• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

Does frozen ground affect metal detectors?

LordOfTheZincs

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Messages
3,095
Location
San Juan Island Washington
It's 25 here now and been below freezing for a day or two but I can still bury my gator tool up to the handle in my yard but if the ground freezes does it affect how the detector picks up a signal? I know I may run into digging issues soon, but how does it affect the operation of the detector? Thanks ;)
 
My concern is the temp affect on my metal detector itself. I took the batteries out of mine for the winter.

*bows head and weeps*

Only got to use mine for 2 months so far.
 
Frozen or dry hot ground

I think how your detector works during adverse conditions of any kind isn't as important as the fact that it also makes good repairs of target holes next to impossible! We don't have to freeze our tails off or have a heat stroke or trudge through Mud looking for targets we can't repair the target holes from anyway! Most manuals list a min/max operating temp, also consider that rapid changes in Temp will cause condensation, this is never good for electronic devices... GL & HH.......Pat
 
Our ground is solid down here. Although the detector will work, the digger will not. This time of year I hang up the detector and pull out the Steelhead rod. :sweet:
 
Well I can still fairly easily push the gator tool into the ground this morning at 21 deg. so I don't think digging is going to be an issue, YET. Not really worried about frying the electronics. The gold digger was delivered to the door for $65 and I've almost paid for it in clad so if it ends up with smoke and flames coming out of it I will dig a bigger hole and just bury it........(with honors of course) I know people give Bounty Hunter a hard time but they sure seem reliable, I have NOT taken good care of this thing. :lol:
 
When the ground is wet, and the top inch or so is frozen and frosty my AT Pro will pick up a dime under the devils couch cushions...

<*)))>{
 
Don't think it affects the detector all that much but in my case it sure does affect the guy behind the machine that is swinging it.

Last year in January I attempted to dig in some pretty frozen ground and on only about a 3" deep hole I managed to actually bend my Lesche doing it.
Several months later that bend led to weakening and eventually metal fatigue and then total failure when I broke it in two.
Good thing I wasn't traveling at a high rate of speed when it broke or there might have been a good possibility I could have been hurt or killed.

Digging in extreme cold is not fun for me, add in frozen ground and that would take it to just this side of miserable.
This year, unless it gets to be at least into the high 30's and I manage to find areas with tree lines and structures that break the wind and keep the ground from freezing too much or attempt to find some good woods to hunt I think I will try to fight cabin fever a little more and just wait it out.
 
When the ground is wet, and the top inch or so is frozen and frosty my AT Pro will pick up a dime under the devils couch cushions...

<*)))>{

I wondered if it would help, like wet ground or hurt it like hard, dry ground. Thanks for the help you all! Almost daylight, time to go put on some more layers I guess. I hope the park isn't totally empty, I may need some one to stand me back up again if I fall over and cant bend my legs or arms.:cold1:
 

Attachments

  • christmas story.jpg
    christmas story.jpg
    11.5 KB · Views: 1,781
Man, it's 15 degrees here! You're a die hard getting out there in these conditions! But, I guess I can say the same about me and fishing for Steelhead in this weather while standing waist deep in the river with ice forming on my rod tip and reel. :laughing:
Seriously though, the frozen ground turns me off to detecting in this weather. I do believe that extreme temperatures can effect electronics, but what is nice about the BH is that they're fairly basic in electronics and seem to tolerate varying conditions better as well as being inexpensive, so less anxiety about abusing them. Like you, I've taken my Tracker IV through hell and high water and it is still going. I hunt in the rain and just cover the control box with a plastic fruit sack. Have not experienced any noticeable performance issues yet.
Good luck out there and stay warm. BRRRR!
 
Perhaps, since the circuitry is now all solid state rather than superheterodyne, low temps probably doesn't affect operation as much as the vulnerability of other parts. Metal and plastic start getting very brittle and break much more easily when chilled below a level where they can retain normal flexibility. When you swing the AT Pro there is a massive amount of pressure put on the shaft and cuff, which normally flexes and bends in warmer weather but loses its temper when really cold. Hard time believing this...keep track of the number of garage door opener springs which will sacrifice themselves this winter because they too get brittle...and, my God, they are made from tempered rolled steel wire at least a 1/16th inch in diameter. In my posts I include my Bounty Hunter ($139.00) and HF Pin Pointer ($27.95) because they will now become my primary cold weather MDs on the really cold days and I get super bored staying inside. Just Saying:my2cents:

AT Pro/Garrett Pro Pointer/Fiskars Diggers/Bounty Hunter Outback/HF Pin Pointer
 
That didn't work out so well.....lol I came home with .28 in clad for about 35 min. of detecting but yep! the plugs looked like !!!! and the digging was harder. But a lot more people walk thru the park than my yard so I guess it may be packed down more. I learned something for my hunt coming up in my secret (not so secret) spot though. Where does one buy dynamite these days anyways? :?: ;)
 
My concern is the temp affect on my metal detector itself. I took the batteries out of mine for the winter.

*bows head and weeps*

Only got to use mine for 2 months so far.

I found that lithium batteries work the best in cold weather. This year the ground is frozen already, even in the deep woods under leaf cover. :shock:
 
I can say without a doubt that partially frozen ground can sometimes drive my E-Trac nuts! :dash2: It makes for a noisy hunt and I have a hard time picking up those faint, deeper signals.

In the Winter I hunt a number of freshwater lakes that are lowered on a seasonal basis. Different spots on these lakes will be frozen, partially frozen or rock solid and it changes as you walk along the shoreline. If the soil is completely thawed I have little to no issues (Other than sinking in the mud), if it's frozen I may have to lower the sensitivity a bit, but it's close to normal (The digging does suck). It's only when the soil is partially frozen (Like the top couple inches) that I start to have issues.
 
Yeah that's what happened yesterday, the top inch or so was frozen a little. The digger went in ok but when I flipped the plug, the hole frozen section would pop out and land next to the hole and didn't fit back all that well. Getting ready to go hunting in the woods behind my house, nobody will see an ugly plug back there. ;)
 
Back
Top Bottom