Ongoing Equinox Coil Ear Breakage Issue

[Bill (S. CA)]

Hey guys, this is really for PimentoUK.  I just wanted to confirm the thickness of the shims which according to your post are:

Shim plastic is readily salvagable from packaging, household items. Thicknesses around 0.2 mm ( 8 thou ) seem a good starting point

My reason for asking is that this is literally the thickness of 2 sheets of paper.  That seems awfully thin.   I haven't found any plastic that thin around my house.  Thinnist I could find was .4mm. Is that too thick?  

Apologies if this post is redundant.  I sent you a message through the forum but had my internet crash and don't know if it got you or not.

Bill

[Joe D.]

Hey Bill,

    I found some nylon shims, or washers that were about that thickness at Lowes, in the specialized hardware drawers! I used those in conjunction with the rubber shims!

    I also was able to take different thicknesses of the Detect-Ed shims and put two on each side of the shaft head! That seemed to work better than the shims! They gave more resistance to coil movement, than the nylon shims! Without over tightening! And making contact with the shaft head!??

 

[PimentoUK]

Bill:
That 0.2mm was a starting point, it's what I made my ones from. You could try thicker ones, like 0.3mm if you're having trouble sourcing suitable scrap, and of course you can use multiple sheets, so if 0.15mm is to hand, try 0.15mm or 0.3mm ( 2 x 0.15mm ).

It's hard to say how much packing is needed, especially considering there may be product variations - early models may have different rubbers to more recent production ones etc.

As for the source of plastic: products that are packed in cardboard boxes with clear plastic windows so you can see the toy etc inside could be OK. Screen protectors for phones/tablets may be in the right thickness range.

[B0SC0]

I thought this might be useful for comparison purposes.

All ear tab and washers measurements taken in the center across the bolt hole.

All three coils show straight parallel tab walls (no bending).
(I would tighten until snug, with a little give to it, so that I can tilt my coil when needed to, without adjusting the bolt).

15" Coil (brand new as of today)

3.56mm(.1400") ear tab
22.66mm (.8920") between both ear tabs

Rubber washers that came with the new coil.
5.00mm (.1970")

 
11" Coil (1 year old)

3.00mm(.1180") ear tab
22.44mm (.8940") between both ear tabs

Rubber washers (1 year old)
5.00mm (.1970")

6" Coil (10 months old)

2.84mm(.1120") ear tab
22.48mm (.8850") between both ear tabs

Rubber washers (10 months old)
4.95mm (.1950")

[dewcon4414]

It comes down to movement and those rubber washers.   Many like their coil tight.... no movement.   That at least for beach guys means wear..... so you shim, replace rubbers, or tighten those ears.   Tightening the bolt without shimming or replacing the washers often causes distortion.... normally inward.   What i see often is people placing there machines a few feet from them while digging.  They use their machine as a crutch.  They push DOWN hard while digging.......and the shaft if you look at it is almost at a 45 degree angle with the coil setting FLAT.  

[Khameleon21]

My first thought was a 3D printed solution.  Before I started in CAD I checked thingiverse (Open source site for 3d printed files) and there are a couple of shims there.  

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3949618

Someone also created this solution.  Might be worth a try for people that have access to a 3d printer.  It is only a few cents in plastic for a print that size.

Good Luck.

[Joe D.]

   My issue is why is it that we only hear of ML's coil ears breaking! And no other coil, or detector manufacturer! That should be, at least, one indication of a flaw in the design, or composition of the thermoplastic they use! And i haven't seen or heard of them trying to fix the problem! 

    They are good with their service, but who wants to be down their only, or primary detector for weeks!??

[Khameleon21]

Well lets face it.  They may fix the problem but it won't help us until ours breaks and they replace with a stronger model.  

The likely hood of them admitting in a design/manufacturing flaw and offering a recall for a coil is probably not going to happen.

In the meantime there are a few solutions that might help us to avoid being without a detector.

It isn't a shot at Minelab, just companies in general. 

[pinpointa]

Well Minelab had a problem with the exterra  range of coils . In all the years of detecting i have only had one coil fail with the ears breaking and that was on the Exterra 70. Minelab  Adelaide replaced it no problem. Regards .