Equinox dilemma

I have had my Equinox 800 for almost 1 1/2 years now. I am a beach hunter, and I would say I do about 60% out of water, 40% in water hunting. I have not had any problems with the 800 until about 2 weeks ago, when I was hunting at Fort Myers beach. I had it in chest deep water for about 5 hours when water got behind the LCD and it failed. I sent it in for warranty repairs, and in the mean time my local dealer was kind enough to loan me her shops Equinox 600 as I had planned to go back to Fort Myers for another hunt this past Thursday. The 600 was like new, NEVER in the water and I was considering buying from her as a backup to my 800. Well, after 2 hours of being in the water the 600 also failed due to water intrusion.

At this point, I have NO faith in the Equinox platform in the water. I have a Tesoro Sand Shark which was supposed to be my backup, but it is also out for repairs. I am not sure what to do, but I am considering selling the Equinox and getting an Excalibur 2. I just want to be able to hunt in or out of the water without worrying about my detector crapping out. I am hoping my Sand Shark is repairable, if so should I keep the Equinox and only use the Sand Shark in the water? Or is the Excalibur a much better choice as I really want to do more water hunting? Decisions, decisions....

kwalenciak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> At this point, I have NO faith in the Equinox plat
> form in the water.
\
Welcome to the club!!! Don't run an Equinox in the water out of warranty!!!

It seems to be a problem that ML doesnt know how to fix or is willing to replace those that do .....in warranty. Bean counting issue maybe. But ... dont think the Xcal is without issues either..... and you are looking at only 1 year warranty. Is the Xcal productive and a capable machine..... i think its still the gold standard that most companies gauge theirs by. Also, all things become equal in the salt water for most of the water machines. Meaning.....they find about the same targets.... at about the same depth. Thou the MDT maybe the exception to that here in Fl. If you like the Nox id go with another just because of the price and warranty difference between the two. Who cares if it floods as long as its covered. Joe (ole beach nut) has shown just how well the machine does.......but most of us have upgraded the shaft, added a PPer, better battery, some had to replace knobs, O rings, and cracked coil cables..... and the headphones lets face it waterproof...but way over priced and short cable. Sooooo this all comes out of your pocket.

Having owned both the Excal and the Equinox. I agree with Dew's assessment (the Excal is a money sink if you want to get it customized for optimal use - not really worth it unless you spend most of your time with it submerged, like OBN Joe).

You can get a cheaper 600 "beater" machine new as a backup and dedicate that to the abuse of beach hunting in the water and replace it as necessary under warranty for 3 years and keep your refurbished 800 as a backup/land machine.

ML is working on a new machine, perhaps a successor to both the Equinox and CTX that hopefully will work out the apparent design/manufacturing issues regarding water intrusion and snapped coil ears (due to the dynamic loads of water hunting) that seem to plague a non-insignificant minority of the Equinoxes.

I suspect ML is not overtly showing their hand on this issue because the number of folks who actually submerge their machines is likely extremely small compared to the overall user base and the number of failed machines is even smaller still. So ML are content to just quietly replace them under warranty as they fail rather than take the larger financial and PR hit of admitting a design problem and issuing a recall. There will be a reckoning of sorts early next year when the warranties start expiring on the initial wave of Equinoxes purchased upon original release of the series. I think overall durability of the Equinox design is an issue as well, not just watertight integrity, as evidenced by the coil ear issues and other "dry" control box failures I have caught wind of.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2020 01:21PM by CTGoldman.

Dew & CT, thanks for the feedback - If I sell my Nox and all accessories, I would still need to come up with close to $400 just to buy the Excal. And like you said, i'm sure I would want a straight shaft, PP mod, knob guard, etc... Once I get the 800 back, I would still have over 1 1/2 years of warranty left which factors into the decision. I dont expect to get my 800 back for another 2 weeks, so I have some time to mull things over a bit.. With any luck, my Sand Shark will be back in service soon as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2020 01:25PM by kwalenciak.

If it is really that bad of a problem there should be a Class Action Law suit and get the Warranty extended to at least 5 years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2020 01:29PM by GreenMeanie.

I think Minelab needs to start calling it weatherproof instead of submersible because it clearly is not.

Honestly, I hunted w the Equinox all last summer in the lake and never had a problem w it. I actually think it’s a great water machine.

Aaron

TARSACCI - “Digging deeper, BEHIND the competition!”
[forums.tarsaccisales.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2020 06:39PM by Aaron.

I like the Nox, but it's weather resistant at best.....rain proof. Leakage is inevitable.....if not today, tomorrow. They already got our money for the Nox, why would they dump more money to fix it ? Minelab is focusing on future models.

Arkansas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like the Nox, but it's weather resistant at best
> .....rain proof. Leakage is inevitable.....if not
> today, tomorrow.

So it’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when. I wonder, percentage wise, how many who use the Equinox in water have actually developed a leak? There are a helluva lot of these sold, and as a whole, believe the percentage is small comparatively speaking. I’ve read about those who are on their second and third machine because of leaks, so there is definitely a problem, and perhaps ML won’t acknowledge for reasons mentioned. I also watch an older gentleman primarily use his on the beach, in the water, bays, rivers and unless I missed something, has never mentioned a leaking issue.
My concern is cost of repair after warranty expiration, and then length of repai warranty, if any. If cost prohibitive, no shame in dedicating it for land use only, though admittedly it was purchased for land and water use.

My original Nox 800 was 2 years and 2 months old. Used extensively in salt water waist to chin deep in the Florida sun. No leaks whatsoever but the pod did manage to have all 4 bolts pull out and break the housing. Probably from torque strain of water and strong wave hunting. It has since been replaced with a new pod. So far no leaks but pretty early to tell.

Awhile back on FeeBay there were some overseas sellers (not China) that sold some special molded shaped gaskets (white silicone) that were suposed to fix the leak issue. They had cut-out photos showing some weak areas that water could travel into the Nox pod. Dont think these are offered anymore and dont know if they worked. Some here may have even bought the gaskets. Minelab could fix the issue, but dont think they will......disposable. There might be some other way to seal an out of warranty machine to make it last longer.

Are you talking about the little plug that goes on the bottom of the control box.?....you have to take the pod off machine to see it

Arkansas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Awhile back on FeeBay there were some overseas sel
> lers (not China) that sold some special molded sha
> ped gaskets (white silicone) that were suposed to
> fix the leak issue. They had cut-out photos showin
> g some weak areas that water could travel into the
> Nox pod. Dont think these are offered anymore and
> dont know if they worked. Some here may have even
> bought the gaskets. Minelab could fix the issue, b
> ut dont think they will......disposable. There mig
> ht be some other way to seal an out of warranty ma
> chine to make it last longer.


I have one of them in my 800. I bought it quite a while ago. It is a white silicone plug/seal that goes in the handle of the control grip. I have had my Equinox submerged a few times. No issue. But some of you definitely submerge it many many more times than me. I think they were sold from Russia with love.

FeeBay......doing an Advanced Search, then Sold listings. One might be able to find an recent sold Listing....for these gaskets. Google searches will find older Listings, but photos no longer viewable. Someone here in the U.S. could even reproduce these gaskets (or similar) maybe to sell.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2020 08:16PM by Arkansas.

Get a CZ21 for the beach you can mount the box on your belt and swing all day long.

You mention any Nox leaking on FB and people basically call you a liar. Fanboys will die before saying anything negative about their Mighty Nox. I told them to come here if they did not believe Me that they do leak.
I have never seen a detector so protected and stood up for in my life. You would think it was made in America.

Even if one were to have a Nox that hasnt leaked after numerous underwater hunts doesnt null the fact it will eventually leak...the hardware design is the same for all Nox machines. The kicker is, its not repairable (only replaceable).....just hope it still under warranty. The Nox is an amazing machine performance-wise, but its hardware weakness can turn it into a wall hanger.

Harold,ILL. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
You would think it was made i
> n America.

I know what you mean - the build quality is similar

[www.earthscan.co.nz]

I even had one clown tell me CZ20's were known to leak also? He must of been a know it all Newb as the CZ20 was the most water tight detector ever made. You can call it old tech if you want but they were sealed up tight you have to give them that. And the 21's should be the same as I never had one long but have not heard any issues.

As we all know the Fisher Impulse (pulse), 1280x, cz20, and cz21 had basically the same external shell. These machines can be used for diving and tightly waterproof. You had a choice of coils, but they were hardwired in. The cz20 main weakness was its pinpoint button.........would crack after much use.

This is torture, Equinox control heads are on back order and my Sand Shark is still out for repairs. The Shark may be fixed by this coming weekend (complete headphone cable replacement). No detecting for me for nearly a month now....

If you get an Excal instead with Plugger carbon fiber straight shaft, disc switch, knob guard, CTX headphone jack, and coil receptacle wouldn’t you still be concerned about water intrusion?
If not, I have two built from ground up and I’d trade one for a EQ800. Had one but sold it but now I need something lighter than a CTX and more transportable than one of the Excals.

I had a CZ-21 before I got my Equinox 800. I used the equinox for awhile and was really on the fence... had a difficult time parting with my CZ-21 but I eventually sold it to replenish the savings I used to buy my Equinox.

Fast forward... I just purchased another BRAND NEW CZ-21. :|

The equinox is ok for wet sand and beach hunting, but I lost faith in it in the water. It just was not consistent enough, and I was always worried about flooding it because of the twisting motion on the case when swinging underwater.

Also what good is a display that you can't see when it's underwater?

I also found that the ability to over analyze a signal before digging was actually hurting my finds ratio... you tend to hear that sound that makes you think it's junk and you move on.

Sometimes it's better to be convinced to dig rather than convinced NOT to dig.

One exception is teeny tiny bits of foil... microscopic. Equinox loves them and digging them in the water is MADDENING.

Back to putting a Sovereign in a waterproof box.

I would tend to think pressure testing would expose a weakness in the design. Minelab doesn't seem concerned.