Delta 4000

The Delta 4000 is one of my best detectors and i have used and own high end detectors. It goes very deep in my soil ,10" on a buried nickel and 9" + on a dime, decent ID and very fast recovery speeds. The new Delta 4000's have shielded cables and resist EMI much better than the old units and are very stable. However if your soil is heavy in Iron or minerals consider a metal detector that can ground balance. If your soil is mild the Delta will serve you well for many years!
 

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The Delta 4000 is one of my best detectors and i have used and own high end detectors. It goes very deep in my soil ,10" on a buried nickel and 9" + on a dime, decent ID and very fast recovery speeds. The new Delta 4000's have shielded cables and resist EMI much better than the old units and are very stable. However if your soil is heavy in Iron or minerals consider a metal detector that can ground balance. If your soil is mild the Delta will serve you well for many years!

I agree with everything SouthFldigger said. I started with the Delta and it is a solid machine. I think the most important thing is to learn the machine, listen to what it is telling you and have confident's in it. When in dought, dig it. I will always keep my Delta
 

And I agree as well. Disc and AM modes. Numeric and segment ID. Greek coils. Light, 1 battery. You shouldn't need ground balancing in Ohio. Go for it;
 

How do I determine whether the local soil is heavy in minerals to the extent that ground balancing has greater value?
 

Most of the soils here in the Midwest are ok generally speaking. I hunted with a guy who has a 4000, and it was very nice, I wish I had it rather than the 250, although I find my ACE 250 was easier to lean
 

Ultisol-map-2.gif

This is the red clay map.
 

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So if I understand this correctly, the darker the shade on the map, the higher the mineral content. Thus, in those ares the greater need for an MD that allows for ground balancing. Am I pointed in the right direction?
 

So if I understand this correctly, the darker the shade on the map, the higher the mineral content. Thus, in those ares the greater need for an MD that allows for ground balancing. Am I pointed in the right direction?

Kind of. Red clay is high in iron oxide (iron-oxygen) and seems to be the big one. It's identified as Fe203, which is why detectors like the Fisher F5 shows an on screen Fe meter. (Fe=ferrous).

I'm sure there are other minerals, like salt, that affect depth. If in doubt, ask someone on this forum that may live close to you. If you still are in doubt, the Bounty Hunter Platinum is a step up from the Delta at about the same price. It is a Teknetics Gamma without the Fe meter and manual ground balance, but is the same platform as the Gamma and has Ground Grab auto ground balancing (It's not a fixed GB like the Delta). The other difference is not being able to use the Greek coils. The Gamma is my choice of an ideal mid range detector.
 

Kind of. Red clay is high in iron oxide (iron-oxygen) and seems to be the big one. It's identified as Fe203, which is why detectors like the Fisher F5 shows an on screen Fe meter. (Fe=ferrous).

I'm sure there are other minerals, like salt, that affect depth. If in doubt, ask someone on this forum that may live close to you. If you still are in doubt, the Bounty Hunter Platinum is a step up from the Delta at about the same price. It is a Teknetics Gamma without the Fe meter and manual ground balance, but is the same platform as the Gamma and has Ground Grab auto ground balancing (It's not a fixed GB like the Delta). The other difference is not being able to use the Greek coils. The Gamma is my choice of an ideal mid range detector.

The only thing I see about the Gamma which is better than the 4000 is the price which gets you beyond a mid-range detector price. I would STAY away from BOUNTY HUNTER, makes no sense made in the same placed but the re-sale value and ease of selling a Bounty hunter sucks
 

The only thing I see about the Gamma which is better than the 4000 is the price which gets you beyond a mid-range detector price. I would STAY away from BOUNTY HUNTER, makes no sense made in the same placed but the re-sale value and ease of selling a Bounty hunter sucks

What I meant to say was YES the Gamma is a better machine, not just that the price is higher. I will re-peat STAY AWAY FROM BH
 

Appreciate the feedback! I need to hold a few dollars aside for a decent pin pointer as well. Part of the reason I'm considering an MD at the level of the Delta 4000.

Just got my first permission today and haven't even purchased the MD yet. I guess you say I'm working ahead.
 

Appreciate the feedback! I need to hold a few dollars aside for a decent pin pointer as well. Part of the reason I'm considering an MD at the level of the Delta 4000.

Just got my first permission today and haven't even purchased the MD yet. I guess you say I'm working ahead.

That's the way to go about it! good luck and post "some finds" there is a 4000 on ebay that ends maybe tomorrow. you will like that machine!
 

I have one for sale. Bought for the wifey. She prefers her Cibola and SilveruMax
 

WHAT MAKES THE CLAY RED IS * IRON OXIDE --rusty micro iron bits that's dissolved into the clay soil basically -- several minerals can be found in salt water beaches and in other high mineral areas that drive detectors wild --since they see it as a wall of metal --being able to manually set the background mineral "ignore" level --known as "ground balancing" is a major plus n these areas -- basically it dumbs down the machines sensitivity level so that it does not see the "background minerals" but will still pick up metal items --many cheaper models have a preset --level which is fine for "sweet ground" which is most of the land --but if you got a preset and hit rough mineral type ground all you can do is manually reduce your power /sen level output until it calms down --(hopefully it will-- you will lose some depth however doing this) -- My delta 4000 is a great lil machine for under $300
 

Working with the Delta 4000 in red clay soils and in areas with stream tin has not been a problem for me yet. I have dug .22 bullets at up to 9" in red clay, and pulled out .22 brass at around the same depth. Although the first all metal mode can be noisy, the second all metal mode A2 has been quiet and easy to use in pretty much all conditions with the unit cranked up to 11 out of 12. Really the only issue I have had is in extreme trash areas, I use the discrimination to pull out the higher conductivities and avoid the garbage, but the pinpointing function does not allow me to separate coins from nearby trash very accurately. However, I do not believe that other models of detector short of imaging types would do any better. A pinpointer with ferrous discrimination would help a bit, just have a cheap one but it still works great. Certain resale outfits include pinpointers in their kits while still beating out most other outlets on price. This is a great detector for the price, digital output is great for beginners like myself.
 

The 5" DD coil is what should be used in trashy areas. Too many targets under the 8" coil will drive you crazy.
 

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