Garrett Ace 250 Metal Detector with Submersible Search Coil

Being new to the hobby of metal detecting, I was expecting a steep learning curve with the detector. By the time the ACE 250 arrived, I had watched over 2 hours of on-line video and read one book on the subject. Here is what I found out: 1. Setup is super easy. Only small issue is fitting the rubber seals that act as a friction clutch into the races on either side of the coil. It is a very tight fit and the seals may rip a small bit. Order several to keep as spares...only cost pennies. 2. Detector is very light. Almost comically light. Both me and my wife are able to use it for hours without arm strain or fatigue. 3. Using this detector is extremely intuitive. Garrett has definitely invested time in engineering and provided an easy to use button layout and an easy to understand display. 4. Comfortable arm rest. 5. Very sensitive detector. Stock coil is sweet. Detects easily to 6~8 inches, deeper in optimal soil conditions. Within minutes of use in my backyard, I uncovered 5 rusty nails. Each target that I located was easily uncovered and target depth was close to where the detector indicated. With these things being said, it will be important to understand what your machine is telling you. In clay soil, I found that I need to turn sensitivity down to 50% or I get false signals. This is not a bad thing, just means that the device is sensitive to minerals in the soil. I have found that in loose soil and sand, this machine will find large targets as deep as 12" with the stock coil. I have found several pennies, can tabs, and foil easily in dense clay soil at 8". Color me impressed. There are a few things that I wish could be better, but, these are very small things (maybe nit picking), and some are most likely universal to all metal detectors to some degree. 1. Better iron discrimination. In clay soil, this machine will ping at very small mineral deposits. Even with iron notched out, you will need to lower sensitivity to get past iron signals. 2. If you are taller than 6'2" you will need a longer shaft or you will be hunched over. That's it for the cons. Overall an excellent first detector or back up. Light and fun to use. Excellent battery life (7 hours of use so far and still have 75% of battery life remaining). As with any detector, you need to understand its limits and understand the meaning of the data that it provides. In closing, just a few things. This detector will open a window on a hobby that is fun for the whole family. Once I have mastered this device, my next detector will definitely be purchased from Garrett. Lastly, don't expect to find valuable coins and relics the first time you use the detector. Keep your expectations low for what you will find and you will never be disappointed...enjoy the hunt. With time invested in researching, you will be rewarded.

I purchased this metal detector to help find a lost wedding ring. We believed it to be in a backyard or driveway and had scoured the area multiple times with no luck. We got this Garrett ACE 250 from Amazon with Same-Day shipping as our last resort. It took about 3 minutes to put together, including reading the instructions. Controls to adjust sensitivity, discrimination, and elimination were all rather simple to use, as was the pinpoint function. We took it out and used it for about an hour, learning as we went and narrowing settings. I then went over an area that we had searched many times before and got a strong hit. I moved away the leaves and scratched away some dirt where the detector had pinpointed. There it was: just a glimmer but I had found my ring. It had fallen off my hand and been stepped on enough that it was pressed down into the soil. First time out and the detector paid for itself 2.5 times over. Highly recommend this unit. I will say that I have no experience with other units, but as a novice this detector was easy to use and got the job done.

I've used various metal detectors off and on for many years. While I would certainly not classify myself as a hardcore-detecting hobbyist, I do try to do it properly when I participate. One thing I have noticed is that there are a lot of metal-detecting "snobs" out there that love nothing more than telling you that while your detector is cute, it might as well be a giant turd with earphones compared to theirs! It's weird--I like this hobby because it's different / not mainstream, but when that stuff happens, it may as well be golf... Anyway - I'm not into this hobby enough to spend $700 - $1500 on a detector, but I do want to get my moneys worth. There are A LOT of reviews on the web for this particular detector, and I would say that 1 in 10 were negative, with the rest being very positive. For $200, I gave it a shot. My findings: The good: When I received the device, I walked out into my backyard to play around a little, and immediately, with a resounding "DING", found a penny about 4 inches deep. It seems to really like coin shooting The discrimination and sensitivity settings work well, and the various settings (coins, all metal, jewelry, etc...) work fairly well-- as far a coin shooting, the find usually is exactly what the detector says it is. I've read many reviews slamming the "pinpoint" feature. Honestly, after I READ THE BOOK and played with it for a couple minutes, I found that it worked quite well. It seems to work very well down to about 8". It may work well beyond that... I really haven't had the chance yet to hunt anywhere for really deep items. It's very light, and the display crams a lot of usefull stuff into a small area without being confusing. If you turn it off while you're digging, the batteries last a long, long time. The bad: The shaft is a bit on the flimsy side, although it is pretty easy to stabilize if you desire. It only has a couple tones - a dull beep for trash or unknown items, and a 'DING!' for coins. Honestly though, after I got used to them, they were plenty. It seems to like a slightly slower sweep than most detectors. There is no volume knob. This used to make me mad, but now not so much. Sometimes headphones are just a drag, I wish I could turn it down. In short: The bottom line is this - you really need to read the book that comes with it and spend an hour getting aquainted with the device for it to really work for you. I like it, and for the money wouldn't think twice about buying another.

Sometimes you can "feel" the extra care a company puts into its products, and the Ace 250 brings a lot of that feeling on. The fit and finish are great, it is extremely lightweight, assembly is super quick and requires no tools, and even the batteries are pre-installed. These are all signs of a well-thought-out tool, not just a toy or a careless next generation iteration of an existing technology. Pull a few pieces from the box, press two rubber washers in place (friction washers for the coil pivot), screw together one plastic bolt (plastic, since by coil and don't want metal!), and screw on the coil cable connector. Then press PWR and you are ready to go! But better yet, watch the very professional video on how to use the Ace first. It isn't full of amazing surprise finds with cheesy actors, rather, it is very much like a military training video, with a professional voice talent carefully enumerating the features and functions of the Ace while the viewer sees a man demonstrate each step or method at what seems to be a public park. I can't tell you how wonderfully straightforward and "clean" this video is, but I suspect the quality comes from Garret's experience with training videos for commercial/industrial products. And the video is specifically for the Ace 250. Also, watch the pin-pointer video; once you get into the field I think you'll quickly see the usefulness of the handheld pin-pointer, I know I'm planning on getting one. As for features, this machine seems to do everything I imagined doing with it and should run over 20 hours on four AA batteries, which makes more sense to me than two 9V batteries like many detectors use. It also has its own speaker, so you don't have to have headphones...you'll likely want headphones with their own volume control, though, but if the speaker is too loud at a public place (or just annoying the rest of the family) you can cover the speaker holes with some tape to muffle the sound. The machine shows type of metal and depth. It lets you set custom detection profiles and sensitivity. It even keeps its memory and settings when turned off, which is important because you'll want to turn it off each time you stop to dig. A "custom profile" is essentially a filter that instructs the machine about what kinds of metals should trigger a sound alert--the display will always indicate any find. Perhaps the best feature of all is the pinpointing. While it doesn't serve the same way as a handheld pin-pointer would during the actual dig, it is invaluable for locating where to dig. Watch the video for instructions, but note that along with the X technique you can also press the pin-point button and do a fine scanning of the small area with the find to get a mental image of the detection circle around the object--your mind will "see" a disc that is "bright" (loud) at the center and fades off at the edges. You can also use a spiral motion you let "decay" into a simple circle and when you can make a circle with the detector's coil that has a perfectly even pin-pointing tone you know that the object is dead center of this circle. Scanning, especially, can be useful for larger, irregularly shaped objects, because your mind is forming a fuzzy image of the object's shape...just don't dig for a buried cable! As for the function of the machine, I could not have imagined it to be this good. It tells you pretty much exactly what is down there and how for down it is. The video says it can take 100 hours to become proficient at picking up on the sounds and indicators, but the truth is after only about 2 hours you'll already be growing a "third eye" for what lies beneath. For example, you quickly come to recognize that short, nearly "phantom" blips are foil wrappers, that having two finds very near one another is not that uncommon, and that large iron objects (say, an old drain cover) may sound like coin-iron-coin rather than just a lot of iron. One thing that is under-emphasized is that detecting is really about digging, or at least scraping. Doing this in a way that doesn't mess up grass, etc., is mentioning in the video, but if you have to travel to get to where you are detecting, be sure to have along a small planting trowel, some sort of dully pointed metal rod for a probe, a heavy nylon brush, a lighter-weight nylon brush, and a jug of water. You'll quickly see why.

This is my first metal detector and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. My father has used this model for many years and swears by it as a beginner model to use. So, I decided to buy it and see what happens. It's a very simple machine compared to the other more expensive models and that's definitely needed for just starting out. It's got multiple detection modes, has the ability to change sensitivity and discrimination, displays depth of the find and has the various sounds for the types of metals detected. I read through the manual and tried detecting in my back yard and it was very simple to use and was able to find many odd objects in my yard. It will take time to learn the various sounds and pinpointing where to dig, but for a beginner this turned out to be a great model to own. Now that I've been detecting for a little time now and joined some Facebook groups, I have found there are lots of very experienced detectorists who still use this device over in Europe and here in the US. If you want to get started in metal detecting, this is a good base model to start with and potentially use for years.

It is a very good item. Works great.

OK, part of the reason I went with this is that most of the security metal detector wands I see are made by this company. I knew it had a reputation for quality among the "pros" who need a reliable detector. I will also add that Garrett has really good customer service, which means you won't be stuck with something that won't work after a month or so. Service is good before and after the sale. I chose this specific model since it came recommended in the metal detector boards. Garrett has a video where you can see this unit in action (as well as their other units). After having used it for a while, I am happy with my choice of this unit. It will grow with you if you want to get more adventurous--short of seriously metal detecting under water! The Ace 250 was a fairly easy set up. In fact, it took about five minutes without really consulting the manual. But, I am pretty good at electronics! Still, you don't need to be an electronics genius to figure this out since it is basically attaching the searchcoil to the unit and then the cable to the control housing. That last part is pretty idiot proof too! The batteries were in the unit. The unit is also pretty intuitive to use. The unit also comes with a DVD on how to use it (in addition to the manual--which you can find online). OK, the unit is really good for the price point. I have to say that you should hold off on buying any headphones to use with this until after you've used it for a while. I found the unit was loud enough for me without headphones. It was too loud with headphones. One accessory that you should seriously consider is the Garrett Metal Detector Coverup for using the detector in bad weather. The detectors aren't weatherproof and that will help it last longer. On the other hand, getting down to the treasure hunting... Well, that's more up to you, and your luck! And where you happen to live (or treasure hunt). Not many people find things like the Crosby Garrett Helmet and the hoard of Anglo-Saxon found by Terry Herbert. But, there's always hope! Enjoy this detector. BTW, there are more uses for these things than just looking for buried treasure. I bought it to hunt for some lost items. And to try treasure hunting.

For the most part its a nice detector, but here is what I found that could be improved. The discriminate is not very good at all. I would say its right about 30% of the time. Every time the detector displayed I had a nickel..it was usually scrap metal or screws. I found it worked a little better when you eliminated the first 3....but when i did that it will not detect gold. I ran my gold ring under it with no detection at all. You have to back off about 3 notches on the sensitivity or its constantly jumping back and forth. When it said i had a quarter it was an old screw. Ive had lots of false readings. Sometimes when it would go off.....there was nothing to be found and i double checked this with my pin pointer. You can lay it down and the detector will start beeping. It would be nice to have a volume control as its very loud and if you wanna wear headphones you have to get a set with a volume control or it will blast your ears. If u put it on all metal it jumps back and forth like crazy so you have to drop the sensitivity quite a bit for it to be more consistant. The problem with that is if you back off too much then you cant find the deep stuff that may be old coins. I do realize this is an entry level metal detector but if you are going to put a coin identifier or jewelry identifier make sure its accurate. The best thing to do with this detector is just dig everytime it goes off without discriminating because the detector has a hard time distuinguishing trash and something valuable. Which waste a lot of time because your digging up nails and pull tabs. I wonder if my detector is defective, but i read other reviews of people having the same trouble so probably not. And last...the display is so small and the control panel is down too far to read. I cut about a foot of pvc pipe and connected it where the panel originally was and drilled 2 holes on the upper part of the pvc pipe to bring it up higher so you can read it. I hope Garrett will improve this detector to do a better job.

Fonctionnement parfait, belle sensibilité, facile à porter. Nous n’avons pas encore trouvé le trésor du coin mais de belles heures de découvertes et de ballades avec les enfants, il est même possible de le manier pour eux! C’est un loisir pour nous mais bel appareil.

Jag köpte denna produkt. Men sedan ångrade jag mig. Så ville returnera denna produkt tillbaka till säljaren. Men jag förlorade ca 350kr på detta köp. Betalade ca 3000kr och när jag skickade tillbaka denna så fick jag bara 2600kr tillbaka. Men det står ingenstans i annonsen att man kommer förlora pengar att returnera produkten till säljaren om man vill skicka tillbaka den. Det är jätte dåligt kan jag tycka. Man ska ha fullrätt att kunna skicka tillbaka produkten oavsett orsak utan att behöva förlora flera hundralappar. Mycket dåligt stil.!! Mvh

A good choice for those entering the hobby. Although the ACE 250 has been around for a good while it has remained a dependable and predictable detector to start out with.

Works every time. We did also buy a pin pointer which helps for locating items. However we not far from disappointed! This is a great metal detector and great for younger adults or older children as it’s not too heavy.

As all males approaching middle-age are reknowned to do, I decided to act upon the ever-increasing urge to look for treasure. I did the right thing; checked reviews before I bought - and the Garret range kept coming up in forums as being reliable, relatively cheap and 'productive'. I'm sure all novice detectors have quasi-delusional visions of finding a saxon crown on their first outing. Personally, I knew I'd be happy just discovering anything from the past, regardless of size, value or importance. Basically, I wanted to dig up metal knowing there was a very slim chance of finding something valuable (btw - I haven't found anything of true value yet - but the Garret 250 has more than paid for itself in terms of keeping me interested. The Garret Ace 250 is really simple to use. If anything, the controls are more intuitive than the admittedley brief instructions. The different modes (All Metal, Coins, Jewellry etc.) really do make a difference; when set to coin mode I lifted several coins over the space of an hour on Polzeath beach - shame the total only came to 26 pence! When in 'All Metal' mode, you really get an idea of just how much metal there is below the ground. It soon gets to the point where you can get to recognize the general size, depth and even shape of the object that's triggering the device. My first outing left roughly 50 holes in a field near my Gran's house (which I obtained full permission to dig - this really is the key to happy hunting, anyone who is thinking of digging without permission should really think again). Back to the machine - it's compact when assembled, and the stem can easily be split for transport. Battery life is excellent. The only annoyance is a lack of volume control, but the machine really comes into its own with headphones that have separate volume control. I haven't unearthed anything that will help me retire early, but I have found a very old iron pot, old shillings, nails by the bagfull (yawn), a lot of lost change, oh and a scaffolding pole. Darned builders. It's a great machine, and very comfortable for lengthy sweeps of large fields or similar. You'll soon get in tune with it. I'm hooked!