Coil Protectors?

[romeo-1]

Pros? Cons? Do they affect performance? Thanks!

 

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[jeff of pa]

Only Pros, NO Cons, No performance affect

Aprox, $15.00 to Replace worn Through Cover.

Aprox $150.00 to Replace worn Through Coil

 

[PostFatal]

Open, spider or spoked coils can catch on stuble which will sometimes give a false tone. a coil cover prevents this.

 

[U.K. Brian]

One con....if you have detected iron soil or been on a black sand beach the coil cover can fill up with ferrous material and cause problems.
Answer is to either seal the cover on, or if easily removeable clean it out regularly.

 

[Sandman]

Don't worry about the coil cover effecting preformance. The previous posts apply to why you need a cover.

If your detector has a metal bolt that attaches the coil to the shaft, replace it with a nylon bolt and wing nut to increase sensitivity without turning up the knob.

HH,
Sandman

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Get The Cover. I wish I'd bought the coil cover earlier for my Tiger Shark. I just got the cover last week, but by then the coil was already heavily scratched from detecting gravel areas and rocky lake beds. At least now I can save it from getting worn completely through.

If your coil cover likes to fall off, add some strips of electrical tape to make the sides fit more snugly to the coil.

 

[skydiv]

my ace 250 lost depth so i took the cover off and i was back to finding coins at 6 in.
it might be cheaper to replace the cover but i believe you find more. money found pays for the coil.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I think it best to use a cover if you hunt abrasive areas or you tend to drag the ground with the coil.

I started with a cover and no longer use one on my Tesoro DeLeon. It just seemed to me I lost too much depth with the cover.

In the past I've asked this same question here and on the other forums and I always got the same results--the majority said use the cover.

I guess it's totally up to you. Test your machine and see if the cover reduces depth. If it does than ask yourself if possibly missing finds is worth it.

 

[Rusted_Iron]

In theory there should be no more than 1/4 inch of depth loss, or whatever your coil cover's thickness is. The field will go right through plastic like it's not even there. In fact, the field will also go through good-sized rocks, provided they're not loaded with dark iron minerals (I once dug a nickel that was underneath a big rock. The last 4 1/2 inches of the 10" hole I dug was taken up by the rock).

To compensate for the small depth loss, just swing your coil a little closer to the ground. I actually brush the ground with mine when I hunt.

 

[stringfrenzy]

Rusted kind of hit the nail on the head so to speak. Some detector users swing the coil a few inches off of the ground to insure they don't damage the coil. With a cover you can "brush" the ground with the coil and do no damage to the coil. I run a cover on my Garrett GTAx 1000 and I've made numerous recoveries from about 7" or so. I have not noticed any loss of depth and may have actually gained a little since i too let the coil "brush" the ground quite a bit at times.

Then again it's all personal preference. I won't run without a coil cover I'd rather replace the cover than the coil. As far as cost it seems more efficient to replace the cover and not the coil, then that keeps more of the goodies in my pocket. 8)

 

[Michigan Badger]

In theory there should be no more than 1/4 inch of depth loss, or whatever your coil cover's thickness is. The field will go right through plastic like it's not even there. In fact, the field will also go through good-sized rocks, provided they're not loaded with dark iron minerals (I once dug a nickel that was underneath a big rock. The last 4 1/2 inches of the 10" hole I dug was taken up by the rock).

To compensate for the small depth loss, just swing your coil a little closer to the ground. I actually brush the ground with mine when I hunt.

Thanks...good info. I believe I'll put that cover back on.

Badger

 

[JW]

Watch for dirt build up inbetween the coil and the cover. Not only will black sand adversly affect the depth and preformance, hot ground will do the same. If you get interference it is dirt in the cover...

A question for those that don't scrub the ground with the coil... Why bother with a cover if you don't touch the ground?

If you have an Explorer and your not scrubbing the ground your missing stuff.

Low and slow!

I have seen only one person go through a coil cover, it took 25years of just about daily use... At that point I think it is time for a detector update...

 

[Bill G]

my ace 250 lost depth so i took the cover off and i was back to finding coins at 6 in.
it might be cheaper to replace the cover but i believe you find more. money found pays for the coil.

That does not make any since. A coil cover will not affect the detector at all. I have bean detecting for a lot of years and I have had several diffrent detectors and accessory coils, all with coil covers, and there was never any loss of depth or any other affect what so ever from coil covers. I have never heard of anyone loosing any kind of depth until now. It is a lot cheaper to replace a coil cover than a coil, that is for sure.

Take Care,
Bill G

 

[jeff of pa]

my ace 250 lost depth so i took the cover off and i was back to finding coins at 6 in.
it might be cheaper to replace the cover but i believe you find more. money found pays for the coil.

That does not make any since. A coil cover will not affect the detector at all. I have bean detecting for a lot of years and I have had several diffrent detectors and accessory coils, all with coil covers, and there was never any loss of depth or any other affect what so ever from coil covers. I have never heard of anyone loosing any kind of depth until now. It is a lot cheaper to replace a coil cover than a coil, that is for sure.

Take Care,
Bill G

I have to agree.
the coil cover is about 1/8th. Inch Thick Tops.
If you Scrubbed the Coil Before you put a Cover on,
and you Scrub the coil After you put the cover on,
I can see a 1/8" loss of Depth.
Not even worth the price of replacing a coil in my opinion.

 

[Montauk3]

What ever happened to plain ole duct tape?
I put a couple of layers on my coil and swing away.

When it wears thin, I add a couple more layers.

HTH

 

[l.cutler]

I would say the coil cover is probably less than 1/8 of an inch thick, no way that thickness is going to make a noticable difference in depth. As for the duct tape, a sharp rock or piece of glass will cut right through it damaging the coil. It is no replacement for a coil cover. Use a coil cover and scrub right on the ground.

 

[kestrel0222]

I have found NO difference in the performance of my detector. I think that the pro's out weigh the con's.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I keep one on my Excal and BH ID, I figure the money saved on replacing the coil is a good down payment on my next unit.

 

[Born2Dtect]

I agree with Jeff, Brian and Sandman. If you are not using a coil protector and you hunt a lot you will probably have to buy a new coil sometime. The only con I see is you should remove it and clean it regularly, especially if you hunt in sand a lot. I don,t own a detector that does not have a coil cover.

Ed D.