under water gold detector?for small nuggetts

[strickman]

need an underwater metal for checking for gold in bedrock/black sand.what about tiger shark?any suggestions?for small nuggetts while dredging--am i dreaming?

 

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[Willy]

Wow, I had an Infinium and was getting smaller stuff than 1/2 gram. There were 3 things I didn't like about it though, the dragging tones with no way to disable the secondary tone and having to thumb the delay (disc.) in order to enable the 'iron check'. A pushbutton iron check would have been much better. ..Willy.

 

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[strickman]

willy what did you go with?

 

[Bearkat]

Hey Strickman,
Got me an Infinium and I paid for it in 4 months with California Gold Nuggets. Had it about a year and a half now. The smallest nugget I have found with it is .4 gram. Just bit smaller than a lead pellet which is .5 gram. I now have the underwater headphones for it and will take it down with my dredge this season. I also had it with me on my last trip back to Georgia. I found a great deal of Civil War relics with it and also took it to the Yorkville Mine...I was very confident that I was gonna find a nugget there with it, but alas, they were ellusive as usual there at that mine.

Very easy machine to use and ignores mineralization. The 8" mono coil is the most sensitive and is a great water coil. A little spendy thats for sure but Pulse Induction is the way to go for nuggets out this way, except for sniping bedrock I use a Garrett Scorpion for that. I might get me one of those new GB's also, but if it wont out perform the Scorpion then whats the use. The Scorp will find .1 grammers easy. The Infinium will not. Heres some pics of some Infinium nugs I found in a patch about 10x10 sq ft area. Got 7 of them there. Heres the Pics: http://gallery.me.com/bearkat4160#100092&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Alan

 

[strickman]

good to hear from you bearkat,thanks

 

[patches63]

dont have my first underwater detector yet.but have done extensive research on same.am only interested in gold nuggets in river bottoms here.only two catch my eye.infinium,(pi),excalibur,(vlf).obviously,vlf finds smaller gold.my conclusion is,i need them both.just as i own both a gmt,and a gpx pi.like a mechanic has sae and metric,right tool for each job.dont think tesoro up to date on this subject,correct me if necessary.am interested in input.

 

[nuggetshooter323]

I think the G.I. and the Tiger shark are great and the smart underwater nugget hunter should own both. But Colorado nugget hunters or anybody in a location that has the possibility of wire gold, should be aware that PI units will overlook small pieces of this type. If you own both types of detectors you can use both units to sweep areas to make sure your getting as much as possible.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Strickman, I have used the Sandshark for years to sweep bedrock underwater where I dredge--for me, it's only been sensitive on nuggets around a gram and up--but I really don't like leaving gold of that size behind. As far as trying to find gold smaller than that underwater, I would rather keep on dredging as the dredge season is very short, and I'd rather run yards than chase specks. I guess it's what you really prioritize for underwater detecting.

I've used it on land in red hot ground that eats VLF's for lunch, and found good gold too, but in the same size range as mentioned above. As it's a PI machine, it has its limitations--and I spent a lot of time trying to find a more sensitive coil for smaller gold that would fit it. I contacted them (Tesoro) directly and asked them about it and I never got any promising responses. (Hung out on the forums for a long time asking questions too.) Maybe they have one now for it--in all fairness to the manufacturer--I haven't checked recently. But, it's a great little machine for underwater work, or work above ground in horribly hot soil, and it's quite simple to operate.

P.S. If anyone knows of a sensitive little elliptical that will function with the Sandshark, let me know please.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[strickman]

thanks for the input lanny , i went with a land machine for now but still want a underwater machine.you would think there would be a very good market for a waterproof gold machine.foul weather would be no problem.also great for sniping.

 

[Willy]

Totally forgot about this thread. Anyway, I picked up another Infinium since AFAIK there's no other underwater detector that will effectively find small gold (not tiny mind you, but small to a few grains) and be able to deal with harsh and variable mineralization. I hunt a lot in streams/rivers and all it takes is one moment of inattention and you can kiss goodbye to your high dollar, non-waterproofed, detector. Yup, I can name some more capable detectors.. as long as you stay on dry land. Kinda like laptops; I have a Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 (picked it up used) and have already dropped it twice onto pavement from abt. 4 ft. That's 2 broken laptops I haven't had to replace. ..Willy.

 

[ok2raise]

hey stickman if you could hold out on a underwater detector until tesoro get their connector straighten out we will get together and try them out. im a dealer and want to try everything out i think you told me in north ga where you go but anyways ill get a couple and we will check the machine out first handed ive tryed the the lobo and the tejon out for nuggets both work well in Dahlonega they got rid of about 95 % of the hotrocks but the more you adjust the sensitivity the less depth you will have ive found a piece about the size of a pin head at 2 inches
anyways i talk with tesoro on the underwater and they said they had about 150 machines waiting for the connectors they just said they want them right before they put them out

 

[SushiDog]

What do you guys think about the White's Gold Master GMT E-Series machine for finding gold in rivers and bedrock? I would really appreciate straight up answers or opinions, and you can't say anything that will hurt my feelings...(tough love?)...SushiDog

 

[palmercanyonsavant]

garrett has released a new detector ( AT Pro ) for around 550 to 600 range and is good to a depth of ten feet (see it on youtube ) it may be good enough for rivers and streams but not for deep diving, I am buying one this month for the river I work. I am tired of stooping to retrieve a beep only to get splashed with a rouge wave or slipp and fall in ( at least the inside of my detector is clean ) any how Hope this might help.

 

[Lanny in AB]

I love the shot of your gold! Nice

All the best,

Lanny

 

[63bkpkr]

Hey Sushidog of SacTown,
I have a GMT and used it along the banks of rivers near you and had good luck with it this summer though I did not have it in the water, the bank was leaking water so the ground was wet. I found sizeable nuggets as well as fine gold and of course the ever present old mining bolts and junk. Playing in water is touchy business till some shoe manufacturer comes up with a shoe sole that will not slip on the grey rocks.

Good Luck, 63bkpkr

 

[SushiDog]

Thanks for the 411 63bkpkr.....sounds like you may have been up on the south fork of the American river to find all of your goodies, and that is really great! Okay....water shoes....I have some water shoes that I got on sale from Target a few years back, and they are really good....but! the best water shoe I ever had were the water shoes the Japanese have....the sole is like a felt material, and it really grabs everything that might be slippery....if you go to Japan Town (Nihon-machi) in San Francisco, there is a hardware store called "Soko's" right on Post Street (across from what used to be a Denny's restaurant, but now called Danny's)...I believe they may sell those water shoes there...........do you live near Sacramento?.....SushiDog

 

[63bkpkr]

sushidog,
I'm a bit further south, Walnut Creek, making it that much harder to be along the rivers and streams that I've played in since 64. But I still go play like this year I was able to be "out there" for a total of 5 weeks. The best water walkers I've ever had were some Puma running shoes back in the 70's. They lasted for about 8 years and of course the sole style was no longer available, it was elongated circular holes in the sole. I saw a Nike shoe last weekend that will be out in 2011 with a similar pattern, its a minimalist's running shoe. I will check out the Japanese "shoes", thanks for the tip. Sliding uncontrollably on wet rocks is not my idea of fun.

Now off for some fun cutting vent holes in a garage wall.

Enjoy this lovely day, 63bkpkr

 

[SushiDog]

Walnut Creek is a really nice area....my daughter lives at Bay Point....the next time my wife goes to Nihon-machi, I will tell her to check out a place to get those shoes I talked about....I am pretty much home bound right now with a really sick dog, so I can't get out to Nihon-machi at the moment....I really enjoyed your post, and LQQK forward to many more....SushiDog

 

[63bkpkr]

Thanks sushidog,
I enjoyed sharing my summer adventures, glad you enjoyed them. I am looking forward to more as well though tomorrow morning I call a fellow in New Hampshire to see what he would like to do about working with me, There. NH is a long way from the rivers of NorCal!

We will see what happens on all counts. 63bkpkr

 

[SushiDog]

You guys must have a pretty good plan for you to way out to New Hampshire....I wish you well on your phone call....SushiDog

 

[Lanny in AB]

I use a Sandshark for underwater nugget detecting--had to have a PI unit as the bedrock I work is red hot--it finds the nuggets, but they have to be about a gram and larger, and I know you're looking for something that will find the little gold too. Good luck--can't help you out any more on waterproof units. Sounds like Willy's done his homework though.

All the best,

Lanny