Indoor Viability For Metal Detectors??

[Dunnomuch]

Hi all, 

Obviously new to this hence the handle but my question is how useful is a metal detector indoors? Just picked up an old house and the previous owners were old and passed away, so the children auctioned it off. I want to do some searching for silver and gold bullion, coins, jewelry in the walls, etc just in case there is anything stashed away. Seems to me that there are so many different ferrous materials in a house that you would be getting a ton of noise and chatter and might not be the best use for the device. My friend who is in construction suggested a thermal camera (for walls, etc). Any advice would be appreciated. BTW, currently looking at the MineLab Equinox 600 but also considering 800 for the gold setting. Should I save my money?

[Gold Seeker]

IMHO save your money, most metal detectors don't work so well inside houses due to EMI, but more importantly there are so many nails, screws, wiring and ductwork, etc. all made of metal that you will never know what the detector is signaling on, you would have better luck just tearing out the wall/floor coverings and looking for any treasure that way!

[Geotech]

Some fantastic caches have been found hidden in old homes, in walls and floors, attics, and buried in crawl spaces. Especially if it dates to the Great Depression. I know a guy who metal detected a burned-down house site, found gobs of silver coins and ingots that apparently had been in the walls. Another fellow I met had purchased an ex-grocery store building, found a big cache of silver dollars that were hidden by someone who worked there, went off to WWII and never came back.

I would turn the sensitivity down to a minimum, even a small cache in the wall will sound big. A large coil will help minimize small targets like nails. Look for a strong localized target that seems out of place.

[Ridge Runner]

If that house has a cellar that’s one place you want to detect for sure. If it’s got beams running from one side to the other be sure to check them out on top. I know a guy that found some gold coins laying up there . Got old fireplace check it inside and outside both . Check on the ground outside bedroom windows. The posthole bank was put there so they could hear if someone was trying to make a withdrawal without their permission,

  Chuck 

[GB_Amateur]

A pinpointer can be put to good use in and around masonry, especially if there are cracks or openings you can poke it into.  The smallest coils (e.g. 4"x6" 'shooters') for standard metal detectors are a plus, too -- less area to pick up the inevitable nails in wood structures.

[Ridge Runner]

If you want something that is dirt cheap go to Harbor Freight and get you this for 40 bucks. It works great for walls and those beams I was talking about on another post.

 Chuck 

[Joe D.]

Welcome to the forum "D",

   A bit more history on the house would be helpful! Like year built, style, features like a usable attic, basement, large crawl spaces, old solid wood doors, brickwork etc!

   But I'd say yes on saving your money on buying another detector for indoors! Use the 600 to thoroughly check the yard numerous times and directions! The larger the object, the deeper your detector may pick it up, within its limits! Mason jars, and coffee cans were a few of the containers to bury valuables in! But many people were very creative in hiding their items; especially indoors! If any old furniture came with the house, sometimes they will have a hidden drawer or space to conceal items! Other than that, the sky is the limit for fixed objects of, or in the house! 

   Spend a little time inside and visualize where things might be safe, but accessible with a bit of effort on the part of the owner! Most people that hid items, want to have access to them when needed in an emergency; financial or otherwise! They won't want to tear down a wall, etc, if they ran short one month to pay the bills, or there was a house/wild fire! A few examples would be a short piece of floorboard, or moulding, that is held on with a single nail or screw, or just well fitted to secure, but still be accessible to add or subtract from!

   Now hoarders are a different mindset onto themselves, and all bets, or common sense are off!

   Good hunting, and be careful poking your hands in dark and dusty places! Some critter my not appreciate that!🍀👍👍

  

[Digalicious]

The thermal camera might be a really good idea. 

Heat the house up, then turn off the heat. As the house cools, a cache would retain the heat much longer than anything else in the walls, so it should be clearly visible with the thermal camera.

[Gold Seeker]

45 minutes ago, Joe D. said:

Welcome to the forum "D",

   A bit more history on the house would be helpful! Like year built, style, features like a usable attic, basement, large crawl spaces, old solid wood doors, brickwork etc!

   But I'd say yes on saving your money on buying another detector for indoors! Use the 600 to thoroughly check the yard numerous times and directions! The larger the object, the deeper your detector may pick it up, within its limits! Mason jars, and coffee cans were a few of the containers to bury valuables in! But many people were very creative in hiding their items; especially indoors! If any old furniture came with the house, sometimes they will have a hidden drawer or space to conceal items! Other than that, the sky is the limit for fixed objects of, or in the house! 

   Spend a little time inside and visualize where things might be safe, but accessible with a bit of effort on the part of the owner! Most people that hid items, want to have access to them when needed in an emergency; financial or otherwise! They won't want to tear down a wall, etc, if they ran short one month to pay the bills, or there was a house/wild fire! A few examples would be a short piece of floorboard, or moulding, that is held on with a single nail or screw, or just well fitted to secure, but still be accessible to add or subtract from!

   Now hoarders are a different mindset onto themselves, and all bets, or common sense are off!

   Good hunting, and be careful poking your hands in dark and dusty places! Some critter my not appreciate that!🍀👍👍

  

Joe read his post again, he doesn't have a detector yet, he's considering the Equinox 600 or the 800.

[phrunt]

I've used my Minelab Pro-Find 35 pinpointer for finding electrical wires in walls, I picked it because I could easily adjust the sensitivity down to next to nothing to really narrow down where they were, then I was able to cut a tiny hole in the wall to add a power point 😛