Sand & Tiger Sharks old vs new

[Minas man]

Are the old style detectors with the non hard wired coils problematic? Given the choice which is better hard wire or connector. Why did they change to the hard wire? Are seals available for the old style cable connections? Can old style be changed to permanent hard wired?
Not to concerned about the the ability to change coil size at this point but more the reliability of the connection.
Thanks

Minas man

 

[BarberBill]

It's my understanding that they can no longer get the proper plugs/connectors so had to change to the hard wired. I have one of the earlier ones with removable plug and have had no problems at all with it, nor have I heard anyone having troubles with them.
BB

 

[bik-il]

Yes, the old style can be hardwired if you have a problem with the connector at the end of the cable that plugged into the receptor on the control box.
From what I understand some problems arose if the cable just beneath the connector was stressed by bending the connector off to the side too much thereby cracking the wires internally. If you avoid that stress you should be fine.
The ability to interchange coils on the old TS and SS was a great feature. But asBarberBill stated, the connectors Tesoro used are no longer being made by that supplier. As BarberBill, I have not experience any connector problems on any of my coils.
If you do have a problem and you are the original owner I think the conversion to a hardwired setup may still be covered by warranty.
Cheers

 

[lawbambam]

I havent had any problems with my connection and i was lucky to find a cable adapter to use other coils, thanks bik-il. HH Lawrence

 

[tvr]

I have had no problems with the connectors on my Sand Shark. The first year I had it, I damaged the 10.5 inch coil when I stomped on it hard when getting rolled by a wave. I got the 8 inch coil from the car, swapped coils and hunted with that. I continued to use the 8 inch coil until I found a used 10.5 inch coil for a good price and have had no problems with it since. If it had been a newer, hard wired unit, It would have taken a trip back to the factory and I would have had some down time.
tvr

 

[bik-il]

tvr,

the connector and cable are integrated. As long as there is sufficient length of the cable and the connector is fine, a new coil can be 'built' and attached to your cable by Tesoro.
So if you haven't already, don't throw away that cable with connector, even if the coil itself is ruined! The cable and connector can be reused.
Cheers

 

[lawbambam]

I sent my Stingray 2 in to get all spiffed up and thats what they did for me was build a new coil on the cable i had, along with new headphones and knobs and some other stuff. Its all ready for next year in the water.

 

[Minas man]

As always forum members have great technical advice with your experiences with Tiger Shark, Sand Shark and Stingray 2 and the coil to box connections.Thanks so much for your contribution to help educate me on this topic to make informed decisions on purchasing a use water machine.
My conclusions on this issue are that it is not a big issue and that either hardwired or connector works fine and connectors can be retrofitted to hardwired with out much trouble and save all your coil cables and connectors for parts.
Thanks again

Minas man

 

[tvr]

bik-il and lawbambam,
Thanks for the feedback! I still have it on a shelf collecting dust and had half a thought of disecting it to see what it looks like.
Cheers,
tvr