Effects of tape on coils??

As pleased as he is with his Garrett Ace 250 my old man's concerned about
scuffing and damaging the coil with stones etc. It's a 6.5"x9" coil and
Regton seem to only do a 6"x9" cover. I'll ring them and ask if they have
anything to fit but in the meantime, what would be the effect of using say,
electrical tape or even duck tape as a temporary measure? Has anyone
conducted experiments with such materials?

Cheers...Andre

Andre,

Either the electrical tape or duct tape would work insofar as protecting the
coil from scuffs, and for not upsetting the sensitivity or ground balance.

The problem you will have with tape is that, no matter how tightly you wind
it at first, it will start moving and slipping with wear and heat, exposing
the sticky stuff. Then you could be picking up metallic or magnetic bits
that start sticking to the tape. The net result will be, over some period
of time, some loss in sensitivity. You'd have to unwind the old tape and
replace it with new tape periodically.

A better solution would be to get some kind of liquid epoxy and paint it
onto the coil casing. Let it harden, and that will protect the unit from
scuffs. If it (the epoxy) gets scuffed, you can then clean it and paint on
a thin new layer to keep it working and looking good.

One more note: Are you sure you need to do anything to the coil? I had a
coil cover on my Fisher CZ-7a and found it was trapping "hot" sand inside
after about a year. It was a devil of a time getting the cover off.
Actually the CZ coil is solid and rugged so now I just use it without any
cover. It's got some scuff marks but nothing to worry about. Maybe your
unit's coil is already plenty rugged.

Final note: You might want to check with the manufacturer's "support" site
to see what kind of comments or recommendations they might have.

Best of luck,

Joe

	#1
Krusty	Effects of tape on coils?? As pleased as he is with his Garrett Ace 250 my old man's concerned about scuffing and damaging the coil with stones etc. It's a 6.5"x9" coil and Regton seem to only do a 6"x9" cover. I'll ring them and ask if they have anything to fit but in the meantime, what would be the effect of using say, electrical tape or even duck tape as a temporary measure? Has anyone conducted experiments with such materials? Cheers...Andre

	#2
Joe Roberts	Re: Effects of tape on coils?? Andre, Either the electrical tape or duct tape would work insofar as protecting the coil from scuffs, and for not upsetting the sensitivity or ground balance. The problem you will have with tape is that, no matter how tightly you wind it at first, it will start moving and slipping with wear and heat, exposing the sticky stuff. Then you could be picking up metallic or magnetic bits that start sticking to the tape. The net result will be, over some period of time, some loss in sensitivity. You'd have to unwind the old tape and replace it with new tape periodically. A better solution would be to get some kind of liquid epoxy and paint it onto the coil casing. Let it harden, and that will protect the unit from scuffs. If it (the epoxy) gets scuffed, you can then clean it and paint on a thin new layer to keep it working and looking good. One more note: Are you sure you need to do anything to the coil? I had a coil cover on my Fisher CZ-7a and found it was trapping "hot" sand inside after about a year. It was a devil of a time getting the cover off. Actually the CZ coil is solid and rugged so now I just use it without any cover. It's got some scuff marks but nothing to worry about. Maybe your unit's coil is already plenty rugged. Final note: You might want to check with the manufacturer's "support" site to see what kind of comments or recommendations they might have. Best of luck, Joe