underwater metal detecting

[treasure hunter]

Hello fellow divers.
I'm so new to this that to date I haven't even done my open water to complete my certification. While looking at a dive mag at the dive shop I saw an ad for underwater metal detectors. I immediately knew this was for me, but I haven't been able to find much information on the subject. I've checked out all kinds of underwater detectors and read the reveiws, but very little info about diving and detecting.
If anyone has any experience on this, I would like to hear about it. Especially the best detector to use. I plan to do both salt and fresh water diving

 

[DennisS]

Here's a link with a discussion

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-treasures/346209-metal-detector-advice.html

 

[LM]

Huuuuuge fan of Tesoro machines. Have both the Tiger and Sand Sharks (in addition to a Vaquero and a Compadre). One is a PI, the other is a VLF with disc. Still new to diving so never gone deep with them, but have done the weight belt/snorkel thing to scan near-shore underwater areas for protracted periods of times with moderate success.

The bad news was that Tesoro water machines were recently discontinued for an indefinite period of time until they could fix a connector issue. The good news is, they're slated for release again in (i think) May, so we can get our Tesoro water machines again. Obviously, with their no BS lifetime warranties, you only have to buy them once (buying a used Tesoro and forgoing the lifetime warranty is just a ridiculously bad decision and terrible false economy. For a little extra money buying new, you basically get a high performance metal detector for the rest of your life)

As far as PI versus VLF/disc, I would probably use PI if I were working an offshore wreck site, whereas I prefer a disc mode when I'm in water areas around beaches, etc that can be trashy. If you're cool with 'digging it all', then go with a PI.

Here's a good article on the Tesoro site that articulates what should be considered. The discussion applies to VLF/PI for underwater use in general, regardless of if you choose Tesoro or not.

Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water.