Spare Parts/Accessories For The GPZ 7000????????

G'day fellow prospectors.

Anybody here know if there are any spare parts or accessories available (such that of replacement coil,skid plates,swing arm etc) for the GPZ 7000?

Cheers Guys, Kon.

G'day Kon I got told by finders keepers in kal skid plates and spare batteries would be available around June. Not good to be honest, hopefully Minelab pull their finger out. My current skid plate is looking pretty ordinary at the minute.

Not good news at all Jase. Like you,I tend to glue the coil skid plate to the ground when swinging. So if one ends up damaging a coil by accident for instance,are they put out of commission for a couple of months,not being able to use their GPZ?

Cheers Kon.

I recently recieved an email from nuggetfinder, they are working on a couple of coils for the 7000. No releasedate but Rohan said they were very pleased with results so far.

That sounds pretty good Artrix.

indeed cant wait to see what they come up with

Thanks for that Artrix. The sooner the better I say.    C'mmon Minelab.The thought of heading off to any remote location,without any spare parts available for the ZED is a bit of a joke,don't you think?  

Cheers Kon.

kon61 wrote:Thanks for that Artrix. The sooner the better I say.    C'mmon Minelab.The thought of heading off to any remote location,without any spare parts available for the ZED is a bit of a joke,don't you think?  

Cheers Kon.

Maybe the essential spare part to keep in your car just in case something happens to the Zed whilst out bush until Minelab fix the spare parts issue, is a GPX

CostasDee wrote:

kon61 wrote:Thanks for that Artrix. The sooner the better I say.    C'mmon Minelab.The thought of heading off to any remote location,without any spare parts available for the ZED is a bit of a joke,don't you think?  

Cheers Kon.

Maybe the essential spare part to keep in your car just in case something happens to the Zed whilst out bush until Minelab fix the spare parts issue, is a GPX

l would suggest a 2200 as well in case the GPX goes on the blink too

[/justify]

artrix wrote:I recently recieved an email from nuggetfinder, they are working on a couple of coils for the 7000. No releasedate but Rohan said they were very pleased with results so far.

Giday Artrix,

Good news !

Do you or anyone else happen to have any contact details for Rohan / NuggetFinder, as I need to return a brand new coil that has a problem.

Rick

G'day Rick,

You could contact the boys at Coiltek gold centre Maryborough as Rohan is supplying his coils to them now for sale.

Cheers.

Mike.

AraratGold wrote:[/justify]

artrix wrote:I recently recieved an email from nuggetfinder, they are working on a couple of coils for the 7000. No releasedate but Rohan said they were very pleased with results so far.

Giday Artrix,

Good news !

Do you or anyone else happen to have any contact details for Rohan / NuggetFinder, as I need to return a brand new coil that has a problem.

Rick

G'day Rick

Going by his add in the Gold Gem & treasure Magazine, this has some contact details.
http://nuggetfinder.com.au/index.php

cheers dave

Gidday Dave,

Thanks, that is what I was after.

I bought it from GoldSearch Dunolly but would rather just send it straight back to Rohan.

Cheers,
Rick

G’day Kon,
I understand your concern mate as I’m also a bit of a “ground scrubber” when it comes to detecting. I’m heading off for an extended trip soon & don’t want to be caught out miles from nowhere & no spare skid.

I tried to get some sort of idea from minelab as to when skids would be available but no response so I decided to do something about it & try moulding a few skids myself. A bit extreme I suppose but once I’m out there I have no intention of hanging up my $10K+ machine & just using my back-up waiting for skids to arrive.

Anyhow I knocked up a quick mould out of MDF & tried doing a few in polyethylene first as it was cheap & easy to get hold of some 1.5mm LDPE sheet. Cut out a square & popped the first one in the oven for about 30mins & out came something that looked like a reject from the Tupperware factory. Below are pics of the 2 part mould & first attempts.


2nd attempt

Trimmed & ready to go



Second attempt looked a lot better but isn’t a great fit as there was a bit of shrinkage & also some thickening of the edges. Third was a bit better still but I think I’ll need to try doing it in 2mm ABS plastic as I think that will be much more stable (probably being too fussy, but what the heck). Sheet should arrive next week so looking forward to trying that & will let you know how that goes.

The not so good fitting polyethylene ones are still ok - just need a bit more tape to hold them on. Not trying to go into competition with manufacturers here or anything but its a ridiculous situation not being able to source such a widely needed consumable.
Cheers, Andy

Well done for looking into alternative methods of coil covers,while waiting for Minelab to get their act together shandeemax.I suppose an alternative in size,or close to in size coil cover,from another manufacturer and a heat gun,could come in quite handy here.

Cheers Kon.

Up there for thinking ahead Andy. Another idea that comes to mind, is that you could get a sheet of 1mm Lexan and cut it to the shape you need (easy to cut with scissors) and in an emergency, you could just silicon it to the base of the coil and tape along the edge. The stuff is extremely durable and will do the job without an issue and will certainly outlast the original skidplate. You might even be able to mould the edges around although I haven't tried this myself. Anyway, food for thought...

Hi Kon & Costas,
Thanks for the ideas guys, hadn't thought of lexan Costas, might be an idea. I know lexan is very hard wearing but not sure if its a good thermoforming plastic? Might have to google that

I guess the idea is not to be too precious about it (in looks at least) since its just a sacrificial item but just the same pretty important if you don't want to damage the coil. And yeah, I'm thinking whatever design prevails there will be liberal amounts of silicon involved

Kon, I think you would need to go to about a 16" or 18" solid coil skid to try to modify it, but might be worth a try with the heat gun. I know that Coiltek use ABS for their skids so should be quite workable with a heatgun - just need to watch you don't put too much heat into the coil if your using that as the mould.
Cheers, Andy

shandeemax wrote: I know lexan is very hard wearing but not sure if its a good thermoforming plastic? Might have to google that

g`day Andy
Mate you don`t have to do anything fancy with the Lexan. Just cut it a bit oversize and glue it on with silastic.   All my coils have Lexan skid plates
dave

phoenix wrote:

shandeemax wrote: I know lexan is very hard wearing but not sure if its a good thermoforming plastic? Might have to google that

g`day Andy
Mate you don`t have to do anything fancy with the Lexan. Just cut it a bit oversize and glue it on with silastic.   All my coils have Lexan skid plates
dave

I've been using Lexan for years now. It's easy to work with and lasts ages. I silastic it to the original skidplate.

Robert

Credit where credit's due, and it was Phoenix that had initially told me about the Lexan, only thing though, I bought the 1.5mm sheet and when cut out and siliconed on, it was a bit too heavy (from memory about 300gms extra on a 24x14) so I took it back off, so my recommendation to keep the weight down, is get as thin a sheet as you can get and use that ( I believe it is also available in a 0.75mm) - the thinest stuff lasts almost for ever so it doesn't need to be thicker which makes it a lot heavier.

G'day Phoenix,
Great idea Dave, by cutting a bit oversize you protect the sides without having to form the plastic to the coil & a lot simpler than moulding - I'll give it a try.
Cheers, Andy

Yeh mate I oversize it 1/4"-3/8" all the way round. This stuff still wears out on the leading edges just like a skid plate does, but it takes a hell of a lot longer. Plus, as you worked out, when you whack a rock the Lexan takes the impact, not the coil.
Also mate it`s personal choice, but to keep the weight down I attach the Lexan direct to the coil.
cheers dave

So what thickness do you use Dave?
Cheers, Andy

Mate 1mm
here is a lifetime supply of the stuff for 85 bucks
cheers dave
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261800218187?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thanks for that Dave, Cheers mate

Hi Folks,
A couple of quick questions: has anyone taken the skid plate off their Z7000 coil? also, was there much dust/dirt ingress between the skid plate and the sole of the coil?
Looking at the skid plate it seems though it could be a tricky job to remove it without damaging the the lugs round its circumference.
Thanks in advance. Cheers, AUoptimist.

G'day AUoptimist,

The young bloke took his off a couple of weeks ago and we were surprised that there wasn't much dirt/dust between it and the coil. It came off pretty easily and went back on just as easy, but you have make sure you line up the slots with the locators 2xfront & 2xback.

Cheers.

Mike.

Took mine off and checked it yesterday. Had to replace the coil tape. Was a little dust from getting in between the breaks in the tape so id guess without any tape it would get a fair bit in there quite quickly. Easy to remove by edging it off bit by bit and holding it from slotting back on whilst you do it with one hand as you edge it off with the other. Super easy to fit back on like Mike said. Just take your time as you take It off and there shouldn't be any problems. I had visions too of breaking a few but none did. Im thinking off getting some neutral cure silicone and being done with it though, the tape wears too quickly and doesn't come off clean when you want to replace it.

Hi Mike54 and Canned Heat,
Thanks for the information, I always liked to check the skid plate/coil interface for dirt ingress on the 5000 coils, it was a straightforward job, the Z coil however at this stage is a bit of an unknown issue, sounds like it should be a fairly simple exercise down the track after a few more days swinging.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

Is there a problem of running some duct tape around the coil and skid plate edge to seal it, to avoid ingress of dust/dirt?
Or is there a purpose to the holes and a need to have them open?