Which metal detector best for placer gold?

[scott3165]

I live in Massachusetts and the only gold in the North East is placer gold that was brought down form glaciers a long time ago.

My question is which detector would be better to help me find placer gold?

I'm reading that a lot of the gold around New England is in the form of flakes and/or small nuggets.

I'm not sure if the ground is very mineralized or not and I know from my sampling many spots that there aren't alot of black sands like in the west.

I do hit a lot of streams and rivers so something that is waterproof is better (I don't need to be going underwater with it but have the coil in the water).

Thanks

Scott

[Terry Soloman]

Hi Scott! I have detected and panned your neck of the woods. For the most part, the gold in your state is flake to micro. Arizona "Pickers," are East Coast "Nuggets." I would choose a VLF machine very good a picking up sub-gram gold. Two that come to mind are the Fisher Goldbug II (manual ground balance), and the Tesoro Lobo SuperTRAQ (Auto ground balance). Keep us posted! - Terry

[Nugget Shooter]

A Minelab Eureka Gold would fit the bill as well....

[scott3165]

Thanks.

I will take a look at those detectors.

Scott

[Jeff Pike]

My vote is for the Fisher GB2 as well- I run a Minelab PI on the larger deeper gold and a GB2 for shallow trash and small gold... I don't have any experience with Minelab VLF machines, but I suspect they perform just as nicely as the fisher units. From experience, I can tell you that a GB2 with a 3x5 coil (properly balanced)will find amazingly small gold.

Best of luck,

Jeff

[whylee]

alittle more expensive but a great PI detector is the Garrett Infinium and its waterproof. It would not hurt to have a Fisher GB II. if you can afford both.

Its nice to have both a PI and a VLF machine.

[adam]

Gold Bug II

[scott3165]

I'm going to go with the GB2. I looked and the Garrett Infinium but that would be better as a second detector and I can't really afford a second detector now.

Does anyone know if the GB2 is waterproof?

[explorer1]

My choice is the Gold Bug 2. Besides, ALL of Fishers coils are made to be submersible. I wish all manufacturers would do the same with their coils. I use my Fisher for hard rock. But also for bedrock in streams.

[Bedrock Bob]

I'm going to go with the GB2. I looked and the Garrett Infinium but that would be better as a second detector and I can't really afford a second detector now.

Does anyone know if the GB2 is waterproof?

The coils are, the box is not, nor are the connections.

You cant beat a GBII for small gold nor can you beat the price. I highly reccommend it. Light, small, sensitive and inexpensive. It wont detect very deep but will see the stuff smaller than I can see it.

[Terry Soloman]

As far as waterproofing for small creeks and streams just do it Terry, or "hillbilly" style - plastic garbage bag and duct tape baby! - T

[Bedrock Bob]

As far as waterproofing for small creeks and streams just do it Terry, or "hillbilly" style - plastic garbage bag and duct tape baby! - T

That works for splashes but it darn sure wont "waterproof" anything. As a matter of fact if you do that a little water will get inside the bag and the heat will cause it to evaporate and re-condense inside the box. It will also play hell with the connections due to high humidity. My advice is to use the bag but if the unit gets anywhere near water to take the bag off a couple times a day and let things "breathe". Otherwise you will get some extreme corrosion inside your control box, especially at your battery connections.

It is a great idea to protect from splashes but can lead to a false sense of security. My experience is that splashes run right off an uncovered box but will play hell with one sealed in plastic.

I keep my control box housed in a camera bag over my shoulder. That way I cant drop it in water and it is well padded and protected from the get go. I use the machine underground a heck of a lot and dust is a major issue. I stretch a rubber exam glove over the control box (open on the bottom) and it is great. You can operate the controls and never remove the glove. I would imagine it would shed water very well and allow a little breathing/draining room out the battery box in the back.

[scott3165]

I am just looking to put the coil and maybe a foot up the pole in the water not the control box.

But your saying the connection wire that goes into the coil can't get wet?

[Au Seeker]

I am just looking to put the coil and maybe a foot up the pole in the water not the control box.

But your saying the connection wire that goes into the coil can't get wet?

You can get that connection wet on a Goldbug 2 or any Fisher and Whites coils and a lot of other brands of detectors, but some brands aren't waterproof (most Minelab coils are not waterproof, but some of the aftermarket coils are), just make sure the connection is screwed tightly and there are no cuts or breaks in the coil wire.

Whatever detector you end up deciding to get check with the manufacturer before purchasing to make sure you know if their coils are waterproof and you can dunk them halfway up the shaft, one word of caution on doing this though, DON"T ever raise the coil higher than the control box, on some detectors depending on how the control box is mounted/screwed onto the shaft the water can run inside the shaft and get into the control box and fry your new machine, and make sure you put it in your vehicle/store it at home with the control box higher than the coil until all water has had a chance to evaporate.

Skip

[Terry Soloman]

That works for splashes but it darn sure wont "waterproof" anything. As a matter of fact if you do that a little water will get inside the bag and the heat will cause it to evaporate and re-condense inside the box. It will also play hell with the connections due to high humidity. My advice is to use the bag but if the unit gets anywhere near water to take the bag off a couple times a day and let things "breathe". Otherwise you will get some extreme corrosion inside your control box, especially at your battery connections.

It is a great idea to protect from splashes but can lead to a false sense of security. My experience is that splashes run right off an uncovered box but will play hell with one sealed in plastic.

I keep my control box housed in a camera bag over my shoulder. That way I cant drop it in water and it is well padded and protected from the get go. I use the machine underground a heck of a lot and dust is a major issue. I stretch a rubber exam glove over the control box (open on the bottom) and it is great. You can operate the controls and never remove the glove. I would imagine it would shed water very well and allow a little breathing/draining room out the battery box in the back.

Great info BB, but i am just talking about covering the coil and coil connector - and about a foot up the shaft so he can stick the coil in the shallow water, not the control box! I got a neat little Tesoro Sand Shark if I want to submerge myself! - Terry

[Steel Pan]

The manual explains about detecting in the water.

Keep the head lower than the control box, and don't raise the head above the control box until unit is completely dry. Be aware that water can get inside the shaft, be sure it's dry inside too.

I gotta question,....

Does the detection depth change with the 11" coil?

I understand that it will detect deeper but the smaller coil is better for pinpointing.

Is that so? :unsure:

[whylee]

The manual explains about detecting in the water.

Keep the head lower than the control box, and don't raise the head above the control box until unit is completely dry. Be aware that water can get inside the shaft, be sure it's dry inside too.

I gotta question,....

Does the detection depth change with the 11" coil?

I understand that it will detect deeper but the smaller coil is better for pinpointing.

Is that so? :unsure:

For the most part a larger coil will detect deeper, Alot depends on the coil type, and the minerals in the ground your detecting along with your settings. But if you are looking to search deeper you will want the bigger coil.

The larger coils are not as good with the small gold either

[adam]

I wouldnt even consider detecting in water....Please tell me that is not the case. It will be the worst experience of your life. In that case your best detector would be a small dredge.

[explorer1]

Scott

You had asked if the GB2 is waterproof. When I replied I stated that Fisher coils are submersible. I never mentioned the control box or control box connection. Submersible is not the same as waterproof. So do not get confused where this topic is going. Waterproof and submersible is like comparing bulletproof and bullet resistant. Both two different things. Yes the connection at the coil is submersible. But check your cable for fray marks as it gets older. One hard pass against a sharp rock can injure that cable along with corrosion from acidic water mine drainage. If prospecting right out of a mine.

Personally, I would not submerge the coil no deeper then 6" under water. Sometimes in streams it is necessary to get the full advantage of the GB2 with smaller coil if bedrock cracks are evident. Especially when you are in a gold bearing stream. Or you can simply clean those cracks out manually without the use of a detector. But today, technology has given us something the old timers didn't have....electronics.

Good luck!

[scott3165]

Yes, I understand between submersible and waterproof I stated the wrong word. I do mean submersible, there are a lot of streams that are less than a foot deep that I would like to detect. So putting a bag over just the coil and coil connection is not a bad idea either, just another protection barrier.

The GB2 I was looking at comes with a 10" oval coil. Is this better for the 6 & 20khz setting and not going as deep? Is the 60khz used with larger than 10" to get deep penetration?

[Au Seeker]

Scott

You had asked if the GB2 is waterproof. When I replied I stated that Fisher coils are submersible. I never mentioned the control box or control box connection. Submersible is not the same as waterproof. So do not get confused where this topic is going. Waterproof and submersible is like comparing bulletproof and bullet resistant. Both two different things. Yes the connection at the coil is submersible. But check your cable for fray marks as it gets older. One hard pass against a sharp rock can injure that cable along with corrosion from acidic water mine drainage. If prospecting right out of a mine.

Personally, I would not submerge the coil no deeper then 6" under water. Sometimes in streams it is necessary to get the full advantage of the GB2 with smaller coil if bedrock cracks are evident. Especially when you are in a gold bearing stream. Or you can simply clean those cracks out manually without the use of a detector. But today, technology has given us something the old timers didn't have....electronics.

Good luck!

Just to clarify, Fisher states in their Gold Bug 2 Specifications that the coil is "Waterproof" which of course means the coil is submersible, but all important the coil is "Waterproof".

" aUDIO OUTPUT

cONTROL HOUSING

BaTTERIES

WEIGHT

Dust, Moisture Resistant................................Yes

mINERaLIZaTION

SETTINGS

Manual, 16‑turn vernier dual‑shaft precision potentiometer

Extended ......................................................53”

2

Collapsed ......................................................40”

2

Speaker ........................................................2” Moisture Resistant

Headphone Jack ..........................................1/4” stereo/mono

LF Search ....................................................71.01 kHz

Response .......................................................(VCO)

3

Type...............................................................(2) 9V Transistor

Life‑Carbon Zinc...........................................10‑20 hours

2

Life‑Alkaline..................................................25‑35 hours

2

Nicads............................................................5‑10 hours

2

1. High Mineral (attenuated, fast autotune)

2. Normal Mineral (fast autotune)

3. Low Mineral (gain boosted, slow autotune)

Complete ......................................................2.9 lbs.

Control Housing............................................1.0 lbs.

Handle and Coil ...........................................1.9 lbs.

FREQUENcY

OPERaTING mODES

GROUND aDJUSTmENT

maNUaL THRESHOLD

TUNING

WaRRaNTY

1. All metal Autotune (Normal)

4

2. All metal Autotune (Audio Boost)

4

3. Iron Discrimination

4

Lifetime Limited Warranty* ‑

*warranty may vary outside of the United States, warranty applies to the original purchaser only.

see your dealer for details.

NOTES

For more Information contact:

fisher researCh LaBOratOry

200 W. Willmott rd., Los Banos, Ca 93635-5501

tel 209.826.3292 fax 209.826.0416

www.fisherlab.com email: info@fisherlab.com

Gold Bug 2

Handle Mount / Hip Mount Convertable......Yes

Small shaft on rear of housing, effective in all‑metal, autotune modes

SEaRcH cOIL Type..............................................................Elliptical, Co‑Planar

Size................................................................6.5” or 10” standard, other sizes available

Shielding ......................................................l00% Electrostatic Coverage

5

Interchangeable.............................................Yes

Waterproof.....................................................Yes

Cable Length.................................................7 feet

SPEcIaL FEaTURES

accESSORIES

1. Subject to improvement or modification without notice.

2. Approximate.

3. Voltage Controlled Oscillator. Volume and frequency increase as target is approached. This effect is most pronounced in the

No‑Motion mode.

4. The Gold Bug is a “motion” detector in the Auto‑Tune and Motion modes. The search coil must be moving at least slightly

to detect a target"

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