Want To Buy A Waterproof Nugget Detector,,, Which One?

[div4gold]

Hi Steve I posted on findmall this same topic and then i found your site and reviews on nugget machines ....which were very good ...but i was wondering which unit would be the best ...for what i want to do
I have land hunted for 40 years and in the ocean with a pi unit aqua pulse 1b ...but i have found some nugget areas here ,,,so ive been told ,,,,here in the DR and would like to try my hand a that ,,since i spend my winters here .....no gold where i live in the states (MO)....
I have a explorer se and x-teera 70 ,,,,but would like a water proof unit for nugget hunting in the streams ,,and banks
Any ideas ?
I had a infium ,but didnt care for the 2 tone thing,,,,and i used an ace 350 but thought the response time from target to tone was slow...are the garrets atx and at gold like this ?
Do any of these units you recomend have multi tone and resonalbe response time ? simalar to the SE,
which just love that unit ....
Thanks don

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi Don, welcome to the forum!

Ah, waterproof nugget detectors! A subject I have particular interest in these days.

My main advice? Get the small round 5" DD 18.75 kHz coil for the X-Terra and go prospecting. It is waterproof to wading depths and if you can find a single gold nugget with it a waterproof gold detector may have merit. Prove the idea first, then make the investment.

I will leave the question of gold detecting in the Dominican Republic aside though and stick to the detectors. First off, nearly all detectors with the exception of a few Minelab models (all Minelab PI detectors and X-Terra 705 Gold) come with waterproof coils and the ability to be submerged to the control box. Some older models like the Fisher Gold Bug 2 and Tesoro Lobo can be chest mounted which is great for wading.

But if you want waterproof the field narrows considerably. In theory like with all nugget detecting you can use anything if the gold nugget is big enough and shallow enough. But what waterproof models would be best for gold detecting?

First, I would caution you that for prospecting multiple tones is not very important. Rule number one is dig everything. Rule number two is that if you can't do rule number one, use no more discrimination than needed to barely reject ferrous targets. Which will miss gold but will result in far less digging in some areas. The iron rejection can be outright ignoring of the target or two tones, one ferrous, the other not ferrous.

In low mineral ground you can in theory use any waterproof detector but for prospecting I would stick with detectors that can handle bad ground mineralization or hot rocks or both. Normal non-ground balancing PI detectors like the Tesoro Sand Shark or the White's Surf PI will do fine if the ground has even mineralization but will sound off on hot rocks. For that reason the only PI detectors I personally will consider are the Garrett Infinium or newer Garrett ATX. Both are ground balancing pulse industion (GBPI) detectors and so can handle the hot rocks. Both also have interchangeable coils, something the White's and Tesoro units lack since their coils are hardwired. One thing I also do not like about the Tesoro or White's units is you replace the batteries by accessing the circuit board area, a recipe for disaster if you do not get a perfect seal every time you replace the batteries. The Infinium and ATX have separate battery compartments that if flooded will not seriously harm the detector. on the plus side the Sand Shark and Surf PI are simple mono tone detectors given your expressed dislike for the Infinium tone system.

Between the ATX and Infinium the ATX is hotter on small gold but the Infinium is half the price and the accessory coils are one third the price, plus the Infinium can be hip or chest mounted.

However, the ATX is basically an improved Infinium in a different box. You still have dual tone responses, though they are mellower to the ear than the Infinium responses. If the dual tones really irritates you then the Sand Shark or Surf PI might be your better PI options while noting the other issues I have outlined.

If the VLF realm two of the most popular water units are both multi-frequency models, the Minelab Excalibur and Fisher CZ-21. The White's Beachhunter is a less popular model but also multi-frequency. All three are designed to deal with salt water but they also lack an edge on small gold that makes them less desirable for prospecting. I usually recommend the Excalibur as a general purpose water detector but if I had to choose between the three for prospecting I would go CZ-21 due to it having a ground balance control and threshold based all metal mode plus ability to chest or hip mount. If you run in discriminate it features three tones with the odd caveat of putting nickel as a high tone target, a carryover from the original CZ design as a coin detector. In all metal the CZ-21 is mono tone. I lean small coils for detecting so the hardwired 8" coil would be my recommendation on the CZ for prospecting.

The Tesoro Tiger Shark has potential as a single frequency unit running at 12.5 kHz with a ground balancing threshold based all metal mode. My only issue with it is the hardwired coil and accessing the control box to replace batteries. But it is a bargain priced detector perfectly capable of the job. Mono tone only - the disc mode is a simple single know target reject setting. Again, the smaller hardwired 8" coil option would be the way to go.

A unit you would probably like is the Minelab CTX 3030 which outfitted with a 6" coil would be an ok prospecting detector with an edge on the Excalibur or CZ-21 owing to the smaller, hotter coil. However, it is a premium price detector and maybe not one to take the hard knocks prospecting but worth a mention.

Finally, the best for last. The Garrett AT Pro (15 kHz) and AT Gold (18 kHz) are both reasonable priced VLF detectors waterproof to ten feet with interchangeable coils. The AT Gold comes with a smaller coil and has a ground balancing threshold based all metal mode. It also has a three tone disc mode. The recovery time on both AT models is much faster than the Ace series. Chart - AT Pro vs AT Gold.

I have offered you a lot of options to consider. As always there are no right or wrong choices, just what works best for you. It sounds to me like the AT Gold has most of what you are looking for so you may want to research it more. PI is a tougher choice given your previous dislike for the Infinium. If the ground allows the Sand Shark may be more to your liking.

As for me and my interest in the subject I want to try sniping California rivers using a detector. The Garrett ATX is my first weapon of choice but I will also give the new Minelab SDC 2300 a go when it is available.

[ddmk6]

I recently added an AT Gold to my toolbox.  I have to say I'm really pleased with the performance of the machine.  Very user friendly with a small learning curve.  I have yet to find any gold with it, but I really haven't actually spent a great deal of time looking for gold with this machine.  I bought it more for nail infested sites and general detecting that my dedicated prospecting machines struggle with.  It certianly has the capabilities, in the all metal mode I have found #8 birdshot at 3 to 4" in depth.  Pretty nice for a general purpose machine.

 

I would tend to agree with Steve regarding getting a 5" coil for your Exterra and testing, unless you just would like a new detector :-)  I find the majority of my gold away from the rivers.  Most waterways around here have been dredged extensively.  I'm not saying I don't find any in the water, I just find more away from the water.  However, I will be testing the AT Gold out in the rivers when it warms a bit.

 

If you don't care for the multi tones, you could simply run the machine in all metal mode without iron audio.  This would be the preferred prospecting mode anyways and would provide the best depth.

 

Overall it's a really fun all around detector.  It's great on coins and relics as well.  It seems to have an affinity for ox shoes :-) 

 

Good luck which ever choice you make.

 

Kenny