Goldibox suction nozzle

[gravelMaster]

I would suggest that people take a pass on this poorly designed nozzle assembly. I could have created my own assembly in the plumbing section of a hardware store that would function the same for a quarter of the price. Nothing is to any standard, hose fittings are well designed to leak air into the system.. Plug and play this nozzle is not. If you need to extend the intake nozzle... buy it from them or good luck at one of the hardware stores. Perhaps this was intended to serve a certain market, but I suggest that the material will not last long and that the price will eventually seem like it was not the good deal we thought it to be. Better to get a metal nozzle that isn't as light, but will last. Consult Keene on modifying their 2" metal nozzle to reduce the weight somewhat, if that is your goal. Take note that the pump hose connection does not have a threaded attachment point.

 

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[Assembler]

I would suggest that people take a pass on this poorly designed nozzle assembly. I could have created my own assembly in the plumbing section of a hardware store that would function the same for a quarter of the price. Nothing is to any standard, hose fittings are well designed to leak air into the system.. Plug and play this nozzle is not. If you need to extend the intake nozzle... buy it from them or good luck at one of the hardware stores. Perhaps this was intended to serve a certain market, but I suggest that the material will not last long and that the price will eventually seem like it was not the good deal we thought it to be. Better to get a metal nozzle that isn't as light, but will last. Consult Keene on modifying their 2" metal nozzle to reduce the weight somewhat, if that is your goal.

Thanks for saving a lot of time with a poor designed assembly.
Steel sounds like the way to go in general for longer life.

 

[ShaqFoo]

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.

 

[russau]

Thanks for saving a lot of time with a poor designed assembly.
Steel sounds like the way to go in general for longer life.

Steel is the preferred material to use BUT it will eventually blow out the side adjacent to the venturi ! the solution to this problem is multiple venturi's at even locations around the nozzle to keep the dredged material in the center of the device to help keep the sucked up gravels from pounding a major dent in the side and eventually causing a blow out ! This is old news to most all dredger's !

 

[Assembler]

Steel is the preferred material to use BUT it will eventually blow out the side adjacent to the venturi ! the solution to this problem is multiple venturi's at even locations around the nozzle to keep the dredged material in the center of the device to help keep the sucked up gravels from pounding a major dent in the side and eventually causing a blow out ! This is old news to most all dredger's !

Putting hydraulic pressure to work to help keep the rocks from wearing a side or hole in the metal.

 

[ShaqFoo]

Steel is the preferred material to use BUT it will eventually blow out the side adjacent to the venturi ! the solution to this problem is multiple venturi's at even locations around the nozzle to keep the dredged material in the center of the device to help keep the sucked up gravels from pounding a major dent in the side and eventually causing a blow out ! This is old news to most all dredger's !

Of course steel is the preferred material for a GAS powered dredge but it would be overkill and really heavy for the backpack dredge and the recommended 3700 gph pump. I've seen it in use a few times and used it once. I used the goldibox nozzle with the goldibox dredge and it worked well. It felt durable. Is it as strong as steel? Of course not. But it did feel up to the task and the venturi worked well- it produces a pretty strong jet. It definitely sucks up 2" sized material and sends it through the unit I only ran it for a little while (I was with someone who let me use his), but in that time, I came away impressed. I have to say, it was fun to use. The stealthiness and portability is a big plus. This is not meant to compete with a larger, gas powered dredge. It is meant for the prospector who doesn't like to carry heavy gear and wants to dredge places that are hard to access. It's a unique design, but it does work.

 

[ShaqFoo]

I would suggest that people take a pass on this poorly designed nozzle assembly. I could have created my own assembly in the plumbing section of a hardware store that would function the same for a quarter of the price. Nothing is to any standard, hose fittings are well designed to leak air into the system.. Plug and play this nozzle is not. If you need to extend the intake nozzle... buy it from them or good luck at one of the hardware stores. Perhaps this was intended to serve a certain market, but I suggest that the material will not last long and that the price will eventually seem like it was not the good deal we thought it to be. Better to get a metal nozzle that isn't as light, but will last. Consult Keene on modifying their 2" metal nozzle to reduce the weight somewhat, if that is your goal. Take note that the pump hose connection does not have a threaded attachment point.

So you haven't actually used or seen it? How do you know it's poorly designed? I guess anyone can say anything from the comfort of their keyboard.

I've used one of these nozzles (with their backpack dredge) and it works pretty good. The venturi creates a pretty strong jet with the recommended pump. It's designed to work with their goldibox dredge, not a gas powered dredge. That should be obvious though. I was impressed with how compact and light the nozzle was for a 2" nozzle. It's way lighter than anything you could make from PVC.

I've built my own own nozzles too from the plumbing section and there is no way you can buy anything off the shelf to make a nozzle as compact and lightweight as the goldibox nozzle. Especially one that requires no fittings or adapters. - no matter what the cost. With any DIY solution you're going to wind up with a much bigger, heavier and bulkier nozzle. it's only fair to make an apples to apples comparison and your DIY example is not a fair comparison. But to take it a step further.....

How is your DIY nozzle a 1/4 of the price? The real answer is it's not.
If you make your own nozzle: You can buy a pvc "Y" for $5 , a 180 degree bend for another $5 that will be much bulkier due to the size of the radius, then you have to buy the reducers and adapters and hose clamps (since your diy pvc nozzle is not made for a keene hose). That's another $15. How are you going to get it all to stay together? You will need PVC cement. Another $13. How much is gas to and from the hardware store? Another $5. So far, that's $43 for you to build a one off with no testing. A quarter of the price? Not even close. And how much is your time worth? Besides going to the store and getting all the pieces, you have to put it together. Again, your nozzle will be untested and unproven. Their nozzle is $65 delivered with free shipping and it works well.

I don't know what you mean about not being plug and play. The guy whose goldibox I got to use had the standard 1.25 and 2" keene hoses and they twisted right on the nozzle. There weren't any adapters required. The hoses twist on in one direction and they don't come off easily. You have to twist and pull pretty hard to get them off.

You were right that they are for a certain market. They are for prospectors who want to dredge in harder to access locations with much lighter gear or dredge unnoticed.
Sorry for the long post - I came across this and felt like I needed to share my experience and observations with the nozzle since I have actually used one.