Any suggestions?

[tnredneck]

I hunted the Robert E. Lee school in Paris Tn. this weekend, it is the oldest school in henry co. still standing and it is being renovated for public use. Me and my buddy were hunting and the only thing i found were a few pennies, flat button and a clad quarter, my buddy came up with a 1907 barber dime. Some of the areas on the lawn read almost full bars on the fe02 meter and my ground balance reading was around 80 to 85.
This is the highest i've read in any significant sized area. I got several reading that were repeatable and the vdi indicated dime to quarter. What it turned out to be was a rock that resembled lava rock witha metallic inside. I finally had to get my back up detector out because the T2 was giving me so many false readings. Any suggestions how to deal with this??


Thanks, Tnredneck

 

[Dick from NC]

Could be cinders from the old furnace. I've run into that before and sounds like somebody through a bucket of bb's on the ground.

 

[MattR]

[quote tnredneck]I hunted the Robert E. Lee school in Paris Tn. this weekend, it is the oldest school in henry co. still standing and it is being renovated for public use. Me and my buddy were hunting and the only thing i found were a few pennies, flat button and a clad quarter, my buddy came up with a 1907 barber dime. Some of the areas on the lawn read almost full bars on the fe02 meter and my ground balance reading was around 80 to 85.
This is the highest i've read in any significant sized area. I got several reading that were repeatable and the vdi indicated dime to quarter. What it turned out to be was a rock that resembled lava rock witha metallic inside. I finally had to get my back up detector out because the T2 was giving me so many false readings. Any suggestions how to deal with this??


Thanks, Tnredneck[/quote]

Hi Red!

That certainly appeared to be a hot-spot. (Fe full bars, GP 80-85).

An intriguing situation, and an excellent example of the usefulness of the T2/F75's metering system.

The sample of 'rock' you described is indeed the culprit causing the problems. I hope you kept a piece for future reference?

Did you actually try waving a piece across the coil to see if there was a TID number? If it was indeed 'volcanic' in origin then it may not have any conductive component, (only magnetic). If it were a 'cinder' product from a man-made fire/process then it would normally be conductive and so give a TID value.

A full-bar Fe graph would be telling me to vacate the area.

You didn't tell us what the other detector was, and how it performed in that area?

I can't imagine ANY detector being successfully there.

Perhaps you can enlighten us.......regards Matt

p.s. I don't think you can accommodate such a situation in any normal way or by conventional detector adjustments....it's just too severe a problem if there is a 'blanket layer' of the stuff.
Individual chunks...yes. Carpeted with the stuff..No.

Of course you can try, but you would have to be very determined!

 

[coenwolf]

cinders ,or coke is what we english call hot rock as opposed to the real stuff ,it should come in with a reading of 43-45 ,so just ignore this number if thats the case ,alternatively if it comes in with a consistent reading on every piece again just ignore that number .it sounds suspiciously though that there might have been a large fire here at one time

 

[tnredneck]

I did save a sample of the rock but i haven't had time to check it but i will as soon as possible. The entire area is not like that...there are large areas of it and one of the most significant is an large circumference around an old walnut tree stump that is @4 ft. in diameter and i wanted to hunt it but so many readings i had to give up. Some areas were normal and i was able to detect. My buddy has a lucky streak...he walked up to an area with a whites prizm Iv i sold him and found an old cap gun and old cosmetic ring and the 1907 dime. I got my BH timeranger out which is a pretty good turn on and go detector but it was like hunting in the dark because i heard little of nothing other that 2 or 3 shallow pennies. I believe the rock is a form of "slag" but i'll check it out tomorrow and let you know. Thanks,

Tnredneck

 

[Texas Groundhog]

If the stuff is shallow? Get a tool and clear you off a, say 10ftx10ft for a test patch. If any Keepers are located, move some more.Old schools had HUGE stove & or Coal fired/ wood burning boilers.Found a
school stove in the woods of Missouri,school walls being salvaged for the stone.
Brother in-law took the pot-belly home. made a BBQ_Pit that held 3 briskets.