Good day of sampling.

[NuggetN8]

Today I headed out to one of my spots that I usually go prospecting at to do some sampling to see where there's gold left, how big the gold is downstream, and maybe find a spot to dredge next time. I've been hitting this creek really hard over the years but I've only worked down to a certain point. I found an area where there was overburden and a huge mass of tree roots. It looks like an area where the water flows directly into it when the water is higher because it causes the creek to make a sharp turn. I've concluded that in this creek the bigger nuggets are mostly only on the upper end of the creek and the further down you go the smaller the gold is because there's a lot of waterfalls and the creek doesn't have that much flow. Here's some pics of the gold I found there. From about 2 buckets of dirt. Next time I go I'll gravity dredge the area where I found it. Not sure when that will be but I'll make a post.

 

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[NuggetN8]

Had to post the pics on my phone for some reason the upload button wasn't working on my computer..

 

[oldbrundogg]

That's some sweet sampling N8, very jealous I'm I, hope the gravity dredging is as successful. I would like to see some videos of that something I'm really interested in trying. Congrats!!
OBD

 

[NuggetN8]

That's some sweet sampling N8, very jealous I'm I, hope the gravity dredging is as successful. I would like to see some videos of that something I'm really interested in trying. Congrats!!
OBD

I can try to make a video when I go. It's kind of hard to dredge and hold a camera at the same time though =\ I have an underwater camera that would work perfect for that kind of video.

 

[oldbrundogg]

Lol, even maybe just an over view of your set up, and equip. My avatar is a hole I'm dying to try this on just want to see it done by a pro before I try.
OBD

 

[NuggetN8]

Lol, even maybe just an over view of your set up, and equip. My avatar is a hole I'm dying to try this on just want to see it done by a pro before I try.
OBD

Here's some pics of my equipment. 65ft of 2inch, 50ft of 3inch (different setups) and my sluice.

 

[NorCalPilot]

That's some sweet sampling N8, very jealous I'm I, hope the gravity dredging is as successful. I would like to see some videos of that something I'm really interested in trying. Congrats!!
OBD

Me too! Let's see some gravity dredging!

 

[oldbrundogg]

Thanks N8, that hose looks expensive guess I better start saving, heavy too you pack it in and out each time? wow! Did you build the crashbox for your sluice.Something else I need to get?
OBD

 

[NuggetN8]

Thanks N8, that hose looks expensive guess I better start saving, heavy too you pack it in and out each time? wow! Did you build the crashbox for your sluice.Something else I need to get?
OBD

Yeah it's pretty expensive. You can make up for it in gold though. The 3 inch is pretty heavy the 2 inch is a little lighter to haul around. The 2 inch can be a pain to roll up when you're done too.. I do haul it in and out each time because I'm afraid somebody would steal it. My dad made the crash box for me. You do need one. If you have a lot of drop and you just set the hose in your sluice and start it up anything you suck up will be blasted right out the other end. Including any fine gold you suck up. I found that out the hard way..

 

[oldbrundogg]

Very cool N8, yeah I'm at the bottom of about a 30ft fall, but after the pool it flattens out for a stretch not sure how much of a run I would need to get the amount of drop needed. That's one of the reasons I was asking for the video, I kinda need to see it to "vision" it so to speak. I watched a couple vids on line but nothing new lately, and nothing with actual dredge hose. Anyway thanks for the info. I'll stay tuned in.
OBD

 

[NuggetN8]

Very cool N8, yeah I'm at the bottom of about a 30ft fall, but after the pool it flattens out for a stretch not sure how much of a run I would need to get the amount of drop needed. That's one of the reasons I was asking for the video, I kinda need to see it to "vision" it so to speak. I watched a couple vids on line but nothing new lately, and nothing with actual dredge hose. Anyway thanks for the info. I'll stay tuned in.
OBD

Hmm well you need 3ft of drop minimum for it to work. If you want it to work good around 6. If you get 10-12ft of drop with a 3 inch everything will be gone in seconds.. Including the water if you don't have sufficient flow.. I've been using the 2 inch setup lately because it doesn't affect the water flow so much. Oh and don't use corrugated tubing I tried that first and it was a waste of money.. Loss of suction due to the riffles inside if it.

 

[oldbrundogg]

Good info, if I do it before say the end of May I should be ok but the creek stops running about the end of June. 6ft should be doable, not to sound so cheap and lame, but I am. What about 2 inch irrigation pipe like the growers use. Or even 1 inch? Too small?? Doubt there's any gold there bigger than that.
I'm just so cheap.
OBD

 

[Jeff95531]

Today I headed out to one of my spots that I usually go prospecting at to do some sampling to see where there's gold left, how big the gold is downstream, and maybe find a spot to dredge next time. I've been hitting this creek really hard over the years but I've only worked down to a certain point. I found an area where there was overburden and a huge mass of tree roots. It looks like an area where the water flows directly into it when the water is higher because it causes the creek to make a sharp turn. I've concluded that in this creek the bigger nuggets are mostly only on the upper end of the creek and the further down you go the smaller the gold is because there's a lot of waterfalls and the creek doesn't have that much flow. Here's some pics of the gold I found there. From about 2 buckets of dirt. Next time I go I'll gravity dredge the area where I found it. Not sure when that will be but I'll make a post.

Looking forward to what's next but omg, the stack on the dime? Priceless!

 

[NuggetN8]

Good info, if I do it before say the end of May I should be ok but the creek stops running about the end of June. 6ft should be doable, not to sound so cheap and lame, but I am. What about 2 inch irrigation pipe like the growers use. Or even 1 inch? Too small?? Doubt there's any gold there bigger than that.
I'm just so cheap.
OBD

I wouldn't do anything smaller than 2 inch. Any smaller and you'll plug fairly easy. Also you need an intake slightly smaller than the hose to reduce plugs. Never tried irrigation pipe before but you could try it.

 

[mjarvis]

Great stuff N8, what and how does that exactly work?? I'm very curious is there a motor or some sort of vacuum any info would be great this.

 

[NuggetN8]

Great stuff N8, what and how does that exactly work?? I'm very curious is there a motor or some sort of vacuum any info would be great this.

Gravity dredging? It's just a really long hose going to your sluice. No motor involved. You fill the hose up completely with water and uncap it to cause a siphon. As long as you keep the intake from sucking air it will keep going until you pull it out of the water. It can be as powerful as a gas dredge depending on how much drop you have from the intake to where the hose goes into your sluice.

 

[mjarvis]

Gravity dredging? It's just a really long hose going to your sluice. No motor involved. You fill the hose up completely with water and uncap it to cause a siphon. As long as you keep the intake from sucking air it will keep going until you pull it out of the water.

I got you. Looks like you had a good day out there nice job keep following that lead up the river. I like the idea of the gravity dredge what's involved to make it all work??

 

[NuggetN8]

I got you. Looks like you had a good day out there nice job keep following that lead up the river. I like the idea of the gravity dredge what's involved to make it all work??

To make it worth using you need a hose that's long enough to get you at least 4-5ft of drop between the intake and where it goes into your sluice, a plug to plug the hose an fill it, and the rest is pretty much like a normal dredge. You need an intake that is slightly smaller than the hose to regulate the size of the material and a crash box on your sluice. The more drop you have from point a to point b the harder and faster it will pull gravel.

 

[NuggetN8]

I guess I do need to make a video of it in action seems like there's quite a few people interested in it.

 

[oldbrundogg]

N8, sorry to beat this into the ground and thank you for your patience, BUT, how do you get the siphon started on something that size? I read before about a valve at the end to hold the water in the hose once it's filled . How do you get the draw into the hose to fill it? And would a valve incorporated into the crashbox connection be too restrictive? I could see in decent moving water the flow would probably suffice but I'll be working out of a large pool with a 2ft high bank on the down stream side. Maybe if I got enough hose submerged first that might work?
Thanks this has been very helpful.
OBD