NEL Tornado or Detech Ultimate 13???

Has anyone tried both coils? I'd like to hear your thoughts. Any other big coils, people like? Maybe the NEL Storm? Hunting fairly clean ground with deep lead.

I haven't heard anything negative about the Detech Ultimate 13" coil, I know they are really light for their size, Nel coils are heavier. I had one on an AT Pro once and I had to keep taking breaks while I was swinging it to rest my arm and shoulder, that's been my experience with the large Nel coils.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2021 05:33PM by coinspader.

What are you putting it on? I got the Ultimate 13" for my T2 SE and it was no better than the stock 11".

If you want depth wouldn't a 15" make more sense?

I know the NEL's are popular but their bigger coils are heavy. I bought the Attack and Thunder for my F-75 LTD and did not like the extra weight. I very much prefer the SEF 12" x 15" for its lightness, balance, and depth.

I now have 15" SEF's as the main coil on both my T2 and F75 and could not be happier with the performance. I get 2 to 3 inches more depth on coins than the stock 11" coils.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2021 06:58PM by Badger in NH.

What brand of 15" SEF?

I'm not sure but I think SEF coils are made by Detech.

Is there another SEF brand I don't know about?

I have been using an Etrac for years. I found the Nel Tornado to be deeper and more stable than the Ultimate 13. I prefer the Nel Tornado to my Cors Detonation (which is the same as the Nel Storm) and also prefer it to my Nel Attack coil. The Coiltek WOT will go deeper than the Nel Tornado and offers comparable stability, but, is much heavier.

The SEF 12x15 is heavier than the Nel Thunder and attack coil. I just looked it up. But I do like SEF coils better due to target separation.

88junior Wrote:
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> The SEF 12x15 is heavier than the Nel Thunder and
> attack coil. I just looked it up. But I do like SE
> F coils better due to target separation.


I never checked the actual weights. I can positively say that the 15" x 12" SEF feels a lot lighter than the similar-sized NELs. I've used them side by side and the SEF just swings a lot easier. It's like night and day. It must be in how the weight is distributed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2021 10:17PM by Badger in NH.

Just me but I would go with the New Nel SuperFly coil. Its a 11x12 and is available for most machines now. My buddy just got one for his Apex and likes the weight and feel better than the stock coil.

[nel-coils.com]

If you’re hunting cleaner ground and looking for deeper targets you’ll want to consider the actual physical size and configuration of the coil. TRADITIONALLY SPEAKING...cuz I know I’m going to get hammered on this...the WIDTH of the coil is closely related to the depth at which a US quarter might be detected, sitting flat and in optimal conditions. This tends to fall off at the 12-13” width. So a 15” wide coil wouldn’t be expected to see a 15” quarter, though it might detect that optimally situated 13” quarter a bit better. Do we all run around digging 13” quarters? I have dug one very close to a foot, but no, we don’t. But if you’re looking for depth in cleaner ground and decent soil, consider the WIDTH of the coil.

I think many might agree that 15"L x 12"W is the best coil size for optimum depth.

I Had both , on my sovereign... so the detech is light and good but doesnt feel particularly sturdy i think the inside are not filled with epoxy that why they are light , the only issue i had is the first one detech send me had a defect false signal all the way , so quality control must be crap, sav is top tho i sent a picture with the coil and cable cut and they sent me a new one right away .
Keep in mind as they are empty they can fill with water...

The nel/cors tornado i had the big one dont remember if it was a 17 or something like ( i know sef are pretty close looking) first i had a good feeling about this one seem sturdy filled with epoxy heavy as an anchor, the wire is like soft rubber compared to detech ultimate which is regular power cord like, i used it like 3 time... and the fourth time it's was doing all sort of falsing making it unusable, the issue was the warranty period was over... so this one was a total loss.

Coilteck are apparently the best in term of durability , my fellow detectorist friend had his for more than 10 years no issue with the disk and he was hitting better than my detech.

I will say the CABLE on my Ultimate is JUNK. It’s just not anywhere as nice as the cables on my Sunray or my CTX coils. Badger is onto something though, the 13x17” coil on the CTX is my deepest coil, so that particular relationship(12x15, 13x17) in the coil dimensions just might be an optimal configuration.

I'm asking about a larger coil for my T2 SE. I actually own a 12x15 detech coil for my Minelab GPX and while I agree its been very balanced and easy to swing its no deeper than the stock 11" coil and doesn't ID targets as well. Ive spoken to another guy with the same set up and he had the same opinion. I don't know how that might translate to VLF.

Soky72 Wrote:
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> I'm asking about a larger coil for my T2 SE. I act
> ually own a 12x15 detech coil for my Minelab GPX a
> nd while I agree its been very balanced and easy t
> o swing its no deeper than the stock 11" coil and
> doesn't ID targets as well. Ive spoken to another
> guy with the same set up and he had the same opini
> on. I don't know how that might translate to VLF.


The 15 x 12 SEF turns my T2 SE into a super performer. It gets inches more depth than the stock coil. That's because the stock coil is such a poor performer. The 15" SEF is the only coil I use on the T2. I have the 12" x 10" SEF as well but don't use it much. I bought the 12" to replace the stock coil but ended up using the 15" all the time. I got the same results with my F-75. I have both machines set up with the 15" SEF.

Minelab stock coils perform really well (or it could be the electronics in the detector itself), so the effect of switching to a bigger coil might not be so dramatic. That's why I didn't bother getting the 15" coil for my Equinox because it's not going to go any deeper than the stock coil.

Different detector brands will have different results when changing coil sizes and coil brands.



Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2021 03:16PM by Badger in NH.

When you measure the actual centerline of the coils, the Ultimate 13" is only 11.5" and the 15" x 12" SEF is 13". Having the outer ring extend beyond that centerline may aid the performance in some way but to me, the centerline is the true useable length of the coil.

Personally, I don't like coils that are wider than the centerline length. That might be why the Ultimate 13" did not perform any better on the T2 SE than the stock 11" in my test garden. No performance was gained by making it wider than the centerline length and the centerline is only a half-inch longer than the stock coil.

The Equinox is an exception. It's a half-inch wider than the center but the outer ring does not extend beyond the centerline length. It's a great design that works well.



Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2021 02:49PM by Badger in NH.

Had one for my F75 LTD2 and didn't care for it, it was no better than the stock coil.

They work quite well on the FBS machines though.

Which one Cal?

Soky72 Wrote:
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> Which one Cal?

The Ultimate coil. I may still have it, want to buy it

Lol, I appreciate the offer but after talking to several people I guess I'll steer clear of it. I will say the Detech Ultimate Spiral 15 on the GPX is the most wicked deep machine you can imagine. Weighs a ton but when Civil War sites quit producing it turns up more deep relics.