brother steve
Elite Member
Anybody know anything about Tesoro Sand Shark? Looks like a decent unit.
sand shark
- Thread starter brother steve
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Decent but with a PI and you dig every piece of rusty junk. Not for fresh water! My first salt beach machine. Never buy another due to the blobs of rusty nothing just slowing me down.
brother steve
Elite Member
Thanks! Good to know.
Dragonfire
Elite Member
But on a clean beach that gets hit by alot of people useful ..
I doubt very much there is a clean salt water beach in the middle of central Pennsylvania!
Look at a White's BHID, a Tesoro Tiger Shark or Fisher 1280X. All good machines and not high priced
If not diving a Garrett At-Pro or a White's MX Sport
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I have one and I agree with EVERY comment before mine. 
Add the Fisher 1280X if you're doing only fresh water.
Add the Fisher 1280X if you're doing only fresh water.
I have one and I agree with EVERY comment before mine.
Thanks Felix! I edited my mistake from the Fisher 1220X to the 1280X!
LOL glad you didn't call me on my mistake.
louie41
Senior Member
Whites is having a clearance sale for their discontinued beach hunter id. $600 from normal $850-900 it think. I know there are better machines for saltwater but lot more money. Mine has been doing fine for me.
I missed that or you would've paid! I actually missed the whole Fisher mention. I take no mercy, I'm a fellow pirate remember?
brother steve
Elite Member
That's funny Scubadetector!There are no salt beaches here. I go to the beach a lot cause its fun and I dont have to dig dirt. LOL . Just looking for a medium priced pi that will do the beach when I go. May want use it relic hunting in va. They got some really mineralize soil down there. I'll be living on the beach in 4 years or so, so I'll be taking my share of the booty.
Sandshark is my water machine!
I've really enjoyed mine!
It's sturdy and reliable.
I find it to be very well balanced for wading (I don't have dive gear so I just wade, preferably at low/negative tide with a long handled scoop) so it doesn't tire me out in the water. It's waterproofing is top-notch (provided it is properly maintained) so it's great not to have to worry about waves or rain.
I don't use it too often on dry sand both because it's a little heavy for me when it's out of the water (I've got pathetic noodle-arms) and I've got a cheapo BH-TK4 that's much lighter and works just fine for dry sand.
As has been mentioned-- it is a PI machine. Beep and dig-- no discrimination. There's lots of info here on the forums about PI machines so you should definitely be aware of what that means before you think about getting one. Suffice to say-- hitting a trashy beach with a PI machine is NOT a fun endeavor.
And of course I concur with the others-- while I really love my sand-shark, I am hunting salt water. There are better, more cost-effective options if you're going fresh-water only.
I've really enjoyed mine!
It's sturdy and reliable.
I find it to be very well balanced for wading (I don't have dive gear so I just wade, preferably at low/negative tide with a long handled scoop) so it doesn't tire me out in the water. It's waterproofing is top-notch (provided it is properly maintained) so it's great not to have to worry about waves or rain.
I don't use it too often on dry sand both because it's a little heavy for me when it's out of the water (I've got pathetic noodle-arms) and I've got a cheapo BH-TK4 that's much lighter and works just fine for dry sand.
As has been mentioned-- it is a PI machine. Beep and dig-- no discrimination. There's lots of info here on the forums about PI machines so you should definitely be aware of what that means before you think about getting one. Suffice to say-- hitting a trashy beach with a PI machine is NOT a fun endeavor.
And of course I concur with the others-- while I really love my sand-shark, I am hunting salt water. There are better, more cost-effective options if you're going fresh-water only.
So then what is the difference between a PI MD and a cheap all metal MD then ? Your still going to dig junk, just cheaper to do it. Am I wrong? I do not own a PI MD or what I consider a expensive MD and always wonder what I maybe missing out when I seem to still find stuff in a picked clean area. Disclaimer: I know enough to know I don't know enough but still having fun !
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Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
Key differences that I can think of--
Depth- A PI will generally be finding things deeper than a cheap all-metal machine.
Waterproofing- Many (though definitely not all) PIs are designed for use in water and have varying degrees of waterproofing. Even if you don't detect in the water, it's nice not to have to worry about rain ruining your hunt. Some even prefer land-hunting in wet conditions because water in the ground means extra conductivity and thus extra depth (I don't land-hunt, so I can't confirm).
Salt/Mineralization- Non PI machines (particularly cheap ones) will often freak out (false signals, chirping, etc) in close proximity to salt water, mineralized soil, black sand, hot rocks, etc. PI machines function smoothly in those conditions. Other higher-end non PI machines overcome those problems with different technologies. Cheap machines, though (like my TK4) are not designed to handle that.
Ron 71
Forum Supporter
One of the differences is you have no discrimination on a P.I machine, if you dig everything then that doesn't matter but if you find yourself on a trashy beach with lots of rusty iron it can be a problem.
upena
Forum Supporter
I have a Tesoro Sand Shark. Reasons to get it....Waterproof to 200 feet. Lifetime warranty. Finds every little shred of metal on the beach. Lightweight and well balanced. Around $600 when I got mine about 4 years ago as a backup to my Minelab Excal.
Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
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- Dec 23, 2013
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Ditto to everything said so far. If you don't have nail-riddled beaches, then a pulse could work. Like at high end clean touristy beaches (Hawaii, certain So. CA beaches, etc...). Also if your beach is nasty minerals, then you might have no choice but to use a pulse anyhow.
And also: The Sand shark is not one of the deeper-seeking pulse machines . There are beach pulse machines that go deeper.
As for the discrimination aspect, here's an old saying about beach pulse machines:
1) The good news: "They are so sensitive, you can find a bobby pin a foot deep!!"
2) The bad news: "They are so sensitive, you can find a bobby pin a foot deep!!"
And also: The Sand shark is not one of the deeper-seeking pulse machines . There are beach pulse machines that go deeper.
As for the discrimination aspect, here's an old saying about beach pulse machines:
1) The good news: "They are so sensitive, you can find a bobby pin a foot deep!!"
2) The bad news: "They are so sensitive, you can find a bobby pin a foot deep!!"
Dragonfire
Elite Member
yea I will tell you right off .. nothing worse than digging bobby pins .. but they do find small Pieces as well I got my share of earrings .. rusty hooks .. split shot lead weight oh and then theres the always favorite tent stakes
Ugggh...those bobby pins...
Especially the tiny shards of bobby pin... even though I have a computer magnet in the bottom of my scoop there are so many times those stupid things slip through and I gotta re-scoop them multiple times.
My SS sounds so optimistic about them too. I'm thinking-- "It's such a loud signal-- it must be something substantial!"... nope...just another bobby pin...
Weirdly I've still never found any tiny earring studs-- instead I've found quite a few belly button rings...which really kinda grosses me out for some reason.
