Garrett ACE 250 or Minelab 305 or something else??

[Paulmarr]

Hi AusFX - neither detector mentioned will handle wet sand very well - I had an Ace350 and ended up getting a Minelab Sovereign GT which loves wet sand and is also waterproof up to 2 feet (box can't get wet) and it is like night and day difference in target quantity and quality. Wet sand requires a better detector that can handle salt and mineralisation. The Sovereign, Excaliber, AT Pro, Infinium, Sea Hunter are all good beach detectors and new are about the $1k mark but second hand a lot less. If you want to save time, frustration, and be more successful at the beach I'd recommend one of the above.

 

[Solomon 009]

Hello all,

My two bobs worth, is have a look at the AT pro I just got 1 and spent 3 days in the gold fields west of Bundy and although I am a beginner it is a great machine. I will be using it at the beach as it works well in fresh or salt water up to 10 feet deep as I was told by the Garrett dealer I bought it from. It will handle salt and heavy mineralisation as well.
The price was great, not to expensive mine was $950 with a carry bag + some other goodies. and has good after sales service. Before you buy have a look.

Cheers all..............Paul.

 

[Goldpick]

Ausfx, I have used both detectors, so if you intend to use it at the beach, the 305 would be the better of the two, purely and simply due to being able to ground balance the 305 - the Ace has fixed ground balance. You won't be able the ground balance all the way to salt, but enough to gain an advantage over the Ace. This will allow quieter and deeper detecting, but will still require a drop in sensitivity in the wet/damp stuff, or run in discriminate mode vs all metal will also help quieten things down, but at the expense of a little depth.

Throw a large Coiltek WOT coil on the 305, and it should be able to get some pretty good depth.

The Ace is a fantastic coin shooter for quickly scooting over the dry sand, but will only get a few inches depth in damp sand, depending on how large the target is, and mineral content of the beach.

Once you get used to how the 305 operates, and its limitations, you can always upgrade at a later date.