Z Search Coil 12''

[Dey]

would like to get some feedback on the Z search coil 12" for the GPZ 7000 likes and dislikes.

[phrunt]

It lightens up the detector a fair bit, that's the biggest advantage and an important one with the weight of the GPZ already quite heavy.  Performance wise I found it very similar to the standard coil, after all they're very close to the same mid-size coils with the same windings, 14x13 vs 12" round.   I got a very early grey model one when they first came out, there is a second generation now that's black and maybe better or different to mine.

[ghansen]

I also have one and find it to be very close to the stock coil as Phrunt has said. If you can handle the added weight of the stock coil  not a lot of advantage for what it cost.

[Gerry in Idaho]

12" Z-Search coil is a game changer for me.  I hate the overall weight of GPZ-7000 and especially the stock 14" coil as I hardly can use it anymore. Me, getting old and a worn out back can't handle those excessive pounds of the detector as factory shipped.  When put the detector in hand after attaching the 12" Z-Search coil, it feels like a totally different detector (because of the less weight) and I can swing the 7000 with Z-Search coil for 6 hrs straight with hardly an issue.

As for Sensitivity and Depth.  I feel it's a slight advantage for Sensitivity and still has great depth.  The big flat one I found early this year in NV was extremely deep and I was using the 12" Z-Search. 

 

BELOW- 24" Long pick to show the size of the hole.  

 

BELOW- After 16" down I hit this huge rock and it's still below it.  THINKING an OUNCE NUGGET is soon.

 

BELOW- My 20" forearm is fully stretched and I have not gotten to it.  

 

BELOW- Me a little depressed as the Monster 1 ounce nugget is only 1/3rd the weight?  Still very impressive though.

 

BELOW-  The trip was good with my cleaned up total just near 1/2 of Nevada gold.

 

All gold I recovered on the trip was with 12" Z-Search coil.

I do feel, the stock 14" might have a slight overall depth increase on larger gold, just because we know that larger coils usually produce best depth on larger targets.

It's not that I was trying to gain more Depth or extra Sensitivity out of my Zed, it was totally a weight thing and if the results of stock coil vs Z-Search were even equal, I would still highly recommend the much lighter coil and or any other coil that allows me to use the ZED. 

To be honest though, I still swing my GPX-6000 and Axiom more often than the 7000 as the Terrain is steeper and I am sometimes using just the 1 arm to swing.

I hope others chime in and get their thoughts as I know many have been sold in the US.

 

[RONS DETECTORS MINELAB]

The zsearch 12” is one pound lighter than the stock 14x13” and like Gerry has mentioned a slight more sensitive as it performs as expected being about a 1” dimensional difference but In essence it will lose a slight amount of depth on the bigger pieces.

Ron

 

[phrunt]

Has anyone used the newer black one to see any differences or are we all on the old grey model?  I saw there were some plastic issues for some people with my model but unsure if anything was changed performance wise between the models, obviously nothing was declared but you wouldn't usually make a second edition without some changes.

Are the greys and the blacks the same weight? Perhaps the black one got thicker plastic and weighs a bit more, the website no longer mentions the weight.

[Lesgold]

I have the older coil and my detecting mate has the newer black one. Can’t see any difference between them from my perspective. The stock coil doesn’t get used any more. The 12” Nuggetfinder is more sensitive on smaller pieces and does punch deep but I would expect that the stock coil could have an advantage but we have not tested that at all. When the 12” first came out we did some testing on live targets for comparison. Joe and I ran the same settings and we went out to an area of old workings that had been cleared of leaf litter etc by someone else. The way that we worked the comparison was to detect different areas and if either of us were to get a signal or a break in the threshold, the other person would be called over before a boot scrape was made. We could then listen to both machines to determine any differences in signal strength. As the area had been detected by others before us, we thought the only possibility would be to pickup pieces that they missed or perhaps the odd deeper nugget. We were detecting for about half an hour before I got a faint but repeatable signal on the zed with the Nugget Finder. Joe was called over and he had a listen to the signal I was getting through the headphones. We both agreed it was a definite target. When we tried Joes zed with the standard coil, we were shocked as there was not even a murmur in the threshold. We then returned to the 12” and started digging. What surprised both of us was the depth of the target. When it finally popped out we both looked at each other in amazement. It turned out to be a small piece of gold of about half a gram. Exactly the same thing happened later in the day. A faint, repeatable signal on my machine and nothing on the other zed. Again, it was a deep nugget but a bit smaller than the first. They were the only pieces found that day. We did a lot of testing on live targets over a few weeks and every target that Joe picked up with the standard coil could be heard on the Nuggetfinder. As with the early tests, the 12” had an advantage over the standard coil on some targets. Joe was that impressed that he purchased one within a month. We quite often detect areas with the 6000 and come back over the same country with the zed and the 12” to get the deeper pieces. If you want to detect vertical walls or creek banks, the standard coil loses its appeal quickly. As a general coil for most of my detecting, this coil is by far my favourite. The standard coil and the couple of x coils that I have are still good and have some advantages in certain areas but if there was a choice to be made, the Nuggetfinder comes out on top by a long way. 

[phrunt]

Thanks Lesgold, the difference must just be in the plastic then, that's good, hate to think I bought something that soon after was replaced with a better model.

[Lunk]

My experience with the NF 12” is similar to Lesgold's, and the coil does shoot deeper on the smaller bits than the stock 14”. Over a foot of depth on this half gram piece with a great sounding signal response right from the get-go sure impressed me. It’s my go-to general prospecting coil for the Zed.