Tesoro Sand Shark

Good Machine, Bad Experience with Tesoro

Wesley Bauerle in Los Gatos CA -
I'm sure most of you have had great experiences with this detector and with Tesoro for that matter, but I on the other hand had quite a frustrating experience with them.

I ordered a new Sand Shark and received it a week later. I took it out a few times and treated it gently, but I removed my headphones and one of the blue ear cups came off the the head band. . I popped it back in and it comes right off again. . there was not much holding it on.

I also experienced some weird quick ZZzzip sounds randomly while detecting so I contacted Tesoro and sent my detector back.

The service guy told me that somehow during the assembly process, someone forgot to fill the headphone cup with some sort of gel epoxy that keeps it from floating and also helps keep the headphones attached. They also found that my coil did not pass their pressure test so they replaced it. . I felt good about the service. . until I got the machine back. .

When it came back, the headphones were replaced, good, they included some free batteries and also more of the little grease packs for sealing which was nice, the coil was replaced BUT there was a large obvious plastic molding defect on the bottom. . It looked like a large portion of the coil was melted from the inside.

I contacted Tesoro and they said I could return it. I kept it for a few weeks, tried it out since they said the defect should not affect the performance, it seemed ok but was terrible in a heavy black sand area. so I returned it again. .

I received the unit back a week later and was happy. . everything looked good so I started re-assembling the metal detector. I got it all together and then went to put the coil cover on and it would not fit, just wouldn't stay on. .

It was only then that I noticed that the coil was warped bad enough that the cover would not stay. The previous two coils this was not an issue, in fact getting the coil cover off was very difficult!!

At this point I was frustrated and wrote a complaint email, stating what I told you above and how this is unacceptable.

The next morning I get a call from someone in their support division actually chewing me out and lecturing me that "If we had to toss out every coil that wasn't perfect we would have to toss 30 percent of them out" and at another point through the call he stated that the detector was "Not a museum piece, and was meant for finding treasure".

I was kind of shocked at first, then angered that after what I had experience I was getting lectured. . . He even told me to take some silicone and glue the coil cover on. . so I hung up after stating that I thought I was buying a professional product.

I don't want people to get me wrong, I really LOVE my detector!! I had a Tesoro PIranha detector before this and they work great, detecting things as small as a staple in the beach sand! What I am unhappy about is the Quality of support I got for repairing the detector. Three strikes you know?

I have pictures at my website goldbuddies.com in the metal detecting section.

Personally I wish they had not decided to hard-wire the coils to the control box. They say they cannot get reliable connectors. . this is not an issue for Whites and Garrett. Also the coil acts as a rudder, would have liked a coil like you can get on the Garrett Sea Hunter or Minelab detectors that are thinner and have less resistance to moving water.

Apr 05, 2012

5 Yes
1 No

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Sand shark

DARK DIGGER in ny -
The sand shark Eats up the competition 22k ring at 12in down no BS its the JAWS of the beach all other detectors get out of the water DANGER ALL RINGS ARE MINE 20

Mar 12, 2012

3 Yes
1 No

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Metal hunter!!!!!!!!

Steven lewis in Appleton ,wi -
I got this unit before moving up from Florida, was told I should trade it in for a vlf unit that I would be digging a lot.well I kept it and I dug, dug, and , dug. I found more gold and silver than anyone in my club this year , do your research and get a pi that can get you deeper than a vlf.
You have to get used to the pi but you can tell if it is junk or the good stuff with practice. I have the 8 " coil.

Dec 28, 2011

14 Yes
0 No

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Tesoro Sand Shark Owner

larry starr in Fresno calif -
This is my second PI machine, my first being a Garrett Infinium which I thought was a great machine but the Sand Shark is Superior in one way as it is very quiet. The Infinium always had a sound off at the end of the swing, no matter how slow it was swung.

On a PI machine using mostly in wet sand and in water you dig everything anyway so there is no need for discrimination.

I have dug a medium pocket knife at 2ft deep, this seems untrue but entirely possible. The response when detected was very audible.

The nice thing with a PI machine such as the Sand Shark if you get a signal keep digging there is a target there, just keep going until you reach it.

Highly recommend this unit, and I have thirty five years in metal detecting.

Dec 05, 2011

31 Yes
0 No

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Simply the best.

DewGuru in Gulf Coast, Florida -
I've been using the Tesoro Sand Shark for nearly a year now. It is hands down the best salt water machine on the market. From Jan 1 2011 until now, May 19 2011, I have found 105 rings. (26 gold, 35 silver, 44 junk). That does not include the 3 gold necklaces, or the multitudes of silver necklaces and bracelets found, nor the droves of earrings, both gold and silver.

I hunt typically 4 days per week. Many of my hunting pals use the excal. The Tesoro Sand Shark outperforms them with regularity. It is deeper than the Excal, even with the 8" coil.

It is super sensitive and does find the small gold that the excal, and most of the rest, can't.

There is no discrimination on this machine. It is a straight PI machine. You will dig trash and iron. Just like the rest do. Excal will null on iron which is nice, but now that the Bobbi pins are made of non-iron material, that feature is now worthless.

Do yourself and your wallet a favor. Get this unit. You'll not be disappointed and you'll have the finest PI machine on the market.

Did I mention the lifetime warranty? LIFETIME!

May 19, 2011

57 Yes
0 No

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Tesoro "Sand Shark" detector

Dana Parandes in Mystic, CT -
Did my research. I wanted and needed a detector that can scan in and around water and marsh. I live within an area that's strewn with debris. Besides the long-gone residents (of the 1800's), the major hurricane of 1938 destroyed and swept many Victorian homes...and that debris is scattered and buried on my lot. The Tesoro Sand Shark was THE unit! Within several hours after receiving it and reading-up, I put it to work. In five minutes...it found a perfect engraved cast iron (1800's) stove vent, 40' from my back door. It was a beginning. Within an hour, I discovered another batch of very old items, from cast iron to stamped metal. There's much to learn, but if this is my first experience, I'm convinced that I made the perfect choice. Combined with my boat and so many places to explore, this Tesoro and I are going to have a "very good time!+!"

Get one!

A suggestion to the seller:
Put a sticker in with each sold unit [with their printed business name, web site, and particulars.] When on-lookers see me finding valuables, their going to ask questions(?) Turn the Tesoro over...show them the sticker. This is where you can get yours!

Mar 11, 2009

25 Yes
11 No

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Excellent

Elixir in florida -
This machine is great, it takes a little time to learn it, but is almost as deep as an excalibur. Hairpins will make a double blip sound so you dont have to worry about them. I love my sand shark, and after 2-3 months of using it I have found two 14k gold rings! Get it!

Feb 16, 2009

17 Yes
3 No

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Sand shark

Donald in nyc -
This is my first year of detecting. Even though I got my sand shark at the end of April 07 I never really started to use it until 9/25/07 because I was doing the easy work of dry sand detecting with my cibola. Since I did not find hardly anything of real value with my cibola in dry sand I finally started water detecting.
As I detect in NY + NJ the real water detecting period is from June through the beginning of sept. yet, despite starting my salt water detecting on 9/25 I have done fairly good during this ?off season.? My experience with the sand shark is all positive. It has fine depth, is easy enough to pinpoint with, and has very good battery life.
4/28/07 - 2.2g silver earing (lake) cibola
5/7/07 - 6.5g 14k ring - 15point diamond (salt) cibola
7/9/07 - .9g 14k ring (dry beach sand) cibola
7/27/07 - 1.1g 10k ring zircon - 2tiny diamonds (dry beach sand) cibola
9/25/07 - 6.5g 14k ring - 6small diamonds (salt) shark
9/26/07 - 18.4g 14k bracelet (salt) shark
9/26/07 - 3.2g silver ring (salt) shark
9/26/07 - .9g 14k earing (salt) shark
10/6/07 - 1.7g 14k ring (salt) shark
10/6/07 - .7g 10k earing (lake) shark
10/7/07 - 1.6g silver earing (lake) shark
10/7/07 - 1.7g silver earing (lake) shark
10/14/07 - 7.3g stainless ring (salt) shark
10/15/07 - 2.3g 10k ring (salt) shark
10/19/07 - 7.6g 10k ring 10diamonds-3points each=30points (salt) shark
10/21/07 - 17g little guy silver (salt) shark
10/29/07 - 10.6g silver spinner ring (salt) shark
11/4 /07 - 2.1g 14 k œ ct diamond ring (salt) shark
11/23/07 - 15.6g silver + gold ring (salt) shark

Jan 15, 2008

52 Yes
4 No

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Sand Shark RULES! Best PI detector out there!

Jake from Norcal in Northern California, USA -
I've owned a Surfmaster PI from Whites and I must say the Tesoro Sand Shark is superior in every way.

I bought a PI detector because of the badly mineralized beaches in my neck of the woods. I tried using my buddy's M6, which supposedly handles mineralization well, but I could not get a readable signal with it. I knew the only detector that would work would be a PI.
I bought a Surfmaster and had some success with it. I was finding coins at about the 3-4 inch range. I found one silver ring at about 5 inches once. However, I didn't like the balance of it. I decided to try out the Sand Shark and it was the best decision I've made in a long time.
The Sand Shark is the first PI detector with microcircuit technology. No more "timing" the detector over the ground and missing target spots. The Sand Shark remains constant during the entire sweeping process. Best of all... it's DEEP! I consistently find treasure at 8 inches and deeper. I found a gold ring at about 11 or 12 inches! No BS (I actually measured it.) In badly mineralized soil, this kind of depth is incredible.

The Lifetime warranty is also a BIG plus for the Sand Shark. The Surfmaster only had a 2 year warranty from Whites. Tesoro really stands by their products. I'm very happy with the Sand Shark. I couldn't recommend it more if you are looking for a straight up beach hunter.

If you plan on doing a mix of land and beach hunting, check out the Tiger Shark. It gets good depth on the beach as well, but the Sand Shark outperforms it because it is more specialized.

Thank you Tesoro!

Mar 10, 2007

64 Yes
4 No

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Very good

francesco in Italy -
On 2004 I bought a Sand Shark for hunting on beaches, here in Italy. I was quite satisfied with it. After a friend of mine convinced me to sell it for another machine...Well last week I bought another SAnd Shark!!!

Dec 26, 2006

14 Yes
2 No

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