Scary day with the excal

[dbsmokey]

I have an excal 800 with yellow headphones (purchased as a dealer demo in 200. I was searching for a lost wedding ring all day Friday in a local creek, up to 6' deep. I had taken this excal in the water only once before. At the end of the unsuccessful search, the excal started to false with movement.

When I got home I noticed water in the control unit tube. Thankfully it was fresh water. I carefully removed the two ends and unplugged the headphones and used a blow dryer without heat to dry it out. I read how to remove the board from the tube but was unsuccessful. I was able to dislodge it, but was unable to remove it. However, I had EXTREME trouble lining up the knobs to realign the board back in its place. It was scary. I didn't think I would ever get it to fit again. After many attempts, I was able to align the knobs and hopefully have the board in the right position. However, I wonder how the board really stays in place....

Upon assembly, no water is evident. No falsing occurs and it appears to be fully functional. However, I now have an excal I don't trust to be waterproof. I might try replacing the O rings. But, I know I am going to have to send it in to Minelab (if I can ever afford to) to ensure its waterproof status. What a bummer. Do those O rings decay with time? How can one ensure the excal is waterproof without risking what I encountered?

 

[goodmore]

I think you will have to send it in. I never had one apart, and I'm sure someone who has will chime in. But it could be leaking around one of the knobs or one of the ends. It is a bummer not being able to trust your equipment. The only way I know to check it is in fresh water again. But depth and pressure and math are always best left to the experts.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

I'm in the process of changing out the O rings on one of my older Excals. It's actually not that bad once you get over the fear of accidentally destroying it. The O rings do harden and crack overtime, especially if they have not been maintained. The o rings on the very outside of the knobs of mine were beginning to degrade, but the inner 2 were still good.
I saw a post on one of the other forums stating that Minelab is now using DOW Corning 111 sealant on the rings, so you may want to pick up some of that for reassembly.

 

[OldBeechnut]

That was a close call for sure. Glad she still runs smooth. Here are a few video's on the O rings and the assembly. With winter coming maybe I can do a bit more detailed on each. Really the most important thing is not to force anything. On the end caps there is a slot that the main board sets on. If the knobs turn smooth more then likely she is in correct. The link for the O rings..also

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?22,1437544

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxQ-eESoEH8

Notice you have to feed the tube to the MB tilting the MB most of the time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwafebiHx-s

 

[Cupajo]

Since I just"fried" my Excal you may not think my input worthwhile, but the end plug is easier to align by sliding the board into the slot in the plug and then into the tube rather than waiting until the board is in place and trying to align the end plug,

This helps to keep the board straight if you watch the screw hole alignment as the board slips into place.

As you do in the video I left the headphone plug out until I had the other end secured in place.

It's a good idea to slip the O-rings out of their slots and work a bit of silicone grease into the O-rings, wiping off the excess.

This revitalizes the neoprene material and helps the seals to do their job better.

Cleaning the O-ring slots carefully of any sand etc. as part of this process is a good idea too. (Any tiny grit can cause problems!)

When I bought the Excal (used) it leaked and I was able to clean, lube and adjust the knob shafts and seals to cure the leaks.

I had the plug ends and board out several times with no ill effects.

I'm positive my wonderful old NY Excal died a natural death of circuit component failure! (There was no water in the tube!)

I hope you get your Excal performing as it should.

CJ

 

[dbsmokey]

OldBeechnut et al,

That you for your suggestions and advice. OBN, the videos are GREAT! I am going to get some new O rings this winter. For now, the excal will be land only (I use it both on land and water). I took it out today in my yard and had zero falsing and it had a strong threshold, so I think I dodged a bullet.