New AT PRO broke...

[Three Bears]

Here is a copy of the email that I sent to Garrett after talking to them on the phone: As per our discussion I am attaching pictures of the battery holder where the female end fell off and how my new batteries are corroded from the acid residue in the battery holder from your new batteries. I rec'd my new Spring Special from Kellyco AT PRO last week. (It came with Garrett batteries already installed). I used it the first time on the 15th of May and the batteries lasted about 6 hrs. When I opened the battery case your new batteries were leaking acid and I threw them away and put my charged eneloop batteries in the battery holder. Used the AT PRO about 4 hrs today and the batteries are dead - when I took out the battery holder the female end fell off onto the floor. You stated you would send me two battery holders and some better batteries - could you send them overnight - because I have been invited to go to Pleasant Hill on private property this weekend and now my brand new system is broken.... I called Kellyco and informed them that they were selling defected products. Several of my friends were wanting to try out my AT PRO but are now leary of it. I am wondering how to clean the battery post that are inside the unit - will they also just corrode off - Hope this does not happen to you...

 

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[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Wow.

First off, sorry to hear about this happenign to you.

But it seems you put the blame on Garrett pretty quick....I dont think it was "Their" batteries that were leaking..and you were complaninig your rechargeable batteries were dead in 4 hours?....How is that Garretts fault again?

Garrett will go out of their way to help people that appreciate their products. I dont think an email pointing the blame on them or Kellyco is going ot solve anything.

The **** that happen to your machine is common for somethign that has been in extreme heat.

So you might want to shoot off any email to UPS/FEDex


Its real simple...send the machine back to Garrett if you are worred abotu the unit, if not, wait and be happy with the replacements they WILL give you

Best of luck man, i know i might come off sounding like a prick, but whats new..lol

 

[xr7ator]

This is horrible! Why Has Kellyco not made this right? Yes, Garrett is the BEST and will take care of you but this sounds like dealer problem...nobody even checked the unit out before they shipped it to you??
Sorry to hear of your trouble.

 

[signal]

I have an AT Pro, it is no longer under warranty. However, when it was, I had a few issues with it. Each time, Garrett handled the issue great. Mistakes can happen, in production, in sales, etc, that is why places give a warranty. What's important is that they stand by it, and that is why there are so many happy Garrett users out there.

 

[Keppy]

Got pictures of that mess…. Was it a older Garrett AT Pro they sold you .one of the first ones out ..They had a lot of problems could be they had a old one in stock and sent it to you .. I would check it out and make sure they did not sell you one of the first AT made…. Trying to get rid of there old stock.. That could be the reason for the battery problem..

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Was this a returned ATPro I have never had equipment shipped to me with the batteries "in it" ? That's odd!
Pretty sure they will take care of you but if you get it in time is the question!
Good luck! Hope it all works out for you.

 

[thommo59]

1) AT PRO's come with EVEREADY ENERGIZER batteries pre installed, not seperate in a box, my feeling is that everyone is tested and proven so they leave it ready to go.
2) I think it's very unfair to blame Garrett for a battery leak from an outside supplier, I'm pretty sure that Garrett didn't do this on purpose.
3) The serial number on your AT PRO has a manufacture date built in, check it's not old stock from the reseller.
4) If you have an issues, simply send the whole unit back to Kellyco, ask for a replacement.
5) There will always be failures, that's what warranty is for and even when you spend 150 million, it can still fail, think about the catastrophic NASA failures, so at $600 maybe the odd warranty may be required.
6) I bought an AT PRO in March, it was malfunctioning out of the box, I rang and without hesitation had it replaced, very apologetic and all is good, great service.

Now to your actual issue, if the original batteries only lasted 6 hours, they were either used, faulty or the machine had some fault causing them to heat up and leak, shortening the life. If your rechargable batteries have the same mHA rating and last only 4 hours, I would suggest there's a machine problem. Send it back if you want 100% satisfaction.

 

[Boatlode]

Send it back to Garrett and demand a brand new replacement.

 

[Three Bears]

I called back to Kellyco and mentioned to them that Garrett was sending two battery holders. But the issue is what caused the batteries to leak acid inside the housing. The batteries came installed and were some off brand. They (Kellyco) are sending me a paid return shipment label and will replace the AT PRO. They mentioned that since the acid was inside the battery compartment on the inside contacts it would eventually destroy the contacts. One of my friends recommended Kellco and I can see why.

 

[Mach1Pilot]

It's interesting you mention they were off brand batteries, as every one that I have sold has come with Energizers pre-installed by Garrett. In any event, I'm sorry to see you had an issue but glad to see that you are going to get a replacement.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Was it a used detector from the scratch and dent department at Kellyco, If so I think your issue is with them not Garrett.

 

[Keppy]

Don't blame Garrett on what some one at Kellyco did …It had to be a used detector they sent you with that brand of batteries in it...

 

[thommo59]

Great result, thats how it should be handled

 

[huntsman53]

I believe in this incident, Garrett was probably not at fault but Kellyco was and they are making it right! The O.P. stated that the metal detector was a "Spring Special" buy, so I doubt that this was a refurbished or returned unit. The metal detectors, I am sure are pre-tested before leaving the Factory and some may be tested before leaving Kellyco before being shipped to Buyers. Any batteries placed in the unit for testing at either location, should have been removed from the unit, new ones supplied in the box and the battery holders and the connections on it and the unit checked for corrosion/damage before the unit was ever shipped to the Buyer. This is a Quality Control problem that may have begun at Garrett but should have been taken care of at Kellyco. While many of us do not, we still know that we are supposed to remove the batteries from the metal detector and any battery holders when it is not in use or going to be stored away for some time and a metal detector should never be shipped from the Factory or from the Retailer with batteries inside the unit or inside the battery holders.


Frank

 

[BVI Hunter]

Was this a returned ATPro I have never had equipment shipped to me with the batteries "in it" ? That's odd!
Pretty sure they will take care of you but if you get it in time is the question!
Good luck! Hope it all works out for you.

Both my AT Pro and SeaHunter both came from Kelly's with batteries installed? I hope this is normal!

 

[Sandman]

Big K DOES NOT test out your detector before they send it out to you. They grab a box off the shelf and stick a shipping label on it. Bart of Big Boy Hobbies will test out your detector if you ask him when you order. We used to do it all the time in the shop where I worked when a customer came in the shop. They were given operating instructions so they knew how to use it and it was all put together so they could carry it home.

 

[el padron]

Both my AT Pro and SeaHunter both came from Kelly's with batteries installed? I hope this is normal!

From recent posts I have made and read here It was made abundantly apparent an entire side industry exists on reselling that and a few other particular models on the secondary market after being used once or twice.

The first time I held in Att Pro I almost **** my pants.....
I was amazed at how cheaply made it is.
It would not have been technically possible to find cheaper production materials.
I have heard the 15-year-old technology in it works well, but yet there have been at least a dozen complaints on this site alone pertaining to it falling apart, taking on water, not reacting well to rechargeable batteries etc....

Ive spoken to two people personally that just simply wrote off the 600 bucks they spent on it and now use something else
On tnet, what I've just written is not a popular subject to write about.
About the best response that I have ever gotten is that it can easily be sold used for close to a full recovery of the original cost

 

[creade]

From recent posts I have made and read here It was made abundantly apparent an entire side industry exists on reselling that and a few other particular models on the secondary market after being used once or twice.

The first time I held in Att Pro I almost **** my pants.....
I was amazed at how cheaply made it is.
It would not have been technically possible to find cheaper production materials.
I have heard the 15-year-old technology in it works well, but yet there have been at least a dozen complaints on this site alone pertaining to it falling apart, taking on water, not reacting well to rechargeable batteries etc....

Ive spoken to two people personally that just simply wrote off the 600 bucks they spent on it and now use something else
On tnet, what I've just written is not a popular subject to write about.
About the best response that I have ever gotten is that it can easily be sold used for close to a full recovery of the original cost

I have a Pro.I agree that some of it ,to me seems cheap,but the ectronics are sound.Garrett will replace anything that breaks,no questions,.I think that unless you spend a grand or more,you might run into that a lot. My buddy just got a xterra 705 gold pack.To me ,that looks even cheaper,and it cost 100 more.

 

[Keppy]

Big K DOES NOT test out your detector before they send it out to you. They grab a box off the shelf and stick a shipping label on it. Bart of Big Boy Hobbies will test out your detector if you ask him when you order. We used to do it all the time in the shop where I worked when a customer came in the shop. They were given operating instructions so they knew how to use it and it was all put together so they could carry it home.

.. Sandman is right there they just grab it off a shelf and ship it..

 

[dusty1530]

I accidentally broke my battery box for my AT Pro I called Garrett and they sent me two free of charge and not only that I had it in 2 days I think their customer service cannot be beat