nugget finder coils vs coiltek coils


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Which is better in regards to response, depth of penetration, ability to locate small gold nuggets at shallow depth and deep depths; and large gold nuggets at shallow and deep depths.

Interested in a equivalent size compare and contrast. Ignoring price.

Thanks

Scorpion

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That question is like asking why does the earth revolve/ Your going to get a 100 different answers, but Coiltek is better in my opion, because they are pro, which means more power to the ground, the platypus is water proof, goes deep, fines small nuggets at depth, fines large ones at depth and shallow, is lite weight, DD elliptical 11 X 8 and has produced more gold for me in a short time than any other coil, But then there is the wallaby, which I have not tried, which runs a close second to it, coves ground good, is 14 X 11 DD elliptical, Coiltek also makes an anti interfernce coil which works darned good under powerlines, to let you detect where most others can't, or have a hard time, is 14 or 11 inches and gets ammazing depth. My uncle has a 14 e DD nuggetfinder, which he loves, gets good depth, is lite weight and works well on little and big nuggets. Minelab also has the commander coils, which I have not tried, but the stoch 11 inch coils do a good job. It depends on your style of hunting, how mineralized the ground is, and a host of other factors. I go with Coiltek, dependable and deep. Grubstake

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Hello scorpion,

Questions like this come up from time to time on the forums and it's tough to get straight answers. I can only tell you from my experience with all the coils. Coiltek was the first aftermarket coil manufacture for the Minelab PI's, so they have been around the longest. I'm one of the first, if not first, Coiltek dealers here in Arizona. Over the years of using and abusing the Coiltek coils I find them to be the most reliable. They make just about every size available and also in different configurations such as DD Pro, Mono, Salt/Anti-Interference. They also make completely waterproof Mono and DD coils for SD/GP series.

Trying to compare a same sized coil (NF vs. Coiltek) is like splitting hairs. It's all about preference and I prefer something I know is reliable and has proven itself to me in the past, so my choice is COILTEK! :D

I do personally have a couple of NF & Minelab coils, but 90% of my coil arsenal is Coiltek.

Since day one Coiltek has stood behind their products 110% and have the best US Distributor on the Planet! ;) Some short guy they dubbed "Doc!" :wacko: They also just hired one of the most knowledgeable people from Minelab, a good friend Gus L. ;) Big mistake for Minelab, huge gain for Doc.

I'm sure regardless of your choice you will have good success.

Take care,

Rob Allison

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I've tried the majority of coils out there except the Commander coils. For nugget hunting I like a small coil like the ML 8" mono. The Coiltek Joey and the NF 10" are also good. I agree that it really is like spliting hairs. For patch hunting I like either the Wallaby 17" DD pro or the NF 16" SL mono. That should cover 98% of your situations in the field. .

...... rf

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Dear group;

I generally don't get too involved in coil debates, but I will throw this into the discussion. Coiltek coils have heavy injection molded plastic cases, whereas Nugget Finder uses lighter fiberglass cases for theirs. I happen to work in an industry that incorporates a lot of injection molded plastics products and also fiberglass ones and nobody can tell me that fiberglass is stronger than plastic, because it just ain't so. Plastic is stronger than fiberglass, period. I really abuse, and mean ABUSE my poor Coiltek coils and so far I haven't suffered a single coil related failure. Now, there is another factor which can be added to this discussion and that is the retail price of Coiltek vs. Nugget Finder coils. Coilteks are cheaper. It seems like a person pays a lot for the benefit of lighter weight. If a person is swinging a really BIG loop, like over 18" then I can sort of see the advantage to a lighter coil, but I swing an 18" Coiltek mono and the weight doesn't really bother me at all. It's all a matter of adjusting the bungee cord properly to take the weight off of the arm and put it where it belongs, on the upper torso. I also tossed aside the stock Minelab battery pack harness in favor of a surplus military LBE harness and the difference in fatigue and comfort is very noticable. Also, in tall thick grass, lighter coils are a hinderance instead of a help. I prefer a heavier coil in envirnoments such as this because the additional weight helps keep the coil closer to the ground, whereas lighter coils tend to float up higher on the grass. I've duct taped rocks to the top of my stock 11" DD and my ML 8" mono coils in order to keep them closer the ground in heavy vegetation. Now, I've never been mistaken for Albert Einstein before, but I do know that for every 1" of height your coil is above the surface of the ground equates to 1" of depth that is lost below the ground. So unless you are detecting in an area that is completely devoid of vegetation, the effects of a lighter coil are negated. IMHO, Nugget Finder coils are 10% technology and 90% hype. OK, so now Nugget Finder has gone and added a switch to some of it's coils. That's just what I've been needing, another switch! Not only did they add a switch to some of their coils, they've also had the foresight to increase the retail price to justify the added expense of R&D, parts, installation, etc. All of this for a switch that I don't understand and have no desire to use. Shoot, if something sounds like a target I dig it up! I look at it this way. If it sounds like it's deep, then it's worth investigating, IMHO, because if it's iron, then it's very likely a very OLD piece of iron and therefore an antique and I don't want to pass it up. I've seen it written where this dubious new switch should be used in the NORMAL position about 90% of the time. Now, the way that I think of things is why not just leave the darned switch off the coil and detect in NORMAL 100% of the time? Where's the benefit of having that switch? So far I've yet to hear of any real benefits. Again, 10% tech 90% hype, IMHO. Now, the question needs to be asked, do you want to buy hype or quality? If you want quality, then buy Coiltek.

Your friend;

LAMAR

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Hello All,

Being a Coiltek dealer I support Coiltek products, but do have an open mind when it comes to other manufactures. I have used all the coils built by other manufactures and I found Coiltek to be the most reliable. If you're successful with a certain product you tend to stick with it. Over the years I have found pounds of gold with Coiltek coils and never personally had a warranty issue.

On normal hunts I usually always have the Coiltek Joey Mono, Coiltek Wallaby DD Pro and Wallaby Mono. For where I hunt these coils cover everything I need. There is no benefit (for me) in having a coil larger due to the size of the gold and how shallow it is.

Good luck with everything you purchase. May all the beeps be golden! :D

Rob Allison

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Thanks everyone!

I appreciate the information! It helps clear up a lot of questions I had banging around inside my head!

I like my little Mono Joey it is sweet!

Thanks again!

Regards

Karl

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Hello Karl,

I hate getting wrapped up into these questions cause it always seems like someone is partial to one product over the other. I've been using Coiltek since day one and I really support their products. However, I like to keep an open mind and use other products also. This is one reason why I have a bunch of Coiltek coils, a couple NF and Minelab coils.

I guess the old saying is, "If you don't have something good to say, just keep it to yourself!" :huh: Sometimes this is tough to do when competition is talking down your products.

When it doubt, experiment and find what works best for you. If you like it, keep it, if you don't, Ebay and the Prospecting Classified Forums will be waiting for you. :P

Take care,

Rob Allison

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Hi Rob!

I know what you mean! I develop the same attitude about things. We get into comfort zones.

My problem is that I'm too much like my Dad! When I get something I end up keeping it. Much to my wife's dismay! I figure that at some point, I'll be in the right circumstance where something I have will become very uselfull.................providing I can find it! (Must be why I have 2, 3 and 4 of somethings lol ) I'm sure she'd like me to have one hell of a big garage sale! Of course that would also mean selling the garage! lol

Still trying to get my schedule cleared out enough to go back over to your neck of the woods!

I know it will be hot! Heck it is hot here!

Thanks for the information!

Have a great day!

Regards,

Karl

aka Scorpion

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Hello Karl,

I think Minelab makes the best detectors, especially when you're talking about mineral immunity and depth. However, between the coil manufactures (Coiltek, Minelab and Nuggetfinder) they have all bases covered. There are plastic coils, fiberglass coils, round coils, elliptical coils, waterproof coils, salt coils, mono coils, DD Pro coils ..... I know this sounds repetitive ... :rolleyes:

Regardless of someone's choice, you can't go wrong with the three manufactures above. All of them have advantages/disadvantages from one to another.

Speaking of Arizona, it's getting hot, but that won't keep me out of the field. :lol: You just have to get up earlier (3am) and be in the field by 5am. Hunt until it gets too hot (around 11am - 12pm). Sometimes, depending if I'm onto gold I might take a break for a few hours and then hit it again in later afternoon/evening.

There’s nothing like chasing gold nuggets across the hot desert. :P

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

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I agree 1,000%!

I'd rather be chasing gold across a hot desert than driving around in the 95 -100 degree heat and 85% humidity of Houston, Texas. Even Big Bend is better than this!

I have always said, "Houston is a great place to earn a living! It is a Tropical Paradise: high humidity, high heat, hot days, balmy nights, blue skies with patchy white clouds, hot breezes in the day, warm breezes at night, hurricanes, mosquitos so big that when you hit them with your car you have to call a tow truck to get them out of the road, rats as big a dogs, cockroaches that we measure in inches, disbelief in anything that a weatherman says and all that without any estetic beauty of a Tropical Paradise of any kind!" It is flat as a pancake and the only hard rock anywhere is either in some one's garden or it is the concrete on the roads/overpasses/buildings!

Makes me want to sing a Janis Joplin song! She grew up about 90 miles from here in Port Arthur, Texas.

As to getting up at 3 am to start at 5 am. sounds good to me cause my bio-clock would have me getting up at 5 am and hitting the field at 7 am!

As long as I don't have to do the Little Iraq Shuffel in order to dodge bullets!

:)

At some point I'm gonna have to move closer! :)

At least to El Paso! ROFL

Regards

Karl

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  • 3 years later...

I found small gold with Robs 18" Coiltek Eliptical Mono maybe 4 inches deep, I found large gold with a NF 14" eliptical mono almost 2 feet deep. All in the Rich Hill area. The best coil is the one you have and how you swing it. Low and slow seems more important than brands... Hey Rob - keep those coil skid plates handy!!

btw if you are reading this, you should be nugget hunting instead... :-)

Cheers!

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Morning to ALL:

Russ: Good to hear from you and hope all is going very well for you in Dewey. You are too far away from Peeples Valley for me to drop buy for a vist but who knows when I'll wonder over that way.

Rob: I think the arsenal of coils you take along on prospecting trips is real good. I always have my lil Mono Joey and Wallaby DD plus a couple more coils in my prospecting vehicle (Geo Tracker).

Karl: I formerly lived in Spring Branch and had to put up with all of the problems you mentioned plus all kinds of damn snakes. Finally was able to evacuate the Houston area. After retriement I settled in Peeples Valley, AZ., just a few short miles from the gold hunting areas associated with the famous Rich Hill area. Now I only have to watch out for buzz tails and a coral snake, once in a while.

Thanks for all the great postings on this string.

Don

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Hi Don,

Will we probably passed each other on the loop, 45 or 1-10 or 290. Seems at one time or another I have traversed all of those freeways. Even worked in the Spring Branch area for a while.

I have my game plan in place and me and the wife are planing on moving out west in a few years. I am working on what I consider my retirement plan. Get some more experience teaching the sciences at high school and middle school levels and then pull the plug and move west and teach. That will give a large part of the summer off and good holiday time in the cold months to do some prospecting. Even if I don't move from Houston right away, I can still get out in the summer. It will be hot, but at least the sweat will evaporate. Looking forward to getting out. Any suggestions on where to go from the middle of June forward to the first week of June would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Karl

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Hi Don,

Will we probably passed each other on the loop, 45 or 1-10 or 290. Seems at one time or another I have traversed all of those freeways. Even worked in the Spring Branch area for a while.

I have my game plan in place and me and the wife are planing on moving out west in a few years. I am working on what I consider my retirement plan. Get some more experience teaching the sciences at high school and middle school levels and then pull the plug and move west and teach. That will give a large part of the summer off and good holiday time in the cold months to do some prospecting. Even if I don't move from Houston right away, I can still get out in the summer. It will be hot, but at least the sweat will evaporate. Looking forward to getting out. Any suggestions on where to go from the middle of June forward to the first week of June would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Karl

Morning to ya Karl: Most folks who venture out to Arizona in the Summer tend to vist the Bradshaw Mountqains or the Stanton/Rich Hill Areas. Hundreds of detectors have been swing in these areas and yet gold nuggets are still being found. By all means buy and wear snake protection since AZ has a total of 18 different rattlesnakes. If you are LDMA/GPAA member check out Arizona Section of their Claims Guide, if you are an LDMA Member you could probably stay at Stanton... otherwise you'd have to camp out on the flats near Rich Hill. Get up early and drink lots of fluids to keep hydrated while detecting.

Good luck, Don

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Thanks for the advice Don.

I am an LDMA, Roadrunner, AAGP, Weaver, And Desert Diggers over in Tuscon and of course 24K for whatever that buys me until the October time frame. Although even though I paid my dues for the current year I don't think that Ely ever sent me the current sticker for the badge.

Those are the areas that I am currently planning on working. Just wasn't sure if I should also look at other areas. Other than doing some photography here and there and prospecting where ever I can, I have lots af time from the middle of June to the 1st week in August to have a fun summer.

Have the snake guards and an external speaker to hear the pesky rattlers.

I am looking forward to this trip and can hardly wait to get over there.

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