Drain Holes For Nox Coil Cover

[ColonelDan]

4 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

T

Dan, I think you've made that abundantly clear.  However, by quoting my several weeks old post without the quote I was originally referring to and that was contained in my original post to a specific poster's claim that "everyone" was missing his point and his "fear" that the cover would not drain effectively, you lost the context and meaning of my post.  Note that I was asking a question of the subject "quoted" poster trying to pin down their position on drain holes and their implied stance that direct sealing the coil was not only superior to using drain holes but that drain holes were detrimental to performance for the reasons he stated (i.e., his fear of insufficient draining).  I was not making a claim or statement directly to you or others using drain holes for or against drain holes  (IMO - they appear to be very effective based on the number of folks successfully using them) but merely was, in my question, noting the irony in his claim given that several folks, including you, posted how drain holes provided a benefit to keeping the coil clean and that none of you were reporting having issues salt water detecting using the altered coil covers.  In other words no one seemed to be having any problems with the altered covers draining effectively as was his claim/fear.  The question was never addressed with a direct reply btw....?

Chase,  Got it.   Thanks for the clarification.  ?

Soldier on ......

[Deep1]

Holy Moly, I had no idea this thread would turn into such a debate.

I was just offering a simple solution to a common problem. As can be seen from some of the posts, I'm not the first one to do this, I would guess it's been done for many years by the smarter detectorist.

Beach hunted the 800 20 or 30 hours before I drilled drain holes.

Have 50+ hours since drilling holes,

I see no difference in performance of the 800, with or without the holes. I see a difference in the coil weight when  I swing out of water to dry sand, as the coil will drain sand and water quickly. And before I drilled drain holes, I would have to remove cover after every few hunts to clean coil, it would be packed with dirt or sand depending on where I was hunting.

Put 10 hunts after holes drilled, beach, surf, wet sand and fine dry sand, flushed with fresh water after saltwater use, open fields, and park before I removed cover. It was clean, no sand, a little fine dirt from field hunt. I did not flush after last field hunts.

I drilled only a few small holes for a reason, the few small holes will not affect the structural integrity noticeably and the smaller holes allow less dirt and sand in . 

I have not found any adverse effects from drain holes.

 

[Chase Goldman]

If you read closely, there is actually only one individual on this thread that has a strong opinion against using drain holes vs. direct application of epoxy to the coil.  Really not much of a debate, quite frankly.  It is a great solution, with several different drain hole pattern approaches to choose from that preserves the integrity of the coil and no fear of warranty replacement issues should the coil fail.

[midalake]

13 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

If you read closely, there is actually only one individual on this thread that has a strong opinion against using drain holes vs. direct application of epoxy to the coil.  Really not much of a debate, quite frankly.  It is a great solution, with several different drain hole pattern approaches to choose from that preserves the integrity of the coil and no fear of warranty replacement issues should the coil fail.

I tried to make this smiley face bold but it will not work...….?   Dave

[Chase Goldman]

Appreciate the smiley Dave.

Just telling it like it was.  Multiple folks vigorously defending drain holes based on positive personal experiences and you were single handedly taking them all on with direct applied coating.  Somehow I got pegged as a naysayer in the "debate" on drain holes when you didn't respond to my questioning all the positive press against your claim that sand would get trapped and cause chatter.  Seems like both methods work but if something goes wrong with a coated coil (not necessarily due to directly applying coating which would be unlikely to cause damage  - but for some other reason) then warranty repair might be an issue.  Epoxying the coil cover to the coil was another, less popular, option due to the effort involved and the consequences of not getting it completely sealed right.  IMO it should not have been a debate but a sharing of ideas (i.e., no one was right or wrong) with the readers deciding for themselves what was the best option for them.

[midalake]

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

Seems like both methods work but if something goes wrong with a coated coil (not necessarily due to directly applying coating which would be unlikely to cause damage  - but for some other reason) then warranty repair might be an issue. 

The potting compound used on coils to protect them and bury the internal workings of the coil is an epoxy. I have learned my method off of forums like this many moons ago by people who have gone to that big test garden in the sky. 

The excuse of Warranty is just that. MFG's are not turning you down on warranty because you put more epoxy on to protect your coil. However with Minelabs  Nox design, I will say it is a real bugger to do.  I would rather do 5 Sovereign coils to one Nox coil. Minelab has clearly made a bad design by the 100's of coils that have already failed and the 100's more to come. 

How about sending your failed coil back with holes in the cover? Minelab can easily state that one allowed the entrance of added weight which exacerbated the failure of the mount.  

Yes this is about trading ideas, and no one is required to do my ideas. 

However Minelab should set-up to the plate and do a new coil design on the new batches.

Dave

[Chase Goldman]

Agree both methods appear to work very well, obviously. 

I think it is highly unlikely you will encounter a random coil issue in the first place but in that unlikely event, the advantage of using the modified cover is that it can simply be left off the coil upon return if there is a warranty issue and if the coil appears to not be outwardly physically damaged, then minelab would probably not bat an eye as the cover itself is considered a sacrificial wear item.  It has no bearing on the warranty postion, unless you physically damaged a "naked" coil in a manner in which it would have otherwise been protected  had the cover been in place. 

With the drain hole method, users have to spring for a replacement cover to be used on land, if so desired.  Whereas with the coated coil, the existing cover can be used.

Once epoxy is applied to the coil itself, however, minelab can claim an unauthorized coil modification voiding the warranty whether or not the epoxy had anything to do with the failure and then you are into a back and forth dispute situation in which you may or may not prevail, so why take that chance under warranty vs. waiting until the coil warranty has expired to mod the coil itself. Again, unlikely, but folks can decide for themselves whether it is worth it to roll the dice.

Bottom line, I agree with you, Dave, that unlike say an Excal which is truly ocean ready, Equinox users have to invest significant time and money (coil/coil cover mods, 3rd party shafts, and waterproof phones, etc.) to get Equinox into shape for frequent salt beach duty.