Building a highbanker

I am still alittle lost. What I am inagining is 100' of layflat from the water source to the pump. Then, 15' of hose from the pump to the nozzle and then 15' of suction hose from the nozzle to the sluice. Is that too far to pump water from the source/river? If so, what is a reasonable distance to be able to pump water and still be able to dredge? Can I run a longer hose from the pump to the nozzle? Get the engine and pump so it is not sitting right next to the sluice? The P180 is what I have been considering. With a keyed shaft, does the pump just bolt up to the engine housing? The 385$ is fine for me. I thought I would have to buy a new pump, just trying to save money on the engine. Can you show me a link to the pump you think I should use? I don't see anything that is for a keyed shaft? I though they all were threaded? Thanks for holding my hand through this. I feel a little silly, but this dredging is all new to me.
 

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Keene doesn't list them on their website or catalog. You must call them and ask for it. Well keep in mind the more hose you run the less water flow you will have. Think of it as blowing through a 12" piece of garden hose. Now add 100 feet. It's friction loss. You would want to have your pump sitting next to your water source and push the water. It cant draw water that far...also you have to consider your suction side of the pump...if you have up to 161' head and you use 10' of intake hose to your water intake of the pump then you only have 151' of head. Keep in mind also that if you use all the 161 feet of head then you will be able to spit more water then is coming out the hose. I'll add more later when I have more time.
 

Thanks to omni cron,I got all my stuff ordered today. Mark at Keene got me Ph 160 that will work with my gx 120. 20' of 2.5" suction hose and a blaster kit. I should have everything I need, except a trip to home depot for some pvc to dump everything into the hopper.
 

kazcoro said:
Thanks to omni cron,I got all my stuff ordered today. Mark at Keene got me Ph 160 that will work with my gx 120. 20' of 2.5" suction hose and a blaster kit. I should have everything I need, except a trip to home depot for some pvc to dump everything into the hopper.
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Cool beans. Can't wait to see how it all works.
 

Did you get the SP21 or the whole kit? Did they tell you that in order for it to work the best you have to use a 1" hose? I didn't know that the P160 had the option of a keyed shaft. Cool beans, that pump is a better fit for your smaller engine.
 

I have to wait and see what it all comes with. I think it is one inch. They actually have to cut the impeller for my pump. He said that they only recently got the ability to cut the impeller for a keyed shaft because of the new cnc equipment they have now.
 

I looked the order over, and it is 1.5 inch pressure hose.
 

Got a big box full of shiny new toys yesterday. Now, I just need to work on getting it all together and get it out and test it.
 

Well, I got home and opened the box of toys. I have 20' of 2.5" suction hose, 30' of 1.5" pressure hose, and a blaster nozzle kit with 30' of 1" hose, splitter and fire hose nozzle. The splitter looks just like a power jet nozzle. I installed the splitter coming right off the pump. The pump was a different story. I had to cut the key for my shaft a few times. The first time I looked at everything, there was a hard plastic spacer in the pump. I looked at it, and looked at some vids on youtube and determined(thanks Reed Lukens) that the hard plastic ring did not need to be included. I installed everything, and found that the engine would not turn over.

I pulled the pump housing and impeller off, and cut the key down some more. Still won't turn over. Pull the pump housing off, and cut the key again. Now, it turns over. I know I need to remove everthing and put anti-sieze on all the bolts, but I am anxious to try this toy out.

I loaded the gf's van up with all the equipment, and went out to visit some claims. The first claim I went to is outside of Black Canyon, and I can only get within a half mile of the river. The road is way too rough for a front wheel drive van the last half mile. I can see the water down in the canyon, but no reachee..

Visited two more claims, and no water at either of them. I know all of you who don't live here are saying that it's Arizona. DUH!! But, this is not the lower desert, these claims are all at higher elevations, and have water quite a bit of the time. Some of you may be thinking that I should have hauled all the gear a half mile down to the water at the first claim. I admit that I am kicking myself some for not doing exactly that, but I brought my daughter with, and I had reasonable hope that there would be water at the other claims I tried to get into.

So, I have all these shiny new parts, and they are still untried. Frustrating....
 

It happens you will find water and run your heart out. Remember when you do get the nozzle in the water you still need to eat and hydrate I always forget those two very important things when I'm face down in the water.
 

Been three months. I am getting alittle anxious....
 

Well, got a chance to take my new toy out today. It works great. Sucks really good. I installed the t for the blaster hose right at the pump. I tried out the blaster hose for dryland dredging, and that works really well. It also washes down bedrock faces good too. I only caught a couple of pieces of gold, but I was only interested in doing a test run. The only areas that I can see need improvement is a platform for the motor and pump to sit in, and a helper. Also, find good ground.
 

kazcoro said:
Well, got a chance to take my new toy out today. It works great. Sucks really good. I installed the t for the blaster hose right at the pump. I tried out the blaster hose for dryland dredging, and that works really well. It also washes down bedrock faces good too. I only caught a couple of pieces of gold, but I was only interested in doing a test run. The only areas that I can see need improvement is a platform for the motor and pump to sit in, and a helper. Also, find good ground.
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Cool. Love to see a video of it in operation.
 

I thought about that today, but it is way too hard to suck, spray, and vid at the same time. When I get a helper, I will get a vid. I also need to lay it all out and get a pic or two of how its put together.
 

I found that the blaster hose will shoot about 60' up in the air. If any creepy crawlies sneak up on me when I have the blaster nozzle in my hand, they will be in for a big surprise......
 

kazcoro said:
I thought about that today, but it is way too hard to suck, spray, and vid at the same time. When I get a helper, I will get a vid. I also need to lay it all out and get a pic or two of how its put together.
Click to expand...

Thanks can't wait to see it laid out. Can't quite picture it in my mind.
 

Just imagine hoses running everywhere like a spider's web, and Niagra Falls happening 20' away. That is pretty much it. LMAO
 

So, here are my thoughts. I have kinda hinted at them during my build. I am imagining that everyone and their brother has had an opportunity to dredge the (sometimes running) rivers (if you can call them that) here in AZ. My intention is to be able to "dryland" dredge just out of reach of the river when it is running. My test last weekend included a gravel bar that had virtually no gold in it. Again, I imagine that the reason why there was no gold in it is because it had already been worked. So, do you experienced dredgers think that it would be a bonanza if I was to concentrate my efforts on the farthest I was able to reach with the equipment I have? Or, better to dredge where I can reach? I know this is a loaded question, and filled with many variable, but I am under the assumption that I can hit almost virgin ground. Apply this to the areas you have worked, and know have been worked, and maybe apply my thinking to the areas that you have already hit yourself. If you were to be able to go 30' farther outside the river water runnings, would you spend the time to work those areas?
 

Are you sure its a gold bearing river? Do you know the difference between dredge tailing and hard pack? Also how deep did you go? Are you sure the river flowed there in the past? Have you sampled different t spots? Sampling is the key to everything. It might take you many holes to find good gold.
 

I am sure it is a gold bearing river. I found gold with the dredge. I can not say that I know the difference between dredge tailings and hard pack. Any help there would be great. The river was flowing the other day when I worked it. VERY little flow, but flow nonetheless. It gets substantial flow during around ten storms a year. As far as sampling, I have sampled 4 spots so far. I never got down to bedrock. I need to bring some bars with to loosen up the small boulders and try to get down to bedrock. The last area I sampled was the area that had the small to large boulders, and it is the lowest point in the creek. We found good gold higher up in the creekside with a drywasher. ALmost thirty feet higher elevation wise, but directly above it. I think this whole area is loaded with gold, just going to take time to figure out where and the best way to work it. My partner is working on getting some local's info.
 

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