Mike K (Ohio)
Active member
Anyone ever use this machine in fresh water and how did you like it?
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Whites TDI BeachHunter
- Thread starter Mike K (Ohio)
- Start date
Mike K (Ohio)
Active member
I'll have to take this as not many people are happy with this unit or have not wanted to spend the $$$ to get it.... Glad I posted this question 
Saved some money!!!!!
Saved some money!!!!!I recently purchased the TDI Beach Hunter and love it. I have yet to try it in freshwater but it is a killer in the saltwater Beach environment, and super deep. My best deep find so far was a nice .925 ring with a couple diamonds and maybe an amethyst. 18" deep with a faint signal but repeatable and easily could have been deeper and still detected. The only problem I'm having with the machine is that it apparently has developed a leak already. I have never had it submerged detecting but I did dunk it a couple of times to rinse it off and noticed after doing so, pockets of condensation on the inside of the control housing. Not cool. every other water machine I've owned was used prior to purchase and I never had an issue with leaking, now I go out and dump a bunch of cash on a brand new machine and it leaks. Not too happy. Now I have to send it off for repair just as the beach season is really kicking in.
Got the machine back a couple weeks ago but haven't been able to use it till yesterday and today. Guess what, yep that's right, still has a leaking case after being repaired. When they returned it they had painted the coil up with something saying it was leaking as well. I guess I'm just going to have to use it as a wet sand dry sand beach machine. I refuse to continue to pay $30 to ship it back to them to get fixed to only be able to use it a couple of days before I need to send it back for repairs again. Same scenario as before, all I did was dunk the machine quickly to rinse sand off of it then a bunch of condensation appeared inside the case. I called and left a message with the repair department wondering what I have to do to get a replacement machine as opposed to continually mailing it back at thirty bucks a pop to get fixed.
I don't know what to think now, I went back to the beach today and dunked the detector repeatedly and had no issue with condensation inside the case. Not sure if sticking it in my kitchen sink and weighing it down submerged for 2 hours had anything to do with it or not. Not sure why it would but there is no doubt that there was condensation in it when I left the beach the other day. I could clearly see fog in all four corners of the clear top. I think I will keep my fingers crossed and continue to use it as it is.
I'm with Ruslan on this one. Little bit of condensation might be from humid air inside when it was open for service, then the in sun / out of sun cycle could make it condense on the inside. If it doesn't have a little desiccant pack in it, get some and put one or two in when it is open for a battery charge.
Well crap, had it back to the beach today and after dunking it had condensation in all four corners again. Called White's about a possible exchange for a new unit and was told that request has been denied. They are willing to send a shipping label so it won't cost to send it back but I'm kinda disgusted about the whole thing now. Spend $1,200 for a new detector that has, not only a leaking control housing, but also a leaky coil and then get denied a replacement. The fact that shipping and repair will be free is great, the fact that I'm going to be without a detector for at least another three to four weeks sucks. The original plan was to wait for the Fisher AQ impulse to come out, but when I found out it only had a 1-meter depth rating I decided to pull the trigger on the White's TDI Beach Hunter. Guess I should have waited, three feet of water proof is better than not waterproof at all.
I’ve wanted this detector for some time now. I watched a review on YouTube by HB CZ, and for all I know, you are him, due to the similarities. He was concerned over this very same issue. He states he was assured by Whites that this condensation issue was normal and due to physics, unavoidable. Said they used cold drinks in a glass (iced tea, lemonade, etc), and vehicle windshields as examples. I’ll give you one more example. Eyeglasses. Stepping out of an air conditioned building or vehicle into 95 degree hot air, and bam, condensation. The difference in temperature is what’s going to cause this effect, and I suspect your kitchen sink water was pretty close to room temp, thus no condensation. Same goes for when you were at the beach the one time there was no condensation. If the water is considerably cooler than the temp outside (or vice versa), you’re gonna get condensation. Oddly enough HB CZ also showed where Whites painted his coil with some type of waterproofing material. I digress.
He goes on to state that if the condensation does create an issue it will show itself before the warranty expires so he’ll not concern himself with it anymore. He said Whites assured him that the internal components are coated so that they are waterproof and corrosion resistant. To what degree and for how long is anybody’s guess, but I suspect any machine designed for use around salt water and beaches must have additional component protection.
My first thought while watching the video was they probably all have condensation going on given the right circumstances. The difference is other brand’s control boxes (Fisher CZ 21, Garrett Infinium, Tesoro Tiger Shark, AT Pro, AT Max, ATX, etc,) are metal or opaque plastic. You’ll never see the condensation but you can bet it’s going on.
You mentioned using other machines that never had a problem with leaking. Did your TDI actually have a leak, as in water pooling in the bottom of the control box? Did the detector malfunction because of it? If so, that’s definitely worth concern. Personally, the condensation issue won’t dissuade me from purchasing this detector. Don’t worry yourself. You have a very capable detector.
He goes on to state that if the condensation does create an issue it will show itself before the warranty expires so he’ll not concern himself with it anymore. He said Whites assured him that the internal components are coated so that they are waterproof and corrosion resistant. To what degree and for how long is anybody’s guess, but I suspect any machine designed for use around salt water and beaches must have additional component protection.
My first thought while watching the video was they probably all have condensation going on given the right circumstances. The difference is other brand’s control boxes (Fisher CZ 21, Garrett Infinium, Tesoro Tiger Shark, AT Pro, AT Max, ATX, etc,) are metal or opaque plastic. You’ll never see the condensation but you can bet it’s going on.
You mentioned using other machines that never had a problem with leaking. Did your TDI actually have a leak, as in water pooling in the bottom of the control box? Did the detector malfunction because of it? If so, that’s definitely worth concern. Personally, the condensation issue won’t dissuade me from purchasing this detector. Don’t worry yourself. You have a very capable detector.