Although a metal detector and magnetic locator may seem to do the same thing, which is to locate buried metal objects, they are indeed very different devices.

Magnetic locators do not operate in the same way as your traditional metal detectors. Your traditional metal detector will transmit an electromagnetic field from the coil and will pick up any metallic item that is within range of that electromagnetic field. A magnetic locator however, does not transmit anything, instead it measures magnetic field distortion from a buried metal object.

In order for a magnetic locator to pickup on that magnetic field distortion, the type of metal that is buried needs to be magnetic (or ferrous) in nature such as iron or steel.

The magnetic locator can penetrate much deeper than a metal detector can, so it is the perfect tool for seeking out deep buried ferrous objects. For example a metal detector may only be able to pick up an item up to 0.5-1 metre in depth, whereas the magnetic locator can pick up that same item between 3-6 metres in depth.

The other benefit if looking for a ferrous object, is that the magnetic locator will ignore all non-ferrous objects around it (as these are not metallic and therefore cannot be picked up by the machine). So for example, if you in a trashy park environment and looking for a deep buried wellpoint casing, then the locator will not go off every time it goes over a bottlecap or pulltab, but will only sound off when it finds a ferrous metal.

Most popular uses for a magnetic locator is for those looking for manhole covers, steel pipe joints, kerb and valve boxes, reinforced septic tanks, steel enclosures, well casings, unexploded ordinance, survey pins, markers or any other deep buried iron or steel objects.

This is certainly not the tool for someone searching for gold or silver, as these items will be totally ignored by a magnetic locator, so a metal detector will definitely be a preferred weapon of choice if you looking for buried treasure.

If you would like to purchase a magnetic locator, or even just would like to rent one from us, we have the best brand available in the magnetic locator market, Schonstedt, and our product of choice is the Schonstedt Maggie.