Equinox Coil Ears

[strick]

 Sorry to hear that the coil ears broke I still have yet to break one knock on wood JB Weld is some good s#*t . I’m still on the fence about those coil stiffeners I am using one as I sit here in bodega bay and I do not like the torque is placing on the coil ears so I’m going to take it off...

strick

[GB_Amateur]

 

I’m still on the fence about those coil stiffeners I am using one as I sit here in bodega bay and I do not like the torque is placing on the coil ears so I’m going to take it off...

I'm with you, strick.  My go-to mantra (with exceptions, as always) is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Next in line:  "if it is broke, try the minimum fix first."  Having spent most of my career in a position where I and my cohorts were doing things no one else had likely done (nor wanted to for that matter) we tried a lot of 'solutions'.  Sometimes the cure was worse than the disease because of over-design.

[Joe D.]

   I don't know if anything i have done on this coil will be successful; time will tell!! But I can tell you that having done nothing other than changing the ML washers, and watching how tight the coil bolt torque is, has been unsuccessful for me thus far!!

   And GB,

   I have had the same problem with those "supposedly" plastic bonding adhesives! No good bonding!! I even tried some the cures instantly with a UV light applied; too soft, and didn't hold up!! JB Weld, with good surface prep, has been a winner for me!! I actually remember my Dad fixing a manual shifter ball with "JB", in his old 74, Bronco! And not the one you put your hand on to shift but at the other end in the manual transmission!!??

[steveg]

 

@steveg  I don't see why you multiplied by 2.  My measurements weren't of the individual washers but rather the 'assembled' size (washer + shaft well + washer).  But 10 thousandths of an inch (1/4 mm) out-of-tolerance being a problem -- I can at least envision that.  Thanks for your confimatory response.

 

GB -- my bad; I misunderstood/misread, in my haste.  I thought that .01" was what was worn from each WASHER, but now I see your measurement was the decrease in total width.  Makes sense now.  Yes, .25mm out of tolerance is less significant, but possibly still enough, given the propensity for failure of the EQX ears...

My bad on the minsunderstanding.

Steve

[Sandheron]

I don't bother shimming my worn washers. I just use liquid latex rubber. Paint it on as many layers as you need. Easy to remove as well if needed.

[phrunt]

I think the reason many coils ears are most commonly breaking is the plastic ears gradually wear thinner where the rubber washers are from friction on the inside of the ear, the rubber ends up wearing down the plastic and for every tiny little fraction of plastic that wears off the ears the nut needs done up tighter to keep the coil from flopping around, by doing the nut up tighter the ears are bending inwards.   Combine this with the rubbers also wearing down and you've got a problem.

The coil ear strengtheners people are doing make the ears stronger, no doubt especially if they're glued on however they don't rectify the cause of the problem as the protectors go on one side with the bolt, not the side with the rubber directly rubbing on the coil ears.  They might prevent your ears from snapping but the root cause of the problem is still there.

Why I think silicone spray works is it helps with the friction of the rubber on the plastic preventing it from wearing down as easily and makes you be able to move your coil around without the friction.

The real solution to the problem is not having ears that are so stupidly thin, and having a plastic that's more flexible and doesn't crack when flexed.  When you google the problem it's almost exclusively a Minelab issue.

[phrunt]

Well, to validate my theory I used a marine 2 part epoxy that we have in NZ that you can rub into a surface, you can then wet it to wash most of it away only leaving behind what fills holes, I wet it then used a flat piece of metal to scrape over it cleaning the excess off each time, I ended up with a level surface and you can clearly see where the wear was.

This is my CTX 17" coil.

The layer of epoxy is very thin, but you can see the washer's area was worn, if it wasn't worn at all you'd not see the white washer shape that's very obvious.  Before doing this I couldn't see the wear with my eyeballs other than a bit of discolouration where the washer is, so the wear is very thin, but once highlighted with the white epoxy it stands out.  You'll see the epoxy is so thin you can see the black through it in many locations.

This coil isn't very old, it is rather heavy and I do move it around a lot so the wear happened rather quickly I think.  On an older coil this wear would be far deeper. 

I've got a tiny crack in one side of this coils ear, I've repaired it but I'm going to add a 3D printed coil support onto it as I really think the ears are far too thin and weak for such a big heavy coil, especially seeing I've put a hairline partial crack in it already.  Sure it's still under warranty but what's the point, people seem to break coils multiple times under warranty, they get a new one and break it again.   I'd rather just fix it myself and be done with it as if I got it replaced I'd want to toughen it up anyway and void the warranty in the process.

The fact is Minelab's Equinox and CTX coils are poorly designed.

It is a shame I didn't practice what I preach with the CTX, I've always silicone sprayed my NOX as I've had it for years, never once my CTX as I've only had it 6 months or so...

[Joe D.]

   Great way to highlight one of the problem's Simon! I like the epoxy, and hope it does the job and wears well!!

   I guess my hope with each coil i have sent in(3 so far), was that the replacement would be, at some point, improved! With either a new formulation of thermoplastic, or a redesign! But I have since given that wish up, and will just ride out the warranty, or sell all before expiration! As any capitulation on ML's part, other than warranty, would likely; as we have said many times, end up with a large loss to their; and investors bottom line!!?? 

[phrunt]

People always say they spend a lot on R&D, while they do in comparison to other companies I would guess it's bugger all compared to their profits, the investor reports prove that.

https://codan.com.au/investor-centre/performance-summary/

A little less profit and a bit better quality product wouldn't hurt.  They seem to skimp on the most trivial things that cause massive impact for such cheap components, like shafts and coil ears.   I find it rather odd, perhaps they need to funnel a bit of that profit into the simple things.... they seem to make the same mistakes over and over again... Equinox - wobbly shaft, GPX 6000 - wobbly shaft.

Their shares have taken a massive hit the past few months....  Glad I got rid of mine not long after the Nox release and the highs it created.