into an area with a lot of junk in it.

The nice thing about salt water is that aluminum pull tabs and modern steel junk eventually is eaten away and disappears after a few months. In freshwater, aluminum pull tabs and cans can last for almost ever. So pin point is a better mode for me in the salt water. I do use discriminate in salt water when checking the target although I have found that sometimes the pinpoint mode will be able to hit the target where discriminate will not. In fresh water I use discriminate all the time because of all the junk people seem to throw in the water.

I do use my Excalibur II 1000 on land ....there I use discriminate almost all the time but very - very light. Maybe at a 1 or a 3 setting on the dial. There are a few times when I use pin point on land...like.searching for civil war relics or finding lost steel items.

In the salt water for identifying the target in discriminiate, I usually just crank it up to the max in sensitivity and almost no discrimination. If I have problems with stability, I just back off on the sensitivity just a bit.

The battery problem you have may be an issue. Contact Minelab or a dealer to get that part. Salt water in the battery contacts may cause less amperage to flow making the Excalibur less powerful.

Don't forget after getting out of salt water to wash down your rig. Stainless steel and aluminum with salt water will cause corrosion on anything aluminum. Be especially careful around any connections on the shaft and clean out the sand in the plastic couplings.

 

[Dirt Poor]

Pretty much the same but....seeing how it will be now in salt water.........use all metal or pinpoint mode in salt water unless you get into an area with a lot of junk in it.

The nice thing about salt water is that aluminum pull tabs and modern steel junk eventually is eaten away and disappears after a few months. In freshwater, aluminum pull tabs and cans can last for almost ever. So pin point is a better mode for me in the salt water. I do use discriminate in salt water when checking the target although I have found that sometimes the pinpoint mode will be able to hit the target where discriminate will not. In fresh water I use discriminate all the time because of all the junk people seem to throw in the water.

I do use my Excalibur II 1000 on land ....there I use discriminate almost all the time but very - very light. Maybe at a 1 or a 3 setting on the dial. There are a few times when I use pin point on land...like.searching for civil war relics or finding lost steel items.

In the salt water for identifying the target in discriminiate, I usually just crank it up to the max in sensitivity and almost no discrimination. If I have problems with stability, I just back off on the sensitivity just a bit.

The battery problem you have may be an issue. Contact Minelab or a dealer to get that part. Salt water in the battery contacts may cause less amperage to flow making the Excalibur less powerful.

Don't forget after getting out of salt water to wash down your rig. Stainless steel and aluminum with salt water will cause corrosion on anything aluminum. Be especially careful around any connections on the shaft and clean out the sand in the plastic couplings.

 

[Dirt Poor]

Thanks, Finderskeepers! I appreciate your taking the time to offer those tips. I am almost "fanatical" about keeping my equipment rinsed-off and clean. I will add a little extra care in regards to the salt. I'm not going to be in the ocean, but in a bay where the salt concentrations may not be quite as strong. I am also looking forward to relic hunting with the Excal this fall.

 

[I Dig Ya Dig]

Minelab applies a silicone grease to the battery
connections during the manufacturing process. This may
need to be reapplied over time as part of your routine
detector maintenance.

 

[Dirt Poor]

Minelab applies a silicone grease to the battery
connections during the manufacturing process. This may
need to be reapplied over time as part of your routine
detector maintenance.

Thanks. I do that each time I charge the pod. I use some of the grease I got from Tesoro with my Tiger Shark.