White's Surf PI or Minelab Excalibur II ?

Diver

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May 14, 2010
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Hi,
I have been metal detecting for many years. I've owned most of the big names and only purchased the highest priced detectors. Now I am at a standstill. I am looking at the White's Surf PI and the Minelab Excalibur II. Many have told me the White's PI wins hands down. I just spoke to Kellyco and the rep told me they are both great detectors but she thought the Minelab was a better machine only because of the 17 freq. Many have told me that White's customer service beats Minelab hands down which I think is one of the most important qualities when choosing a company to deal with. I have personally read some horror stories online about the Minelab customer service. Can anyone please give me some honest and true answers and what they think I should purchase. I will be using the detector in mostly salt water. I will use the detector for some fresh water hunting but mostly salty water. I also may use the detector on the beach. Thank you very much for your time and help. Jen
 
You can't go wrong with either one and you will find it is like asking the question - chevy or ford?

The biggest issue right now is Minelabs are mostly on back-order
 
The PI , people are sending in ML's and it's a couple months for repair and I have seen posts that it cost them 3-400 for repair, whites 2 weeks or so and neighbor paid 70. his just went in for a tune up and new seals, his is the old surf pi... I love my DF..
 
However there is a MinelabExcaliburII that is cleaning up the beaches well around here. If i had the extra cash id think i might get one. Goodluck in your decision. Im using an older Whites Sirfmaster Pi and it finds stuff.
 
Both are great machines. I have a 1995 Surfmaster P.I. Plus and a 2007 MineLab Excalibur, and to tell you the truth I personally feel the Surfmaster is the better machine. It is more sensitive, and much deeper than the Excalibur, and easier to swing in the water, especially for 5-6 hours at a time!
As mentioned by the other folks, you also need to look at customer service. I sent my Surfmaster to White's for a check-up and new seal in Feb. and talked to Todd at White's within 5 days of sending it out. They did their thing for $75.00 and sent it back within 10 days.
Now, I sent the Excalibur to MineLab in March, and heard nothing for 2 weeks. When I called, all I got was a recording asking me to leave a name and number so someone can get back to me. Well, they didn't until I raised h**l. Then a live person came on the line from customer service, (mind you, this was almost four weeks after sending it in), and she told me they would have it a few weeks and send it back, with no more than a $150.00 charge. Here it is the middle of May, I do not have it back, the customer service rep will not return my emails, and I have no idea what is being done, if anything, to my machine. So, if I did not have the Surfmaster, (and White's fantastic customer service), I would not be able to water hunt Ft. myers Beach, (where I live), or some of the other hot, beaches that are so close to me! Having said all this, this is just my experience with the two companies, and the two machines. Good luck with your decision!
 
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It really depends on your beach... up here in connecticut we don't have the amount of drops people in the south have so a PI is the way to go to get down to depths a VLF can't reach... a PI is not for everyone though you need patience to learn the subtle differences in the tone.. my hunting partners and I have done pretty well there.. we don't dig anymore trash than a VLF user does..

If you are going to hunt in the water then a PI would be the way I would go as there is less trash in the water and some heavy gold items are out of reach of the VLF water machines... I like the Excal... I own its non-waterproof version the GT... I save it for areas that are infested with iron but if its fairly clean I will choose the PI over the GT anyday because I want the depth I can get with a PI... both machines have a small learning curve but in my opinion both are very easy to use...


Bottom line you will do very good choosing either detector a PI or the Excal...
 
You are asking a question....do I eat an apple or an orange? These are 2 very different machines. One is a dig all until you master the machine and the other is a machine that nulls out iron. Like Craig says.......it depends on where you hunt. As far as customer service goes, you have to realize that a lot of these idiots send in their machine with no notes as to what is wrong with it, those are tossed aside until they can get to them and the ones with explanations of the problem are fixed first. Minelab was recently bought out by another company and there are growing pains involved with good employees out of a job. New policies in place irritating customers. Until the new company decides what they are doing with Minelab there are bound to be problems. As far as the quality of the Excal.........it is an excellent machine and only as good as the person holding it. We own two of them and would not trade them for anything else.
 
You are asking a question....do I eat an apple or an orange? These are 2 very different machines. One is a dig all until you master the machine and the other is a machine that nulls out iron. Like Craig says.......it depends on where you hunt. As far as customer service goes, you have to realize that a lot of these idiots send in their machine with no notes as to what is wrong with it, those are tossed aside until they can get to them and the ones with explanations of the problem are fixed first. Minelab was recently bought out by another company and there are growing pains involved with good employees out of a job. New policies in place irritating customers. Until the new company decides what they are doing with Minelab there are bound to be problems. As far as the quality of the Excal.........it is an excellent machine and only as good as the person holding it. We own two of them and would not trade them for anything else.

Yes I am sure some operators will send a machine to be repaired without any notes, fully expecting the factory to be competent enough with thier own product to find the problem. However, any normal person with an I.Q above a gerbil will include explicit notes as to the problem with that particular machine, and hope to have it back in a reasonable time frame. To excuse a company that has a very poor record of customer service due to some poor souls that are less than gifted intellectually being able to pinpoint the exact problem with thier machine seems a bit like buying a house with the intent to pay the mortgage when one wins the lottery.
The White's P.I. machines do have a learning curve, as do most machines that are priced above $9.99. If you have an I.Q. slightly above a trained chimp dancing for dimes, you can learn the P.I and benefit from it. Although the MineLab is much easier for some to operate, and not ever trade to something new.
 
I considered the Excal but went with the DF for the following reasons:
-more reasonably priced
-2 year vs. 1 year warranty
-better depth(I believe)
-have heard of more problems with the Excal
I still think that the Excal is a great machine but I really like my DF. HH!
 
I considered the Excal but went with the DF for the following reasons:
-more reasonably priced
-2 year vs. 1 year warranty
-better depth(I believe)
-have heard of more problems with the Excal
I still think that the Excal is a great machine but I really like my DF. HH!

Do you still like your pi? I'm wanting an excal but I've been thinking hard about getting a DF Pi instead. I already have a discriminating machine.
 
I considered the Excal but went with the DF for the following reasons:
-more reasonably priced
-2 year vs. 1 year warranty
-better depth(I believe)
-have heard of more problems with the Excal
I still think that the Excal is a great machine but I really like my DF. HH!

I appreciate the extra insight shared on this thread- i'm in this same boat at the moment- deciding on my first saltwater detector. I'm leaning towards the PI machine and these reasons are all worth considering.

Are both machines comparable on beaches where black sand is present? Automatic ground-balancing would be helpful. Ease of use "out of the box?" I'm landlocked at the moment and don't have any "experts" nearby for field-testing or tech-support... so for a 'first machine' simpler may have an extra edge!
 
Coil out very deep....can float on the PI. The farther out, more black sand, and less trash the more a PI has an advantage. 100 to 1 bad targets moving into the dry sand..... and in fresh water, remember it takes forever for stuff to desolve so you have a lot of iron..... thats one place id never us a PI. If you are old like me....:laughing: then you have to consider the tole a couple of hundred targets takes on the body..... neck, elbow .. back. Plan on spending more time in a smaller area as well........ so i prefer to cover more beach with the ability to disc out iron. In Fl, the small amount of depth i dont believe is worth the digging just because the disc machines are leaving the iron..... plus you have to dig that extra trash deeper as well. The Xcal..... hates iron. You are going to hear ....... well i hunt behind an Xcal or a DF and i pick up stuff they miss....... but thats true of us all regardless of the machine. How well you know your beach and season changes helps as well. In salt water....... they all have maintenance issues..... just plan for it. Hopefully you will find enough gold to pay for it..... i do.
 
Do you still like your pi? I'm wanting an excal but I've been thinking hard about getting a DF Pi instead. I already have a discriminating machine.
Wow! 7 year old post but still a good question. I have both detectors now so I'm glad you asked. The White's Dual Field is my favorite wet sand and surf detector for the following reasons:
- Great depth
- Wide scanning coverage
- Works good in mineralized black sand
- Detects small targets (except small gold chains)
- Fast response to targets (I move pretty quickly)
- Excellent customer service
- Value for the money. I bought mine second hand mint for $550. (included a
transferable warranty)

On my local beaches I probably use the DF 90% of the time and if I could only have 1 beach detector that would be it . However, there are times when using my Excal is preferred:
- Trashy and iron infested beaches.
- Fresh water lakes
- Dry sand hunting

Even though I almost always hunt with my DF or older PI Pro. Here is an old post of mine that shows why I am grateful to have the Excal when I need it:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=229749&highlight=gold+chain

I hope this helps! GL&HH!
 
"Are both machines comparable on beaches where black sand is present? Automatic ground-balancing would be helpful. Ease of use "out of the box?" I'm landlocked at the moment and don't have any "experts" nearby for field-testing or tech-support... so for a 'first machine' simpler may have an extra edge!
In my opinion the Dual Field PI is superior to the Excal when working on black sand beaches. Easy to use and auto ground balance- I usually set it up and don't have to touch the controls again during the hunt. :yes:
 
Wow! 7 year old post but still a good question. I have both detectors now so I'm glad you asked. The White's Dual Field is my favorite wet sand and surf detector for the following reasons:
- Great depth
- Wide scanning coverage
- Works good in mineralized black sand
- Detects small targets (except small gold chains)
- Fast response to targets (I move pretty quickly)
- Excellent customer service
- Value for the money. I bought mine second hand mint for $550. (included a
transferable warranty)

On my local beaches I probably use the DF 90% of the time and if I could only have 1 beach detector that would be it . However, there are times when using my Excal is preferred:
- Trashy and iron infested beaches.
- Fresh water lakes
- Dry sand hunting

Even though I almost always hunt with my DF or older PI Pro. Here is an old post of mine that shows why I am grateful to have the Excal when I need it:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=229749&highlight=gold+chain

I hope this helps! GL&HH!

Very helpful! My AT Pro can pull some duty in fresh water & dry sand... and i'm realizing now that it has allowed me to get used to moving pretty fast. Now to find that 'mint 2nd hand machine' for a great price!
 
"Are both machines comparable on beaches where black sand is present? Automatic ground-balancing would be helpful. Ease of use "out of the box?" I'm landlocked at the moment and don't have any "experts" nearby for field-testing or tech-support... so for a 'first machine' simpler may have an extra edge!
In my opinion the Dual Field PI is superior to the Excal when working on black sand beaches. Easy to use and auto ground balance- I usually set it up and don't have to touch the controls again during the hunt. :yes:

Thanks for the info!

Which surf pi is better? The newer one or the older one? I've seen one with black coil and one with I believe a white and blue coil
 
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