Cheap Dredge?

well that depends on a lot of things. what do you call cheap? what size dredge are you looking for? floating or not? do you have the fabrication skills/tools needed to build a dredge? do you have the knowledge to design what your after? what kind of depth will you be dredgeing? will you need air for diving? theres lots of questions that need tobe answered before anyone to help you .in most cases ive found out that the cheapest/homemade isnt always the best way togo! beleive me,this is firsthand experience from someone thats been there. i wish i had just bought a used dredge when i first started out instead of building one,and i like to make all of my own equipment. id of been money ahead and got more gold from the gitgo than redoing my dredge to make it work differently. but then again,some people just want to tinker around to see if they can make it work.but while your tinkering, you could of been out getting gold!
 

I have to agree with russau, find a "GOOD" used dredge that will fit what you are looking for and then just up-grade or modify it to you're needs.
I found a 3" Keene dredge on craiglist last year for a friend of mine, It came with the 6.5hp engine and a T80 compressor with only 20 hours on it. He went to go look at it, and ended up getting it. For $1700.00 he got the dredge with all the hoses, a swivel nozzle, a 7mm wet suit in his size, a regulator with 25' of air hose, pans and classifiers and a gold miner spiral wheel plus more. You just have to spend the time researching and looking.

Good Luck with what ever you decide.

jog
 

That was a sweet deal for sure Jog. I would have
been totally pleased to find a deal like that. Just
look around Elijah....good deals happen every now
and then when folks realize that finding gold is
some really hard work. Gold Nuggets :hello:
 

Wow, 1,700 seems like a lot to me, but I don't really know anything about a dredge. I just want one that I. Can set on the bank and run a hose to the river. I only need it to be about 1-2 inches in pipe width. I have an engine that is about 3-5 hp, I'm not really sure of what it is exactly.

On a different note, would there be anyway to 'waterproof' a shop vac and use it as a dredge? It seems like it would work, but I don't really know.
 

You might look into a highbanker with a dredge setup. $1700.00 is less than one ounce of gold!
 

jog said:
You might look into a highbanker with a dredge setup. $1700.00 is less than one ounce of gold!
Click to expand...

Yes, but I'd you look at $1700 from the eyes of a 15 yr old, it is more than a summers worth of farm work
 

:tard: Plenty of cheap dredging equipment in kalif---but your jus' toooo far away,hit craigslist and NEVER buy nothing without trying it out in the water first with a experienced miner at your side or your newbie fever will leave ya high and dry and PO'd to the max-tons a au 2 u 2-John
 

jog said:
What kinda money's are you talking about?
Click to expand...

Well I have a little over $100 right now, but I plan on helping my dad this summer so I should have more later.
 

elijahhenry10 said:
jog said:
You might look into a highbanker with a dredge setup. $1700.00 is less than one ounce of gold!
Click to expand...

Yes, but I'd you look at $1700 from the eyes of a 15 yr old, it is more than a summers worth of farm work
Click to expand...

Try these links it is the set up I got and works great.The people at Gold Rush are awsome to deal with

http://www.goldrushtradingpost.com/inc/sdetail/14453

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PORTABLE-2-.../230728754856?pt=BI_Pumps&hash=item35b88166a8

Happy Hunting
Jeff
 

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okbasspro said:
elijahhenry10 said:
jog said:
You might look into a highbanker with a dredge setup. $1700.00 is less than one ounce of gold!
Click to expand...

Yes, but I'd you look at $1700 from the eyes of a 15 yr old, it is more than a summers worth of farm work
Click to expand...

Try these links it is the set up I got and works great.The people at Gold Rush are awsome to deal with

http://www.goldrushtradingpost.com/inc/sdetail/14453

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PORTABLE-2-.../230728754856?pt=BI_Pumps&hash=item35b88166a8

Happy Hunting
Jeff
Click to expand...

I still can't quite make myself justify spending $900 to look for PA gold. I saw on another thread about a gravity dredge? I think it would work perfect for where I'm at, but I can't see that I wouldn't be able to make one for less than $100. Does anyone know where one would be able to find plans to make one?

Thanks
 

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elijahhenry10 said:
I only need it to be about 1-2 inches in pipe width.
Click to expand...

Unless your cleaning bedrock, I bet you could out shovel a 2" dredge easily. I'd go with a sluice and use the gold I find to buy new equipment. Also, there is less to go wrong, and no breakdowns, not to mention easier to transport. Marc
 

elijahenry10,
Why do you need a dredge? Do you know there is gold where you are going, I mean without a doubt and how much? (I do not want to know your location/(s)). IF you know there is gold there what type, flakes, flour, nuggets, wedding bands (don't laugh-some fellas did very well dredging down river from "I just got divorced bridges" in Nevada where folks used to throw their rings away)? How Deep? What kind of soil, sand, mud, rocks? How much water flow in Cubic Feet Per Second ( google USGS Real Time Water Flow Data for your state and see if your water source is listed then see what kind of flows it has at what time of year )?
What SAFETY PLANS do you have/need in order not to die while dredging? Do you swim well? Do you get cold easily? Do you have someone you can trust to be topside to sort out problems up there while you are diving or do you need to dive??

IF you think there is gold there then you need to find out first, buy a gold pan, use a classifier (like an old vegetable collendar for getting the water off of lettuce) to pre-sort the dirt you want to test for gold as that saves a LOT of time, panning is slow and will kill your back from leaning over the water supply. Do you know how to 'read a river'? Google "how to read a river" and see what comes up. Do you know where to look for gold? (how to read a river is a big part of this) Some simple techniques coupled with some simple tools (classifier, small shovel, gold pan, sample bottle, magnifying glass) are all one needs to get started while a dredge is what one uses ONCE the gold is known to be in a certain spot/location along a river and that the real gold is on the bottom (and that is where it usually is even if one finds some good pickers up on the ground around the water).

There is a lot of prospecting information on the internet, if you haven't already, look it up, read it, its free except for your time but you are actually saving yourself a lot of time by becoming knowledgeable about the hobby you are getting into before you step out your front door or before you spend your first $25 on a panning kit say from Garret. I've been playing with prospecting for a lot of years, being in California within 175 miles of NorCal Gold Rush country I've almost always found some along the banks of streams and rivers but I did not have anyone to guide me like the folks on this site are doing so I waisted a lot of time and some money (bought a 2" protable Keene dredge in August of 1992, used it three times and its been sitting since then but the motor and pump will soon be used on the high banker Im putting together, no it is not for sale) I've found more gold since getting a Gold metal detector and a sluicebox but even then I waisted time and money as I did not really know how to use them. Educate yourself before you plunk your Hard Earned Money down on something that will end up at the back end of a barn........Best of Luck 63bkpkr
 

I never really thought this through well, I'm just trying to pull the mud out of a 2 ft hole I have in a creek. I have found 2 tiny specks of gold in my hole, it's just getting hard to dig. I guess a better title would have been "cheap dredge replacement". I did build myself a hand suction dredge, which has worked excellent. I have also been trying to start 'moss mining', which has proved to have a lot of black sand in comparison to the steam bed.
Thanks for the tips!!
 

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