Deciding on a dredge/highbanker combo

[HighlandMiner]

Hello all,

I've been thinking of getting a dredge/highbanker combo for the last few years and I'm finally able to get one. I just can't decide on what size or brand I should get. I will be using it in a local stream that varies in depth from 1' to 3', with the odd hole here and there that can go down to 4' or 5' or more in the spring. There's a lot of highbanking potential as well, and I'm not sure yet whether I'll be doing more highbanking or dredging.

I've been looking at Proline and Keene, at both the 2.5'' combos and the 3'' combos. I'm not sure if the 3'' will be too big for what I want to do or not. I haven't had an opportunity to see one of them in action so I don't have a good comparison in my mind. I will be working by myself most of the time. I do know that there's gold and I want to recover it though. I have a strategy for clean-up already so I'm good there. I've been leaning more towards the Proline 2.5'' or 3'' because of what I've read about the big difference in quality. But I'm not sure if it matters as much just starting out like I am? But then I always think its better to just start with the best anyway, even if you have to save up a bit.

Thanks for your time.

 

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[dredgeman]

I would go with the Proline over Keene for the ease and quality.
If mobility and weight and recovery are a concern then the G1 or Gold Hog items

A large fluid bed will get fine gold.

Have fun while you can

 

[Sick4gold]

Any name brand dredge would be great, both have pros and cons and both have die hard fans.
I personally have always owned Proline but I have run a few Keene dredges as well.
I chose proline for durability and I learned on a Proline and am used to them.
Keene is an excellent company with excellent products as well and I know you will be happy with either.
Proline and Keene sluices run differently so make sure you know how to correctly run your box and you should have any problems with either.
One thing I do like about Keene dredges over Prolines is the scalper section. The Proline is difficult to check values without modification as the miners moss runs the length of the box. The Keenes I've seen have a section that you can see your values quickly.
One thing I do like about the Prolines over the Keene is I'm confident I can slide it down a mountain and not bend or break anything. Also the suction on Prolines seem to be more powerful but I can't tell for sure.
Really it just depends on how much you want to spend if you don't have any experience with either.

Last size 2.5 or 3... That's your decision but based on what you described I'd probably get the 3 inch. If your trying to move 4-5 feet of overburden in places you'll have a rough time with a 2.5. Actually for 5 feet of overburden I'd get a 4 inch. If all your time is spend moving worthless material then your gold take won't be satisfactory.

 

[Goodyguy]

What Sick4Gold said

 

[omnicron]

Another thing to consider, with a 2.5" dredge will be the lack of air. Long arming is not really a good option as it's hard to pre-classify certain types of rocks that cause plug ups. You can use a snorkel but if you hit deeper water or deeper overburden that getting to the good gold on bedrock will be out of reach. I think 3" is the smallest that will have hookah as a option. Personally 4" would be your ideal dredge as it can move serious material, dredge deeper, have hookah and is smallest enough to fit in most situations.

 

[Sick4gold]

Proline offers hookah on 2.5
Forgot to mention earlier, I don't care what anyone says a Proline combo is tough on finer gold.
Talked with Jeff from Proline back in the day and followed instructions to a "T" on how to run the combo correctly but never had the results I now have with a flare.
I believe the water was too turbulent with too many bubbles to settle all of the fines. I tried extra dampers and all sorts of stuff but the difference to my flare is night and day.
Still a good unit however I'm just bias on flares now. Call it ignorance or experience I don't care

 

[Reed Lukens]

Honestly I would buy a 4" Proline Dredge because you will get so much more dirt moved that there is no comparison. But if you are stuck on a highbanker combo I've used them all and South Yuba Mining has the best equipment for a fair price over either Keene or Proline. Here is the link for that
SYuba exclusive products

Then here is the link to my highbanker review playlist so you can see them in action and choose for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcAJzGCJ3Q7zqL4EllVgm3x-PmLUxHAfu

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

Honestly I would buy a 4" Proline Dredge because you will get so much more dirt moved that there is no comparison. But if you are stuck on a highbanker combo I've used them all and South Yuba Mining has the best equipment for a fair price over either Keene or Proline. Here is the link for that
SYuba exclusive products

Then here is the link to my highbanker review playlist so you can see them in action and choose for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcAJzGCJ3Q7zqL4EllVgm3x-PmLUxHAfu

This is my 12x57 Highbanker from South Yuba Mining Co. The hopper also comes with a dredge attachment. I have only had it out a few times but I am very pleased.

 

[HighlandMiner]

Thank you all for the helpful replies. I'm still leaning the most towards something Proline, I would like the production output of the 4'' dredge because of its ability to move material like was mentioned. I'm still kind of hung up on a combo because like I said before I don't know what I'll be doing more, dredging or highbanking. The highbanker and other supplies from South Yuba Mining Co. look really intriguing to me and I hadn't seen them before.

At this point I'm definitely looking for something at least 3'', anything less seems like it would be a waste of time (for me). Sick4Gold, you mentioned the Proline is tough on fine gold, which I think we have a lot of here. I'm wondering if I went with the proline 3'' combo if there would be any way to modify the sluice box (as in make it longer, etc.) to make it better at recovering fine gold. Just the questions of a greenhorn! Thanks again everyone.

 

[Sick4gold]

At this point I'm definitely looking for something at least 3'', anything less seems like it would be a waste of time (for me). Sick4Gold, you mentioned the Proline is tough on fine gold, which I think we have a lot of here. I'm wondering if I went with the proline 3'' combo if there would be any way to modify the sluice box (as in make it longer, etc.) to make it better at recovering fine gold.

I had a 2.5 inch dredge highbanker combo and fought with it for almost a year and tried all sorts of things from adding a thicker rubber damper to taking the top off and making a crash box for it. Nothing really helped so I called Jeff from Proline. He stated that the throttle needs to be high enough to make the water hit the opposite side of the hopper. This was very turbulent. He stated that the hopper section needs a lot of water because it becomes sort of fluidized.
I tried running with very low throttle and didn't get enough water to create the low pressure zones behind riffles. I tried very high throttle and found water crashing out of the hopper and onto the motor and air filter.
Just over half throttle was the "sweet spot".
Also with UNmodified Proline boxes there is no need for black mat under your miners moss. The riffles sit very tight against the bottom and gold won't migrate under. If you do try black mat under the moss all your doing is wearing out your buckles and squashing the miners moss under the riffles and actually hurting recovery.
I learned all this the hard way.
Now not all sluices are this way! Most Keenes are ok to put mat under and many people run black mat in their sluices so it's important to understand which sluice you get.
A lot of people say to use a suction nozzle with fine gold and not a power jet which will help but Proline doesn't even offer a suction nozzle and they swear that this is a myth.
A lot of people modify equipment to suit their needs but I personally had a hard time with the combo and modifications. The problem is the turbulent water. The bubbles and white water don't allow the gold to settle quick enough to the bottom.
Proline has since modified their sluices and now use what they call a "wave classifier" which is basically a wavy punch plate. I have found this actually does work well but I don't fully understand why to be honest.

I now have a Proline jet flare with "wave classifier" and absolutely love it. Nice smooth spread out flow into the box with few bubbles, watch your fines recovery go way up!
I chose proline again because of the quality, excellent customer service and reputation.
The combo will catch gold but the dual purpose unit is a bit of a compromise.
Whatever you decide just be aware and run it correctly and you should be pretty happy.

 

[Reed Lukens]

If you don't have a problem carrying in a heavy piece of equipment then the 3" proline will work but you will need to add a second box for the best recovery because a lot of the fines will get blown past the first box. We have ran double boxes on all of them just because of the turbulence with great results. The 3" Proline is built well but it is also really heavy & awkward to carry especially for one person. Still I would stick with the South Yuba because Spencer has a great riffle set up.

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

If your going to dredge you need air. Plain snd simple. I have the keene 4" ultra mini and it traps 75- 80% in the scalper