A question for the beach People!

Mr Mud said:

The question I have for you beach detectorists is this? I hear about beach cleaning/combing machines. I assume they use them to pick up trash that gets left behind. I imagine they are small tractors with rakes behind them. Are they capable of picking up jewelry??? I live in the Mountains so I have never seen one. If they are, It would be interesting to see what they pick up??? If they can pick up rings and stuff, I want that job!

Click to expand...

There is only a single type & brand of beach-cleaner machine, that is capable of picking up items as small as rings and coins. It is tedious, expensive, slow, etc.... Compared to the rake-type, or tongs-tines on the elevator-flights type. Very few entities have ever purchased or used the fine-sifting brand/make of beach cleaner. Most all have the rake type.

And of the rake type, they're just getting McDonalds bags, 12-pack containers, etc.... About the only type of jewelry they'd have a remote chance of picking up, is necklaces that get caught in the rake tines.

The cleaner machines only do dry sand, not wet sand. And they only "clean" the top few inches of sand, at best.

I see them all the time here in Hawaii and even chatted with the driver. While they get lucky and catch a ring every now and then for the most part it’s exactly like Tom mentioned paper bags left over cans and bottles and such. I’ve been over sand that was recently sifted and found plenty of clad and even a ring or two.

I was walking up the beach looking for another spot. Along the way there were piles from the rake/drag thing.

My biggest money find was because I just happened to (out of boredom) scan one of those piles.. Ended up being 27 grams of 22K not counting the stone..

<°)))>{

ice scratcher said:

i was walking up the beach looking for another spot. Along the way there were piles from the rake/drag thing.

My biggest money find was because i just happened to (out of boredom) scan one of those piles.. Ended up being 27 grams of 22k not counting the stone..

<°)))>{

Click to expand...

dang!!!

Ice Scratcher said:

I was walking up the beach looking for another spot. Along the way there were piles from the rake/drag thing.



My biggest money find was because I just happened to (out of boredom) scan one of those piles.. Ended up being 27 grams of 22K not counting the stone..



<°)))>{

Click to expand...

Talking blingy right there!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have heard of a few beach cleaning machines that can and will pick up everything. If I saw them on a beach I would turn away in disappointment probably.

The machines have very strange names and all are different. Each goes about the job differenty but are meticulous.

Luckily they are only found on certain beaches and not in all areas. The main problem with these kind of machines is you have NO idea they are in your area until you get very close to them to see what kind they are.

Some of the very strange names they have are OBN, Kapi, Brncofan, Cfmct, and Felixthecat.

I know there are many more but this gives you an idea of beaches to avoid at all costs. They would probably be a waste of time after one of these machines cleans out the beach. I am glad none of the beach cleaning machines can go where I do to find treasure

The rakes that I have seen pickup trash. They might pick up a solid bracelet but the vast majority of jewelry would be left along with all the clad coins. I just keep detecting when I hit a spot where they have worked.

They pick up the bigger trash and bring the smaller things up to the surface. You can easily pick up coins and such walking behind one.

ScubaDetector said:

I have heard of a few beach cleaning machines that can and will pick up everything. ...

Click to expand...

And to piggy-back off this, to add to my prior post:

Regarding the type that has the agitator sifter ability : The one I've heard of, with this ability, has operator select-able controls options, where he can control the size of the sieve openings. To let all the sand back through, except only larger objects (cans, bags, etc...) down to the smallest sieve settings , which, yes , can catch objects as small as coins & rings (letting only the sand and smaller pebbles back through).

But from what I've been told, if the operator elects for this super refined setting, it is a BIG DRAG on the machine. Having to use lots more horsepower (fuel, etc...) to be able to push through and process this sand. And slows down the speed at which it can operate (ie.: you won't get as much of the beach acreage done in a shift now). And also catches tons of stuff that was totally unnecessary , creating more disposals debris to deal with. Eg.: Seashells, larger pebbles and stones, sandcrabs, twigs, etc.... Stuff that was totally natural and could have been left right there w/no harm .

So for this reason, there is not much need for ... even those super refined types, to be getting set to that level of refinement by their operators.

However, you can almost *guess* what goes on with those operators, when it's their shift : Despite a possible mandate from their superiors to cover a certain percentage of acreage, and despite their superior's admonitions not to abuse the equipment with unnecessary wear and tear, yet : You guessed it: The operator is going to be tempted to set the unit to catch items even down to coin/ring size. So that he can go through the spoils at the end of his shift.

Not sure how that tug-of-war works between the rank & file worker, vs his superiors, but .... have heard of one So. CA beach where it was *quite evident* that this is exactly the game that a few operators were playing . Heck, they probably volunteered to go out on their own time, haha.

Fortunately, these type that are capable of that, are few & far between. And probably not operated with that super refined settings. Most of the beach cleaner are just the rake tong type.

ScubaDetector said:

I have heard of a few beach cleaning machines that can and will pick up everything. If I saw them on a beach I would turn away in disappointment probably.

The machines have very strange names and all are different. Each goes about the job differenty but are meticulous.

Luckily they are only found on certain beaches and not in all areas. The main problem with these kind of machines is you have NO idea they are in your area until you get very close to them to see what kind they are.

Some of the very strange names they have are OBN, Kapi, Brncofan, Cfmct, and Felixthecat.

I know there are many more but this gives you an idea of beaches to avoid at all costs. They would probably be a waste of time after one of these machines cleans out the beach. I am glad none of the beach cleaning machines can go where I do to find treasure

Click to expand...

ice scratcher said:

i was walking up the beach looking for another spot. Along the way there were piles from the rake/drag thing.

My biggest money find was because i just happened to (out of boredom) scan one of those piles.. Ended up being 27 grams of 22k not counting the stone..

<°)))>{

Click to expand...

kapi said:

dang!!!

Click to expand...

dang!

r5

Mr Mud said:

The question I have for you beach detectorists is this? I hear about beach cleaning/combing machines. I assume they use them to pick up trash that gets left behind. I imagine they are small tractors with rakes behind them. Are they capable of picking up jewelry??? I live in the Mountains so I have never seen one. If they are, It would be interesting to see what they pick up??? If they can pick up rings and stuff, I want that job!

Click to expand...

I heard they may snag chains from time to time

I've always had the urge to follow the dump truck to see where they unload

Beachscanner said:

I've always had the urge to follow the dump truck to see where they unload

Click to expand...

I heard a humorous story about this subject, as it pertains to some of the touristy beaches in So. CA : Some of the beaches down there have those machines, for their jurisdiction. And ... as you can surmise .... people over the years have wondered exactly what you've mused.

So they follow the machines back to where they unload/dump and park. Only to find out that they go into corporate fenced yards. The operator closes the gate behind him, and goes into gated/fenced facilities to dump and park. Public not allowed.

And you can BET that the muni-employees are ... themselves .... going through the spoils . The fellow that told me about this said that he even tried to strike up conversation with the driver , while the driver was out on the ground un-locking the gate to the yard. The driver stead-fastly refused to discuss where the spoils go, didn't want any small-talk, etc... Apparently this is an ongoing question, and the drivers don't want to engage in small talk, or allow dumpster-diving, etc...

Kapi said:

dang!!!

Click to expand...

Funny thing is, I don't hunt the dry, it was just a huge fluke.. Trust me, I've tried enough dry to realize that it was exactly that, a fluke..

Pretty sure it was a gift from above, and if I was in the water at that time, I would have probably still found it..

<°)))>{

Tom_in_CA said:

There is only a single type & brand of beach-cleaner machine, that is capable of picking up items as small as rings and coins. It is tedious, expensive, slow, etc.... Compared to the rake-type, or tongs-tines on the elevator-flights type. Very few entities have ever purchased or used the fine-sifting brand/make of beach cleaner. Most all have the rake type.

And of the rake type, they're just getting McDonalds bags, 12-pack containers, etc.... About the only type of jewelry they'd have a remote chance of picking up, is necklaces that get caught in the rake tines.

The cleaner machines only do dry sand, not wet sand. And they only "clean" the top few inches of sand, at best.

Click to expand...

Our beach got a contract with a company that has a fine mesh beach machine. They decided sea turtles don't like seashells Guy said it will pick up almost everything in the dry sand. And they won''t tell you where or how they dump the stuff. I know i can't get much of any signals after it is done. Luckily i don't hunt the dry much. In the wet sand that machine is only grabbing jellyfish

Up here in Michigan during the season, you gotta get up pretty early to beat the sand cat guy...You better be on site and swinging coil about 4am because he starts tractor sweeping the sand at @5...I want the big money bycatch items like towels and empty cans and cell phones and stuff, his primary goal is to broom up the dirty diapers and plastic beach toys and whatnot, so except for towels and phones and empty cans, we are not competitors at all except for speed...

I run in front of him with my F70 going like hell! Remember I told you that one year, I figured the mathematics..I ran in front of this sand cat in the month of July alone, the total of 100 miles barefoot before 6am, just in July!.....

Snatching up the towels and cans! We got to be friends sort of and we would stop and share a talk and smoke at the turns and discuss the previous evenings spoilage observations and evidence of Human waterfront shenanigans from the night before...

My sandcat guys rig dont pick up coins and rings and that..they slip right through the tines, so its like hunting behind an etch-a-sketch...thats why I go early, so I sort of can see in the sand what and who was going on here the night before..

One morning a few years back, in the early morning gloaming light, we both stumbled upon a washed up stiff! A dead guy from Wisconsin had washed up on the beach and was wallowing around in the surf like a half rotten baby Beluga! Due to his training, the sandcat guy had to cease operation, secure the area, and call the cops....

During this moment, I gave the guy a quick sweep with my coil and ransacked the corpse for valuables...Nope, no gold ring, no coins in pocket, no pulse either, just another damned old common dead guy washed ashore from Wisconsin, so it was pretty much a bust for me...His long sleeve checkitty asts lumberjack style XXL shirt sorta fit me though, so I at least got that....

Then on down the beach I went, sweeping for treasures in un-groomed virgin sand, while the sandcat guy had to sit there guarding a bloated cheese puffer Wisconsin wash ashore stiff waiting for the Michigan cops to show up...Off I went with my new checkittyast lumberjack shirt!..."Sucks to be you!" I mirthfully hollered to my sandcat guy guarding the errant stiff....

If I was him, I woulda just went around the guy, or tried to swoop him up in the junk rake like just another dirty diaper or a beach blow up toy? I mean hey, we got a lot of sand to sweep here, cant be wasting no time dealing with washed up dead Cheeseheads!...Not in Prime Time Tourist season anyway!

Now that's a funny story...I don't care who you are.

I'm glad they are not used here. Even if I rarely hunt the dry sand.