Cracked Excalibur 2 coil

[ChaseJax]

I have a cracked coil on my Excalibur 2... will it still work underwater? Should I not submerge it? Will it be ok on sand?
How much am I looking at to get it fixed? Should I get a diff coil when I do fix it or stick with a 10"?
And last, where do you recommend me send it to have it fixed?

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

Sorry to hear that, could happen to any of us. Could you post a good pic of the crack?

I had mine repaired at the Minelab repair center @ Kellyco.

 

[ChaseJax]

Yes I will have to post when I get home in a cpl hours

 

[ChaseJax]

forum image hosting

 

[ChaseJax]

Really fine cracks almost could be a scratch but gotta assume it's a crack. Also looks like it's been fixed with some sort of black something. U can see a cpl spots at the top of the 3rd pic down.

 

[SocalJim]

Sorry to hear that it's no fun waiting for a machine to be repaired. If it's working now I'd rough up the area around the crack and and put a couple of coats of epoxy over it then paint it with truck bed liner. If it needs to be replaced I believe Kellyco will put a different coil on it as well as a few guys here on the site who do upgrades. If it's strictly a beach machine I've heard good things about the NEL coils.I find the stock ten inch is fine it makes me work a little slower and that helps increase my finds. If your capable there are videos available on how to change them and OBN I believe sells an endcap to make coils interchangeable. A look through the mods forum should find you the members to contact. Good Luck.

 

[SocalJim]

I guess this is the used machine you were considering? I had an issue with the bottom of my coil separating around the edges last winter. I used epoxy to fill the separations and painted it and have had no issues since. I check it often as part of my cleaning after use. You should spray the cables with silicone periodically also.

 

[OBN]

I swear I have never seen one crack from one end to the other like that, in fact never seen the epoxy crack at all. Most of the time it is the separation of the epoxy from the plastic outer shell. Must have taken a good hit if it did because that is solid epoxy resin. I would do all I could to seal it like Jim said. Starters stay out of the water until it is 100% sealed, dry sand is fine. The 10 is my go to coil in the water and I have several, from a 5 in Sunray to WOT, I would highly recommend staying stock, best for all around hunting. Kellyco by far the only one I would use for repairs. Cost, Treasure hunter can give you a ball park idea. A guess would be 200 for the coil and 100 to install.. just a guess.. and that is a lot of cash but one nice gold anything can really cover that plus. Me I would seal the coil like Jim said, put a coil cover on it and use it until it starts falsing like crazy. Then send it in...

 

[cudamark]

If it's still working fine out of the water, I'd do like SocalJim mentioned and just epoxy the thing. If it's dry and bad, you're looking at getting a new coil. I'm a big fan of the huge coils at the beach. The 15" NEL Attack coil and the 15" Coiltek WOT are both great coils for that. If you're mainly a water hunter, the smaller coils are a bit easier to swing in the surf.

 

[WaterWalker]

To me it looks like the some epoxy was spread over almost cured epoxy and did not totally mend as it cured.
I would use a dremel grinding tool and make a shallow grove (don't go too deep and cut the wires) for the total length of the "crack", rough up the flat surface on either side of the grove and then fill and spread the epoxy in one application. Take a look at the photos of my repair of a WOT coil. The coil had cracked, salt water got in, corroded the copper wire. I had to find the break, put in a jumper wire, and refill with epoxy. To finish the job I took an old coil cover cut it up in very, very small pieces, melt it with acetone and "painted" it over the top of the coil. On the underside you can see the copper coil under the clear epoxy.

The repair lasted about 4,000 hours of water detecting before it finally cracked again. That time I replaced the coil, it had over 7,000 hours of detecting in the water. It did pay for itself many times over.

 

[dewcon4414]

That doesnt look like a crack...... looks like epoxy that didnt spread right in the mold. If it were me.........id just put some loctite marine grade epoxy on it. Most that dont use a coil cover use it and it is very hard and easy to spread.

Dew

 

[Jim in MA]

That doesnt look like a crack...... looks like epoxy that didnt spread right

Dew

Try getting a jewelers loop and a lot of light to look at it , try to bend the coil to open the crack if it is.
Good Luck