GPX Coils, 15x12 DD Commander Vs The Detech 15 Ultimate Spiral DD

[Tyler]

Currently I have the Commander 15x12 DD for finding relics in civil war camps. Is the weight of the detech 15 DD spiral worth any extra depth over the commander? Most fields that have been plowed got turned over 12-15 inches deep. The commander should be getting me to the bottom of the plow line. I’ve heard from others the detech is a great coil but the weight is the biggest complaint. If I get one I’m hoping I can find a used one at a descent price instead of paying retail. I’d also being using it for a little bit of prospecting for gold. I recently purchased a detech 11 ultra sensing mono for prospecting that’s still in  shipping. I also have the 11 commander DD. 

[abenson]

I've had both coils. 15" spiral DD is a back & arm killer to swing unless you get a hip stick. For me it wasn't worth the extra 2" over the 12x15 commander coil. There area few diehard relic hunters that won't use anything else, but im not one of them. The Coiltek 14" DD was my all time favorite coil for relics and its dang near as deep as the 15" DD. The other thing about the 15" Spiral DD is its real sensitive to small stuff, something you don't really need when relic hunting. 22 brass and lead sounds real good with that coil and you soon get tired of digging them. I'd borrow one before you buy one just so you know what you're up against.

[abenson]

If you really want one I have a friend that will sell his for $250

[Tyler]

7 hours ago, abenson said:

I've had both coils. 15" spiral DD is a back & arm killer to swing unless you get a hip stick. For me it wasn't worth the extra 2" over the 12x15 commander coil. There area few diehard relic hunters that won't use anything else, but im not one of them. The Coiltek 14" DD was my all time favorite coil for relics and its dang near as deep as the 15" DD. The other thing about the 15" Spiral DD is its real sensitive to small stuff, something you don't really need when relic hunting. 22 brass and lead sounds real good with that coil and you soon get tired of digging them. I'd borrow one before you buy one just so you know what you're up against.

That’s what I kind of figured about the 15 spiral. Really sensitive on the small bits. I almost bought a coiltek 14 DD before I got the commander. I wish I had now. I bet that thing punches deep on bullets and buttons. I was looking for a 12.5 DD detech as well but couldn’t find one. I should have spent the few extra dollars on the coiltek. Do you think it’s a good bit deeper than the commander? But I’ll let you know if I’m interested In the detech 15 spiral. Thanks for letting me know. 

[abenson]

I've had the 12.5 Detech DD as well and really liked it. Only reason I bought it was because my 14" Coiltek went belly up at a DIV event and the 12.5 DD was the closest thing Fort Bedford metal detectors had available. In all reality the bigger coils including the 15" spiral DD are within a few inches of each other on a bullet. People might say otherwise, but have they actually buried bullets side by side at different depths? I have and can tell you they're not that much different in depth. But you know what they say, miss it by an inch might as well be a mile. IMO the most important thing is to use a coil you can swing comfortably for hours at a time. It's no fun when your back and arm are killing you, at point your head is out of the game and you're missing stuff.

[RickUK]

For hoard/Relic hunting i mainly use the Coiltek 18'' Elite Mono on my 4500,its not as heavy as i thought it would be and after i ordered it i was wondering if i had made a very expensive mistake,that is not the case and made the right decision for sure,my No1 Choice was the Detech 15'' Spiral DD but although its a big favourite of many folks the weight was going to be the deciding factor and the Coiltek won the day.

Yes i am aware that the question was mainly related to larger DD coils and i can for the most part only post what i find related to larger Mono coil,i do have both 15x12 Commander coils but never use them and they just sit in a cupboard gathering dust.

[Tyler]

5 hours ago, abenson said:

I've had the 12.5 Detech DD as well and really liked it. Only reason I bought it was because my 14" Coiltek went belly up at a DIV event and the 12.5 DD was the closest thing Fort Bedford metal detectors had available. In all reality the bigger coils including the 15" spiral DD are within a few inches of each other on a bullet. People might say otherwise, but have they actually buried bullets side by side at different depths? I have and can tell you they're not that much different in depth. But you know what they say, miss it by an inch might as well be a mile. IMO the most important thing is to use a coil you can swing comfortably for hours at a time. It's no fun when your back and arm are killing you, at point your head is out of the game and you're missing stuff.

I live not too far from where they have the DIVs. I’ve been a few times but it’s been about 9-10 years since I’ve been and I was using a TDI at the time. I remember digging some bullets at the target range 12 inches deep at  Brandy rock. I could swing the TDI all day because of its lighter weight. I definitely don’t want to add much more weight if I don’t have too. The 15x12 commander isn’t bad. Most of the spots I have around there haven’t been hunted with pulse machines but some were hunted well with VLFs. So I should do ok with it. All though the Coiltek 14 inch DD does sound like a winner as far as weight and depth. The iron rejection only goes down probably 6-8 inches? 

[Tyler]

3 hours ago, RickUK said:

For hoard/Relic hunting i mainly use the Coiltek 18'' Elite Mono on my 4500,its not as heavy as i thought it would be and after i ordered it i was wondering if i had made a very expensive mistake,that is not the case and made the right decision for sure,my No1 Choice was the Detech 15'' Spiral DD but although its a big favourite of many folks the weight was going to be the deciding factor and the Coiltek won the day.

Yes i am aware that the question was mainly related to larger DD coils and i can for the most part only post what i find related to larger Mono coil,i do have both 15x12 Commander coils but never use them and they just sit in a cupboard gathering dust.

I expect that on those sites that have been hit hard that the big mono is the way to go. On the real deep stuff the iron reject isn’t going to work anyway on stuff that’s 12+ inches deep. 

[RickUK]

20 minutes ago, Tyler said:

I expect that on those sites that have been hit hard that the big mono is the way to go. On the real deep stuff the iron reject isn’t going to work anyway on stuff that’s 12+ inches deep. 

Tyler,exactly and also i am not in theory after the very small items like bird shot etc and i totally agree that DD only in theory work upto a few inches and i want pure depth hence the larger Mono coils,i was lucky to get the brand new Coiltek 18'' Elite camo coil for well under half price,so that made the decision for me really the 'reward to investment' in that coil increased in my favour.

The GPX was never going to be my main everyday deep hitter as i leave that to other VLF detectors like my Nexus machines which do have discrimination,if i start picking up vibes that a possible hoard is on a site then i will bring a few machine both Pulse and VLF with large coils for that specific job.Of course this is just my way of tackling said job and increasing the odd's in my favour.

The GPX as mentioned before wont come out to play all that often during the year as in my mind its a highly specialised machine,but when i do think that a site has some serious potential then all it takes is just one decent hoard find to pay for the initial investment which was not a massive amount anyway as i done some selective and gained some amazing kit for not a big outlay.

[Tyler]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:49 AM, abenson said:

I've had the 12.5 Detech DD as well and really liked it. Only reason I bought it was because my 14" Coiltek went belly up at a DIV event and the 12.5 DD was the closest thing Fort Bedford metal detectors had available. In all reality the bigger coils including the 15" spiral DD are within a few inches of each other on a bullet. People might say otherwise, but have they actually buried bullets side by side at different depths? I have and can tell you they're not that much different in depth. But you know what they say, miss it by an inch might as well be a mile. IMO the most important thing is to use a coil you can swing comfortably for hours at a time. It's no fun when your back and arm are killing you, at point your head is out of the game and you're missing stuff.

Would you say the ratio of the depth on the commander on a bullet for example would be in between the 15x12. Say like I’m the middle 13.5 inches Or would it just be the width of the coil roughly 12 inches.