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Prepping Equinox for salt water

C

crosstraining

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Jan 20, 2019
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Location
Foley, AL
I am a little nervous about submerging my Equinox 800 in the salt water or water in general. I thought I remembered there were a few issues with the control box leaking when it first came out. I’ve had mine for 2 years and I am ready for some rings and water. Is there anything else I can do to make it a little more water tight?
Thanks
 
You can cross your fingers, that's all.

I tried everything and nothing was a fix over time. One machine lasted 12 months in rough surf and being banged on rocks, another machine leaked as soon as it went in.

2 years old means you've got 12 months warranty left, so get in there and use it. Minelab replace broken equipment so dunk it before you need to use it. Don't get out there to find it's a dud that leaks right away.

Having said that, I found heaps of small gold the excal boys left behind, so it's worth it.
 
I would be nervous unless you have a backup you like to use. Yeah minelab will replace it but be prepared to wait weeks for a new one. I've gone through 3 units and they spent very little time in the water because I was waiting for a replacement. I bought an AT Pro because I had no detector to use half the summer the first time it happened. The nox is a great detector but keep her out of the water if you can
 
Nah I say go for it while it's under warranty. I bought an excal and primarily use it now in water along with the pulsedive, but the nox is very good in water if it doesn't leak.
 
Mine gets dunked all the time. Never had an issue in 2 years. Maybe you can add some plumber's grease/pool lubricant to the threads on headphones and coil going into control box?
 
Personally i think a lot of the water gets in thru the speaker. I use a nylon sticker that covers that area and teflon tape on the headphone connector. 3 years never had a leak. BUT.... my battery died 6 mos ago they replaced the whole head because i also saw stress cracks where those screws go connecting it to the shaft. There is a lot of torque in the water. One guy i know .... his just dropped off the shaft. And .... yes get it wet with the warranty.
 
I meant to submerge my Nox over the winter so if it DID leak I could send it in for repair, but I never made the time. Now I'm in hunting season so I don't really want to risk it now. I really should though since I still have about 6 months of warranty left.
 
LongJohnSilver1 said:
You can cross your fingers, that's all.

I tried everything and nothing was a fix over time. One machine lasted 12 months in rough surf and being banged on rocks, another machine leaked as soon as it went in.

2 years old means you've got 12 months warranty left, so get in there and use it. Minelab replace broken equipment so dunk it before you need to use it. Don't get out there to find it's a dud that leaks right away.

Having said that, I found heaps of small gold the excal boys left behind, so it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and information. Quite right. Good to find out while under warranty
 
Metal Hunting said:
I would be nervous unless you have a backup you like to use. Yeah minelab will replace it but be prepared to wait weeks for a new one. I've gone through 3 units and they spent very little time in the water because I was waiting for a replacement. I bought an AT Pro because I had no detector to use half the summer the first time it happened. The nox is a great detector but keep her out of the water if you can
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would hate to be without it. Ideally, I will get something dedicated to the water for the future. Thanks 👍
 
Lots of sound advice here. Just got back my 800 from Minelab for pod replacement for water damage and it took 1 week. First yr my 800 worked great in surf. Second year it lasted only 2 water hunts (total 23 months w about 6 month water use). Still under warranty so got quick replacement. Probably will keep pod/control unit above or at water level in future. Same thing happened to my CTX 3030, twice. Now it also is a above water control unit beach machine. But both are great machine and would buy 800 again in a split second. For deeper water use (below 2 ft for control unit) need to breakout my Excal; nothing better in terms of a true waterproof machine.
 
before what happened to my Nox ( most of you know) I had taken it on probably 12 beach water hunts up to my neck with crashing tides here and there. No intrusion, no issues what-so-ever. With the new POD and only 6 months warranty on the replacement I feel scared after reading all these failures. If it should fail out of warranty I probably won't have it repaired at 400.00 for the POD. I'll just buy a new one for the 1k and push it overdrive in the water hunts.
Sad to live by a warranty but that's how ML wants to play. So let them eat replacements until R&D figures out that they have an issue.
 
Low Tide .... they are not going to fix this problem, if they were they already would have. I dont believe these problems are being sent to Aussy land anymore for review. They never fixed issues with the Xcal.... which by the way has only 1 year warranty. EVERY machine you put in the water will fail in someway eventually so you just need to plan on repair costs. With the Nox at least they did give us an outstanding warranty that everyone should take advantage of. Dont baby the machine which could prolong the issue..... get it wet. I look at it a little different..... if repairs are $400 and it a new machine at that point with 6 mos warranty.... im not paying a $1000 for the same thing. $600 is $600 and the machine might just flood the first time our anyway. OR you could sell the machine once replaced.... and use the amount at that time toward say a 600. Have we determined if one machine is better than the other as far as this repair?
 
My Equinox's will never see water again after mine had water intrusion by only showering it off. It is just a shame that so many units have failed.
 
If it survives the first dunk test, you might consider squishing silicone grease around the seams on the case. That's what lots of people use for weatherproofing RF/antenna connections, and it's pretty durable with it's in crevices. Note that's silicone grease, not silicone sealant or caulk. Also, I do not know if they would decide it's a warranty problem - I can't see how they would, but I should mention that.
 
dewcon said:
im not paying a $1000 for the same thing.
Click to expand...

Totally understand your POV. My POV is if you're a heavy user to begin with would it be worth it to keep chasing a 6 month warranty or pay the extra 4 or 5 hundred bucks to get the 2 yr? With all these Pods dying, there has to be a trail on what the issue(s) are. Whats the smoking gun? I bet the repair center(s) know. There could be several but I'm betting there's a high % on 1 or 2 components and the water intrusion point(s). I haven't had a failure yet luckily. Im a commercial aircraft engineer and mechanic and I'll put $ down that its getting through the external speaker area. Maybe some Flex Seal will do the trick. Of course just using it will void your warranty. SO with that said, if a person is so inclined to get past their warranty w/o issue, lather that stuff on, close the points of entry and pray.
I've used my CTX for 7 yrs and have dunked it probably 100 times for long periods at a time. I hear many stories about these to failing. Water is a biaatch. So far with proper maintenance she's held up. point being, I'll probably use her for the dunking once my warranty on the replaced Nox POD is up.
 
No problems here also....mine gets wet all the time. Only chest high....none of the diving snorkeling stuff. My CZ21 is my beast when I'm doing that stuff...

Just remember....blue tooth goes away once the head is submerged.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the responses. I don’t think I’ll be putting my Nox in the water. I will just have to work on getting a dedicated water machine.
 
off thread topic but the cz21 convo has had me interested lately. Is it better than an Excal?
 
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