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Excalibur II Preventive Maintanence????
- Thread starter robo
- Start date
bootyhoundpa
Well-known member
I believe I read in the past that if you are not sure of the water tight integrity of the control pod you could submerge it in fresh water with the unit turned OFF and if you are unfortunate and water gets into the control pod it can still be opened up, dried out and unit should still function but I really don't know for sure.... as far as the knobs go you might want to swing by radio shack and buy 2 or 3 of the set screw type so when they do come off you can replace them promptly... good luck...
bootyhoundpa
Well-known member
oh ya.... always separate the upper and lower shafts after saltwater hunting and rinse entire unit thoroughly with fresh water so they don't seize together....
Rob in (Ca)
Active member
Planning to Hip mount, have a good cable restraint system in place, Good luck on the maiden voyage
Don't drop it on the pavement.
Rinse it and keep it clean after use. A preserving spray on the cables doesn't hurt. Some use silicon spray, some use Armor All or other plastic and rubber preservative on the cables. There have been pictures posted in this forum of some coil cables that pretty much disintegrated over time as ultra-violet and salt worked to dry the cable sheath and crack it.
I have a knob guard on mine to keep me from whacking the knobs accidentally.
I think one of the things called a knob issue is not really a knob issue but is really one of turning the knob too far and breaking the stop on a potentiometer. Bigger diameter knobs make it easier to do that. The stock knobs may give way first and strip out the knob. That may be why people put set screw knobs on; but it is cheaper to replace a stripped stock knob than to repair the unit with the broken stop on the potentiometer. I have not had a problem with knobs or potentiometers. I turn them with a light touch and make sure I don't force them.
After a lot of use, the O-rings eventually wear. There are posts in either the Excalibur or Modifications forum that show how to take it all apart and replace the O-rings rather than sending it to the repair facility. With a brand new unit, I expect it will be a while before you would even need to think about doing that.
Treat it well and it will treat you well.
Good luck and I hope you find yourself quickly starting to pay for your new Excal with what your find with it.
Cheers,
tvr
Rinse it and keep it clean after use. A preserving spray on the cables doesn't hurt. Some use silicon spray, some use Armor All or other plastic and rubber preservative on the cables. There have been pictures posted in this forum of some coil cables that pretty much disintegrated over time as ultra-violet and salt worked to dry the cable sheath and crack it.
I have a knob guard on mine to keep me from whacking the knobs accidentally.
I think one of the things called a knob issue is not really a knob issue but is really one of turning the knob too far and breaking the stop on a potentiometer. Bigger diameter knobs make it easier to do that. The stock knobs may give way first and strip out the knob. That may be why people put set screw knobs on; but it is cheaper to replace a stripped stock knob than to repair the unit with the broken stop on the potentiometer. I have not had a problem with knobs or potentiometers. I turn them with a light touch and make sure I don't force them.
After a lot of use, the O-rings eventually wear. There are posts in either the Excalibur or Modifications forum that show how to take it all apart and replace the O-rings rather than sending it to the repair facility. With a brand new unit, I expect it will be a while before you would even need to think about doing that.
Treat it well and it will treat you well.
Good luck and I hope you find yourself quickly starting to pay for your new Excal with what your find with it.
Cheers,
tvr
Number one on my list would be to rinse your bat lead contacts--the pins in the Ikalite plug and the sockets on the actual cell. Use a toothbrush to be thorough and get under the rubber flange. If the salt stays on them they will turn green and start to give intermittent power--affecting the threshold and unit stability. Hard to tell that's the problem too.
cjc
clivesgoldpage.com
cjc
clivesgoldpage.com
Water wizard
New member
I've used them for ages, no problems. Always rinse it in fresh water. Be careful not to let the headphone cable get pulled (eg when you're digging a target) this the only thing you can really do to damage it. They are pretty bomb proof, so long as you rinse it every time, you will have no trouble, good luck post your finds 
Any suggestions? Your kidding right? Seriously. Just bleeping take care of it. No hot cars in summer, or cold ones in winter. Spray with silicone spray once a week [don't argue with this]. Take coil cover off EVERY hunt and rinse with fresh water. DONT bleeping drop or bump it. DONT let anyone else touch it. At all, for any reason. If you know some one that can't help themselves from messing with stuff, don't tell them you own one. Again, just take care of it. No bumps, drops, digging with phones on and dropping it or laying it on the ground and stretching the ear much cord.
This is all basic common sense. I have had my unit since 2010. 2010! Not one bleeping problem. I hear people whining about cable cracking. Well, when you leave it in a car on a 100 degree day after you used it in salt water...guess what. Any rubber is going to crack. That isn't minelabs fault.
Knobs. Don't be a mongaloid and twist them in the wrong direction, or with any amount of force. EASY...think about what your doing. On or off, pinpoint or dis, EASY. You won't have problems. If you are hasty, quick and don't think about what your doing, you will try and over extend a knob and it will fail, before the hardware does as intended and send it out for a repair. A 300 dollar one at min.
Its all common sense. Like taking care of a car...10k one or a 150k one. They still need maintenance.
This is all basic common sense. I have had my unit since 2010. 2010! Not one bleeping problem. I hear people whining about cable cracking. Well, when you leave it in a car on a 100 degree day after you used it in salt water...guess what. Any rubber is going to crack. That isn't minelabs fault.
Knobs. Don't be a mongaloid and twist them in the wrong direction, or with any amount of force. EASY...think about what your doing. On or off, pinpoint or dis, EASY. You won't have problems. If you are hasty, quick and don't think about what your doing, you will try and over extend a knob and it will fail, before the hardware does as intended and send it out for a repair. A 300 dollar one at min.
Its all common sense. Like taking care of a car...10k one or a 150k one. They still need maintenance.
robo said:
Ytcoinshooter
Well-known member
Great advice! I use Silglyde or Sylglide ( can't remember the spelling at the moment) 100% silicone grease generously on the contact pins in an effort to thwart corrosion and ensure good contact. I have several products that may be good incl divers silicone (scuba pro ), and die electric grease but the Silglyde is very inexpensive and made for this type of application. I will make sure I clean it up and inspect it for any sign of green crud, then reapply.cjc said:
dewcon4414
Well-known member
NO ONE has broken more parts than i have on an Xcal.....NO ONE. What ive learned:
Replace the lower rod with a whites and double washer from Plugger. The current one is to soft and 1/8" is not enough washer to prevent wear. If you dont go that route you need to inspect and change those rubber often.
That wear on the lower rod causes you to continually tighten the coil bolt..... if you do that you pull the ears in and can separate the bottom of the coil.
I use a small line on the headphones to prevent them from pulling. Also i zip time the cable to the end of the machine pod to keep that end from pulling. Recommend you let your headphones hang when not in use to stretch the cable gradually and reduce all the pulling if you have to set it down.
ML REQUIRES you to always use the skid plate, and the shaft, to enclude the lower on the coil, be removed and cleaned after every use.
Ive got a knob guard.... but broke several knobs just by over use. They are just made to break instead of the switch....and they do. About $40 to replace.
Remove the cable occasionally and really give it a good coating of either silicone or olive oil.
Ensure you use plumber silicone on the rubber in the battery cap.
I recommend using Loctite marine epoxy on at least the wear areas of the coil COVER to prevent cracking.
You need to remove the knobs occasionally as well to silicone the o rings.
Dew
Replace the lower rod with a whites and double washer from Plugger. The current one is to soft and 1/8" is not enough washer to prevent wear. If you dont go that route you need to inspect and change those rubber often.
That wear on the lower rod causes you to continually tighten the coil bolt..... if you do that you pull the ears in and can separate the bottom of the coil.
I use a small line on the headphones to prevent them from pulling. Also i zip time the cable to the end of the machine pod to keep that end from pulling. Recommend you let your headphones hang when not in use to stretch the cable gradually and reduce all the pulling if you have to set it down.
ML REQUIRES you to always use the skid plate, and the shaft, to enclude the lower on the coil, be removed and cleaned after every use.
Ive got a knob guard.... but broke several knobs just by over use. They are just made to break instead of the switch....and they do. About $40 to replace.
Remove the cable occasionally and really give it a good coating of either silicone or olive oil.
Ensure you use plumber silicone on the rubber in the battery cap.
I recommend using Loctite marine epoxy on at least the wear areas of the coil COVER to prevent cracking.
You need to remove the knobs occasionally as well to silicone the o rings.
Dew
OldBeechnut
Well-known member
dewcon said:
I second that.....
My tip is make sure you send your warranty card in.............
GeorgeinSC
Well-known member
As everyone stated. RINSE the machine. Do Not take a garden hose at full stream and hit the machine with it. You stand the chance of forcing water past the O rings into the machine. My Brother-In-Law has water in his battery pod from using a hard stream of water to clean his machine after use.