Detecting a site after the house has burned down

I have noticed that I can't seem to get as good depth at sites were there has been a fire compared to other sites.Does it do something to the ground?I know there is a carpet of nails at these sites.I struggled with one this evening,it also had bad EMI.I hung in there and ended up with a nice 1944 Mercury for my efforts.Bill

Burned down.... or plowed down homesites are very common detecting sites; however, they are a nightmare to a detector,,,,..... as the carpet of debris (usually nails) will cripple detecting abilities,,,, starting with severe masking.

Tom does the fire change the soil characteristics and affect the ability to get decent depth?The nails after the fire are a real challenge.Thats for sure.

Bill,

There is "some" effect (vague term) with carbon 'ash', mineral residue, coke, soot, coal cinder...... aftermath of a fire.... etc...... to detection abilities; however, it's minimum compared to the usual carpet of nails that are dispersed after a fire burned structure. If you switch your detector to 'all metal' mode..... and wave the coil over a burned/charred chunk of wood..... the detector will audibly 'quiver' a bit.

Tom

As usual thanks To

I detected a house that had burnt to the ground and the house was nothing but a pile of ash two feet deep sitting on the foundation. No walls. Pulled over 1,000 coins from the ash. Someones piggy bank money. Takes alot of discrim to see through the mess.

Good luck.
Ken