ETRAC -broken coil mounting tabs

[RichardOhio]

I bought an E-Trac and got it the first week of January 2011. The E-trac is my 3rd minelab detector over the past 10 years. I still have the other 2 machines and haven't had a single problem.

I live in northern Ohio and usually through the months of January, February, and March there is not a lot of metal detecting. The E-trac has been sitting un-used much of this time while I have been anxiously waiting for the weather to break. I have managed to get out 4 times since Feb.18th for a total of 6-7 hours worth of detecting.

I got a chance to get out Sunday afternoon and detect for a little in the 38 degree temps. I had dug 4 targets and set the E-trac down to dig the 5th. After retrieving a pair of stacked clad quarters and replacing the plug, I was really surprised when I picked up the E-trac and the coil fell off. I quickly noticed both tabs that connect the coil to the lower shaft were broken off. One tab was broken horizontally along the top surface of the coil and the other is broken vertically through the hole. I'm a mechanical design engineer and kind of feel that one tab must of had a defect (crack). When it failed it began to stress the remaining tab until it finally snapped. The detector has not been bumped, dropped, or mistreated in any way, in fact I've treated it like a baby.

Has anyone else had a problem like this with the E-trac11" stock coil? If so, how long did it take to get a warranty replacement? The weatherman is calling for 50's and 60's this coming week.

A friend told me my Minelab XS coil will work on the E-Trac until I get the replacement, but I may loose some depth. Does anyone know of any complications from doing this?

 

[NebTrac]

Must've been cracked before and just finished itself off in the hunts afterwards. I hear about it some but not very often. I've never had a problem with mine (yet), banging into stuff and pulling through stuff. I couldn't tell you about the other coil as I just don't know. Hope you get it going soon.

NebTrac

 

[Bell-Two]

Have you contacted the dealer you bought it from? They may be able to expedite the replacement. I would not think it would take too long since it only requires a swapping and not a repair.

 

[stasys]

I bought an E-Trac and got it the first week of January 2011. The E-trac is my 3rd minelab detector over the past 10 years. I still have the other 2 machines and haven't had a single problem.

I live in northern Ohio and usually through the months of January, February, and March there is not a lot of metal detecting. The E-trac has been sitting un-used much of this time while I have been anxiously waiting for the weather to break. I have managed to get out 4 times since Feb.18th for a total of 6-7 hours worth of detecting.

I got a chance to get out Sunday afternoon and detect for a little in the 38 degree temps. I had dug 4 targets and set the E-trac down to dig the 5th. After retrieving a pair of stacked clad quarters and replacing the plug, I was really surprised when I picked up the E-trac and the coil fell off. I quickly noticed both tabs that connect the coil to the lower shaft were broken off. One tab was broken horizontally along the top surface of the coil and the other is broken vertically through the hole. I'm a mechanical design engineer and kind of feel that one tab must of had a defect (crack). When it failed it began to stress the remaining tab until it finally snapped. The detector has not been bumped, dropped, or mistreated in any way, in fact I've treated it like a baby.

Has anyone else had a problem like this with the E-trac11" stock coil? If so, how long did it take to get a warranty replacement? The weatherman is calling for 50's and 60's this coming week.

A friend told me my Minelab XS coil will work on the E-Trac until I get the replacement, but I may loose some depth. Does anyone know of any complications from doing this?[/quote
Richard your XS coil is 1000 or 1050, they both are the same, if you have good one from your XS forget about Pro coil. they are wonderfully good coils and you can abuse them like mad. pro and 1050 the same deep. have two pro coil and use 1000. good luck Stasys

 

[RichardOhio]

Thanks for all the great comments and advice.

I talked to my dealer today and ordered a 10" x12" butterfly coil. I should get this in 3 days. The XS coil will work on the E-trac and will work quite well. This means i can be detecting tomorrow if the opportunity presents itself.

I also talked to a very helpful lady named Mary at Minelabs office in Illinois. She told me that she has heard about the coils breaking on older machines, but not the new ones. She gave me the address to return the coil. I need to include a note with my name, adress, telephone number, and a brief note of what happen. She also told me they would contact me as soon as they recieved it and felt certain it would be covered under warranty. If all is well they would ship a replacement out withing a day or two. If all the Minelab personnel are like Mary they will be an excellent company to deal with. I am very fortunate I didn't have any trouble with my XS or Excalliber. Im sure this will all work out.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

The first thing I noticed about the Pro Coil was how thin the tabs were. Why they neglected to reinforce that area is beyond me. I sold mine ASAP and purchased a 10x12 SEF, it's virtually the same performance wise, but much more rugged.

 

[Bill M]

Richard, had a similar problem. The ears broke on my stock coil after about 8 months of use. Not real sure if they were cracked first or not. Factory said it would take about 3-4 weeks for warranty repairs or replacement. I to bought and ordered a SEF 10 X 12 and was pleased with the performance, it is a bit heavier but I now have a backup. Got my stock coil replaced, also had a Xterra 70 coil do the same thing. Good luck!

 

[McDean]

The tabs do look somewhat flimsy, but I've had my Etrac since the second month of release and been there and back with it and not an issue one.... S'pose it could happen to anyone though.

I bought a brand new, namebrand cordless drill recently, and it was bad straight from the box... took it right back to the store and exchanged...

Good tip for everyone: just because it is new, inspect it like you loaned it out for a week or bought it used