Beach Raking machines?

Bklein said:

Anyone research beach raking machines and how they will affect our hunting? How deep do they go and how small of stuff do they capture? Do they look through the catch or just trash it? I’m wondering if these got way better in recent years and may be why findings have seriously dropped off.

Click to expand...

Professional pull behind rakes focus on bigger targets like cans and bottles. Depending on the equipment and operator settings, they may even pick up bottle cap size targets too. Depth ranges from 6-24" but honestly, it seems most operators want to just get the job done and don't push the max limit as it slows down the process.

The conveyor style attachments are very efficient and can screen objects down to the size of a pearl. Again, equipment and operator settings vary. You'd have to research the mfg's but IMO these are good up to 12".

Bklein said:

Do they look through the catch or just trash it?

Click to expand...

I've talked to operators in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and in the Bahamas. Yes, they frequently find good stuff and check their spoils pile. At Atlantis, the operator said some folks pay him in order to search the piles. He laughed and said, he makes money either way.

Better start adding a rake to our scoops. Lol!

there are different types of beach-cleaner machines. The kind that just rake with tong-bars only get the big stuff. Eg.: McDonalds bags, soda bottles, etc... They can not pick up coin and ring sized stuff . Fortunately most of the beach cleaner machines are of this variety. Thus not a threat to us.

But then there's a more expensive type/brands that sifts the sand. And from what I've heard, there are adjustable settings where it can be made fine-tuned enough to pick up items as small as coins. Versus the wider settings that only pick up big stuff (and everything else falls back through).

The trouble with setting it to get smaller items, is that it's a big drag on the machine. It slows way down, uses more gas or diesel to cover the same square footage areas. Since the machine is having to work so much harder.

There's also a problem with setting the machine to get such-small targets, because then it will start to pick up twigs, seashells, pebbles, etc..... All of which are not trash, and just end up creating tons more disposal cost. So from what I hear, the operators don't use that fine tune setting (unless they simply want to have goodies to sort through at the end of the day, eh ? haha)

Also, the machines don't get close to fixed objects (eg.: volley-ball poles, lifeguard towers, etc....). And they don't do the wet inter-tidal zone. They only do the dry. And don't necessarily cover all the beach on any given day. And I think they only go a few inches (6" max?) deep.

So all in all, I don't think they're much of a threat to us.

Bklein said:

Anyone research beach raking machines and how they will affect our hunting? How deep do they go and how small of stuff do they capture? Do they look through the catch or just trash it? I’m wondering if these got way better in recent years and may be why findings have seriously dropped off.

Click to expand...

Guy I talk to at a certain beach I hunt told me he doesn't bother going through what he picks up but told me where he dumps it and for me to feel free searching through it.. I went to the spot and kicked around the multitudes of bottle caps and pull tabs along with children's toys... wasn't worth it to me...

The ones that use the tines won't pick up very much besides big items... I wouldn't worry about what they are finding because it isn't much.

When I first started hunting at the beach (Pensacola Beach), I thought that the rakes would pretty much "sweep" the beach clean and leave nothing valuable to find. As I spent more time watching the rakes and getting close enough to see what they did, I pretty much determined that there was nothing to fret about. They use the tines-on-a-belt rake, with maybe 4-5" tines spaced out maybe a foot apart. It actually brings coins to the surface, because it is physically impossible for those tines to snag a coin.

The tines *could*, *possibly*, snag a necklace, but I doubt it. I saw the driver swerving on successive passes to try to scoop up a ratty sandal in the sand, but after three attempts, he left it alone. The beach has people in golf carts that drive around with picker-uppers and grab the visible stuff. They are going too fast to notice coins and such.

So everyone above is correct...the tined rakes even have trouble collecting large objects, so smaller, valuable things like rings are safe from them. If I got to the beach before sunup, by the time that the rake starts, I will actively make an effort to sweep on the raked sand, because it is easier to swing and shuffle on the smooth sand. I still find plenty of coins and the occasional ring. Still haven't found a chain.

interesting post i always wondered what they picked up too ,going through those piles would be a pain i would think unless you screened all of it maybe

I've detected dry sand after it being raked and I still found coins and rings. So I don't get discourage when I see them. Most of the rakes will pick up the larger items.

Charly-in-CT-RI said:

I've detected dry sand after it being raked and I still found coins and rings. So I don't get discourage when I see them. Most of the rakes will pick up the larger items.

Click to expand...

hey, even if they only pick up buried drink cans, then hooray for them.

Our local beach rake only gets the beach towels, garments, and larger trash. I actually like hunting after the rake has come because it seems coins are closer to the surface, you can tell if somebody else has gridded the beach, and...the fluffy sand feels good on my toes.

I have detected behind the local beach rake and found lots of coins and the occasional ring. Nothing great but they only picked up the larger trash. Even the pull tabs were still there