Goldibox anyone use it?

[Mountaineer2020]

I was looking for backpack capable dredges and one choice the search came up with is the Goldibox. Super lightweight design but I am not sure of how well it works. Anyone used this thing? I am guessing it's fairly new on the market.

 

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[russau]

I have never used it , BUT from my experience and travels most all of the equipment that is out there they do work to a extent BUT it just depends on how YOU use them according to the maker's instructions ! Most everyone like's to think "their" ideas work better and in some instances it does , BUT in most cases rushing or running to much dirt or water only loses fine gold . EXAMPLE: on my 4 inch dredge that I drug around the Country ,I had many screen / riffle and other devices to help me get gold. I found out that most area's that I dredged in needed slightly different setups or operating procedure's for that particular creek /stream that I was working . Many other dredger's that I meet along the way asked me WHY I brought so much other stuff with me in my trailer only to hear them asking around latter to other people if they have this or that and I kinda smirked to myself when they came up to ask me if I had this or that. I usually said yes and lent it to them! I'm NOT as smart as the average bear and still have a lot to learn from many other's ! I always listen when other's like Mr. R . Luken's and the list can go on and on ! A person that will listen can / will pick up great tip's unless you like to hog material like I did back when I started out ...... Mountaineer2020 good luck with your Goldibox dredge if you end up getting it and post your results after you get the feel for using it !

 

[southfork]

I was looking for backpack capable dredges and one choice the search came up with is the Goldibox. Super lightweight design but I am not sure of how well it works. Anyone used this thing? I am guessing it's fairly new on the market.

I looked at their web site and not much information on how it even works. All the parts to make it work you need to order from Keene . Save your money and search the net. Or by a backpack dredge from keene at least you would get something that works.

 

[arizau]

I looked at their web site and not much information on how it even works. All the parts to make it work you need to order from Keene . Save your money and search the net. Or by a backpack dredge from keene at least you would get something that works.

I didn't fully watch them but I did find a couple of videos via google. Search terms: goldibox dredge.
What I did see of the dredge and how it works seems to be viable to me but I don't dredge and rarely sluice so......

Good luck.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Being that you still need to carry a battery and that you may get 4 hours of use on it with the lipo that they recommend if you're lucky, Nnnnnnnnnnn-No

 

[N-Lionberger]

Build a Gould bazooka.

 

[Mountaineer2020]

Thanks for the feedback. Looking at the 50ah lipo battery instead of the 30ah. It will weight 2 more pounds.

So here's my thinking as to why I was even considering it. One is it's super quiet so I don't interrupt someone's wilderness experience and draw unwanted aggravated attention. We'll call it enviromentally sound conscience. Two a 2" Keene backpack dredge which I have most of the components for (have the high banker) weighs 65 lbs and while I can pack that I don't like to go far. The Goldibox setup should weight under 35 lbs. I can pack that for miles no problem and have room for water and food. Another reason is one season ago we actually were told to pack up and leave because the fire danger was too high. We had an internal combustion engine dredge.... IN THE WATER.... and apparently that's a fire risk? Lastly our forest has lost most road access and is losing more. If you want to get anywhere in the forest you're going to have to hike. I have seriously considered buying a few mules and going back 100 years because motorized vehicles in the forest are a thing of the past. Don't have em yet though so I am the mule and packing on my back is the only option.

I should know better but think I'm going to go for it. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

 

[N-Lionberger]

I would hard pass on that thing. I watched a couple videos one showing the inner workings. Pretty similar to a Gould Bazooka dredge. Also not sure I would call the second stage a fluid bed trap. Plastic suction nozzle too. 2” dredges are ok for bedrock crevice cleaning but for punching through gravel you will have better luck with a shovel. IMO another person mining the miners. Lots of little contraptions like that have come and gone.

 

[Reed Lukens]

You're trying to run a 2" 3d printed dredge with 1200gph and a 6' hose. The Keene 2" runs on 6000gph... You'll be fanning material into the hose... lol. The 3d plans are online as well. Print it out yourself, then run at least a 4000gph pump. Still, the batteries won't last, but at least you will have enough suction for an 8' to 10' hose which is the minimum that you will want..

 

[N-Lionberger]

You should run away screaming at the notion of a plastic suction nozzle, Vortxrex systems excluded.

 

[Mountaineer2020]

You're trying to run a 2" 3d printed dredge with 1200gph and a 6' hose. The Keene 2" runs on 6000gph... You'll be fanning material into the hose... lol. The 3d plans are online as well. Print it out yourself, then run at least a 4000gph pump. Still, the batteries won't last, but at least you will have enough suction for an 8' to 10' hose which is the minimum that you will want..

Well you're wrong I wouldn't get 4 hours out of the battery I would get.... 2. The 3700 gph (not 1200 gph) pump draws 15 amps. The recommended battery is a 30 amp hour battery. I think that means 2 hours. Even if I went with the 50 amp hour I'd only get 3 hours. Heh so ya point well taken batteries don't last long. Looked at the Honda GX50 the Keene 2" is running and it only weighs 9 lbs! 1 gallon of gas lasts 4 hours. Probably should stick with panning and sluicing. But as you know better than alot one of the few advantages we have over the old timers is suction dredges. And you also know that California, Oregon and Washington are very difficult to dredge in. Silent packable dredge seemed tempting.
I'm over it though found me an old high bank hydraulic pit with 15 colors to the pan where they were sluicing out through the bedrock. That was just the loose dirt below the frozen ground not on bedrock. Now just have to wait till the thaw. Went in there with a pick and there was 2 inches of frozen dirt. Also got the impression the forest service didn't want anybody in there. Guardrail blocking the road and Must have been 20 dump truck loads of boulders dumped on the old road that went to the pit. Was a nice road at one time. Out there improving our public lands!

 

[ShaqFoo]

I was looking for backpack capable dredges and one choice the search came up with is the Goldibox. Super lightweight design but I am not sure of how well it works. Anyone used this thing? I am guessing it's fairly new on the market.

I have seen it work a few times. A guy in my prospecting club has two of them. One for him and his teenage son. I've seen the gold they've found with it and I was impressed. The fines it captured were tiny and there were some nice coarse pieces in the mix. He let me use it once and I was surprised with what it can do. We worked hole on shallow bedrock to 2' and it was spotless. I was also surprised at how light the nozzle was - the suction was pretty good. Certainly not as strong as a gas pump but I don't think this is meant to compete with a gas powered dredge. I think it's meant for the prospector that wants to enjoy dredging but doesn't want to carry heavy gear. The website says it allows you to work silently and access more remote places. I think that's the major plus to it. It's really portable and can be used anywhere. Both the dredge part and nozzle are solid and feel durable. I don't understand some of the responses in this thread - they'll say it's bad but have never seen it or used it. And they seem to compare it to a larger dredge. That just seems silly to me. It actually works pretty well. Hope this helps.

 

[Assembler]

I have seen it work a few times. A guy in my prospecting club has two of them. One for him and his teenage son. I've seen the gold they've found with it and I was impressed. The fines it captured were tiny and there were some nice coarse pieces in the mix. He let me use it once and I was surprised with what it can do. We worked hole on shallow bedrock to 2' and it was spotless. I was also surprised at how light the nozzle was - the suction was pretty good. Certainly not as strong as a gas pump but I don't think this is meant to compete with a gas powered dredge. I think it's meant for the prospector that wants to enjoy dredging but doesn't want to carry heavy gear. The website says it allows you to work silently and access more remote places. I think that's the major plus to it. It's really portable and can be used anywhere. Both the dredge part and nozzle are solid and feel durable. I don't understand some of the responses in this thread - they'll say it's bad but have never seen it or used it. And they seem to compare it to a larger dredge. That just seems silly to me. It actually works pretty well. Hope this helps.

Sound like for many who don't like to pan a useful unit. Thanks for the feedback ShaqFoo.

 

[Vagadero]

N-Lionberger said it all. There is nothing new under the sun. Goldibox's design is very similar to the original Gould bazooka, with the main difference being that the Gould had slots instead of holes on the inner tube and used unperforated corrugated pipe as a nugget trap.

In terms of cost, a 2" exhaust pipe costs around 30 USD, while an appropriate PVC pipe for the chamber is around 50 USD. This should allow you to make two small dredges and will likely last longer than a fully plastic dredge. An additional cost is the end cups, couplings, suction hose, and the nozzle.

I find te Goldibox interesting and I really wish to give it a try.

 

[Quinc]

Hey all, been away from prospecting for about a decade; but my kiddo going through 4th grade, learning about the gold rush re-sparked my interest when he wanted to learn how to pan.

Anyway, came across this thread and figured I would update it with a review. My experience prior to the Goldibox is 20 years of 1.5" to 5" dredges and everything in between in Northern California.

I picked up a Goldibox in June so I could use it at the local swimming spots incognito while the kids swam. I probably have around 30hrs of use on it.

I am running:
-Oasis 3700gph bilge pump
-12v 30ah lipo battery and get 2.5hrs of use. (I have multiple batteries so no use in carrying a bigger battery when I only have an hour or two to dredge)
-15ft 12ga wire
-Suction: 9ft Keene 2" hose
-Pressure: 9ft 1.25" smooth wall shop-vac hose.

Portabiltiy: I can fit the Goldibox, hoses, battery, pan, tools, mask and lunch in a 70L backpack. Perfect if you want to hike in somewhere and keep a low profile.

Durability: This last weekend my pack rolled down a rocky hill about 30 ft and nothing broke. I use the nozzle just like I did with metal nozzles and use it to dig through hard pack, clay and occasional break off rotten bedrock with it. However, I did put a small crack in a nozzle when I shoved my bar into it to clear a clog a little too hard. Larry the owner of Goldibox is easy to get a hold of and insisted on warranting the nozzle even though it was my own fault for beating on it with a metal bar.

Ease of use: You set it up level and stack some rocks around it. It also sinks once water starts moving through it. Pro tip put the hoses on the nozzle before you put it in the dredge. I have run it a few times as a submersible as well. Just need to set a rock on top of it to keep it from moving. When running as a submersible You need to clear out behind it just like you would with the old suitcase dredges.

Clean up: Easiest thing I have ever cleaned up. It comes apart into two separate pieces, the first part where the hose comes in, is a separate classified chamber where I catch most of my gold. The front part with the screen and fluid bed catches the really fine stuff. You can either dump them into a bucket or dump each half separately into a pan. Takes 2-3 minutes.

Quality: Top notch. I use 3d printed parts with my other hobbies and it's amazing how strong this stuff is. All of the parts fit together perfect everything is tight and although it is extremely light weight it feels solid in your hands.

Gold Recovery: I spent about 90% of the summer in areas with no bedrock looking for fly poop gold. And the Goldibox recovered all of it. Along with everything from 1/2oz fishing weights, pounds of bird shot, a 4" long steel wire and a few lures. For the couple trips I took to look for bigger gold it had no problems recovering the chunky stuff as well.

Overall: For the price you cant beat it. You can have a fully operational 2" dredge that truly fits in a backpack for a fraction of what a Keene or Proline costs. It comes with a ton of extra parts and peices. The ease of use and light weight spoils you. I used it more then my other dredges this season. The Goldibox dredge and nozzle combo weighs less than my Proline's suction nozzle.

Bonus: I ran the goldibox with a Honda WX15 gas pump and 30ft of pressure hose. I was able to run the engine for close to 3hrs on tank of fuel with it set at an idle. I would recommend angling the sluice up a bit if you run it this way so you dont lose as much of the fines. But in my case I was looking for nuggets and it still caught a ton of fines.

Below gives you an idea of how small of gold the Goldibox can catch. Dream mat Clean up Buddy next to the Goldibox below:

Youtube video that shows it in action: *Not my video

 

[DizzyDigger]

That's a nice piece of kit...impressive.

I gotta wonder though, how would a game warden feel about it if ya got caught where ya weren't supposed to be.

OR

maybe?

 

[Quinc]

That's a nice piece of kit...impressive.

I gotta wonder though, how would a game warden feel about it if ya got caught where ya weren't supposed to be. View attachment 2176315 OR View attachment 2176314 maybe?

I have PLP paperwork just in case, but being that the dredge is so small, quiet and electric I think you would get away with a warning at most.🤞 It is also very easy to hide by putting a couple leafy branches or a bright neon floaty toy over it. Unless you walked right up on it you would have no idea it's there. 🤫

 

[russau]

Back when I was younger and could still get out to enjoy life I hated having to keep looking over my shoulder to see if someone was watching me so I just did what I was "allowed " to do and enjoy my time out in Nature .I enjoyed traveling all over the States and meeting people ! Now that I'm a old guy I have many great memories & friends to look back on and NO citations !

 

[Quinc]

Back when I was younger and could still get out to enjoy life I hated having to keep looking over my shoulder to see if someone was watching me so I just did what I was "allowed " to do and enjoy my time out in Nature .I enjoyed traveling all over the States and meeting people ! Now that I'm a old guy I have many great memories & friends to look back on and NO citations !

"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." -Jefferson.

 

[DizzyDigger]

"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." -Jefferson.

Great words from a great man, but unfortunately TJ isn't around to stand up for me in court, or pay my legal bills.