coil choice 101?

[cairnspom]

Well there's a lot of coils out there, mono, DD, eliptical, in many different sizes and shapes, and this all must have some effect on depth,sensitivity, size of target, ability to detect in hot ground etc.

I was hoping the 'professionals' out there might give us numpty's (well I hope I'm not the only one!) some simple clues on what affects your choice of coil in a particular situation

 

[condor22]

Read this

http://www.minelab.com/products/consumer/accessories/coils

There is no one size fits all, that being said here's the simple bit.

Small coils are usually more sensitive to small gold at shallower depth. 6" - 8"
Large coils are usually less sensitive to smaller gold, but go deeper. 15" and up
Medium are a good all round choice 11" - 14"

Small coils are lighter and therefore easier to swing.
Larger coils will cover more area per swing

Elliptical coils are good for tighter spaces.

DD will discriminate Mono won't.

These are all basic things freely available if you Google.

But before you consider any of what I've noted, you don't say what Brand, Model or type of detector you are asking the question about..........................does make it easier to answer.

 

[cairnspom]

Thanks for that info, its the sort of thing I was looking for. At the moment I am using an old gp 3000 (well I will be when my new battery shows up! ) but I was thinking of more general answers that might help everybody, perhaps some will post regarding specific machines, some more general answers, but leave the forum with an information collection!

 

[Big Nugget]

G'day Cairnspom,
Whilst the choice is endless, most will run a large and a small depending on the ground.
The nugget finder 17x11 is a great coil for patch hunting.
Once I'd covered the ground with that I would strap on the 6" coiltek to clean up the littlies the NF missed, also very good on the mullock.

There are a few new coils using the super d type windings that will be available shortly.
Could be worth a look?

Cheers

 

[Westaus]

Another thing to consider is where you go and what is around scrub wise. I know in WA areas you can get monster coils on no problem, but some place in the Nth West which are covered in Spinifex you need to go a smaller coil because there is no way you could get a bigger coil close to the ground. Just another thing to consider.

 

[cairnspom]

Thanks guys this is great, all this info coming in one place

 

[mbasko]

The following is from Minelab but could be used as a general guide:

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/4485/1428449910_kba_02-1_coil_selection_guide.pdf
Has a section on coil selection basics.

Watch "How to Find Gold - Selecting Coils Minelab X-TERRA 705 Gold Detector" on YouTube
How to Find Gold - Selecting Coils Minelab X-TERRA 705 Gold Detector:
[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/G6nhvAROXkc[/video]

Watch "How to Find Gold with Minelab - GPX Series Metal Detector Select a Coil" on YouTube
How to Find Gold with Minelab - GPX Series Metal Detector Select a Coil:
[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/L824PJb-GPo[/video]

 

[cairnspom]

Thanks mbasko excellent