Have a couple of questions

[Stateguyt]

I was wondering how long everyone stays at a site that has produced for them in the past if there not finding anything good
And how long they stay at a site there trying for the first time

 

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[Blackfoot58]

No special logic for me. I stay until I’m tired or bored. I’ll cover a lot of territory if I’m getting even mild action from my beeper.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Grid it out or wait and go after a rain, your detector will hit new targets due to better conductivity with the soil being wet. No where is completely void of targets also if you can use another detector it might pick up targets your detector missed.

 

[Ism]

Grid it out or wait and go after a rain, your detector will hit new targets due to better conductivity with the soil being wet. No where is completely void of targets also if you can use another detector it might pick up targets your detector missed.

That's good advice in a relatively iron free site. Iron halo becomes intense after a rain and masks good targets.
In iron rich areas, I find the best time to hunt is when the ground is fairly dry. Like after a week or more dry spell.

That's my advice for farm fields, not parks and sports fields. In those areas it's best to dig in moist soil as to reduce the lasting effects of your target retrieval. Dry plugs don't heal very well.

As far as the OP's question, I usually hunt for 2-hrs tops. My back starts hurting after that. However, If I find a good target at close to the 2-hr. mark, I get motivated and will hunt for about an hour longer or as long as I can stand the pain.

If I find that if a great site isn't producing any longer, I will move on for the season but return the next year or year after. Many factors will cause a target to be revealed over time, like freeze/thaw, plowing, animals, insects, and plant roots, to name a few. I have gridded an area that was producing lg cents. I gridded multiple directions, digging every nonferrous target until there was nothing but iron to dig. Went back the next year and found dozens of new targets.
So, if it's a good area that isn't producing any longer, give it a rest for the season and come back to it later.

There's a school near me that had been pounded by the best of detectorists since the beginning of the hobby. They gave up on it because it wasn't producing anymore. I started hunting it and though it didn't produce a lot every time I searched it, over the course of 5 years, I found 40-50 silver dimes, a couple silver quarters, 2 gold rings, a few silver rings, war nickels, and other assorted stuff.

All I'm saying is don't write off an area just because it isn't producing at the time. And don't listen to people that say an area is hunted out. More times than not, you will prove them wrong.