hand dredge (sucker-upper) designs

[steveh2112]

hi, can anyone point me to a known, working, reliable hand dredge design? i've seen a few designs on youtube which look interesting but most of the videos end with 'but i haven't tried it yet'. maybe someone can suggest a known working design since i will be living in a van without a lot of tools so don't have the opportunity to keep fine tuning or rebuilding one.

thanks

 

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[beekbuster]

i built mine with a 3 inch abs cylinder and used 3 inch leather cups for the seal. i then necked the intake and outtake to 2 inch abs with one way valves. the type of valve is important, but you will never get away from blockages that pin the valves open. you just have to learn how to clear them by pumping some water through. i also used a 3 inch y and pointed the y down rather than up(like the goldnsand), because gold is heavy. why would you try to force it uphill any more than necessary? the leather cup's id is 2 inches, so it is easily affixed to a 2 inch bushing and cap. the other end of the bushing is where the rod connects. use a male threaded bushing so replacing the leather cups is simple. screw on and off. i have found the only use for this device is when the stream is not running, at least enough for sniping. a shovel is 10 times faster than any hand dredge. i must admit it was fun to build and it does work to grab what the shovel cannot.

 

[beekbuster]

did i mention you will spend at least 100 dollars on this project unless you nix the valves? so maybe just buy a goldnsand extreme or just forget about it. a shovel is 12 dollars.

 

[steveh2112]

that's looks pretty cool Gold Prospecting Equipment by Gold-N-Sand

thanks for the tip

i've seen some home made ones on ebay for about $50 but this looks like the real deal

 

[fowledup]

I have a 2' x 2" Keene that works very well. The best design I've seen is the one Mad Marshall has in his videos. I believe it's a homebuilt, great design, best feature is how easy it cleans out, unscrew the cup and dump it. That is my only complaint with the keene, is cleaning it out, you have to pull off the end which can be a pain if it locks up with sand, but the size is perfect as it will break apart and fit in the smallest backpack with ease.

 

[SunshineMiner]

Steveh.. I ended up buying a Gold-n-Sand myself. I built one out of PVC and it worked alright. I got my hands on a GnS and it just.. worked. Only issue is letting the seals get wet before you use it.. I would prefer to have it use some sort of screw as well so it can come apart easily, its glued. But over all its a great unit and if you cant quiet get the bed rock clean with a shovel.. this will usually do the trick pretty well! I've been able to even put my and around the nozzle for better accuracy/clogs and still pump it.

 

[steveh2112]

Steveh.. I ended up buying a Gold-n-Sand myself. I built one out of PVC and it worked alright. I got my hands on a GnS and it just.. worked. Only issue is letting the seals get wet before you use it.. I would prefer to have it use some sort of screw as well so it can come apart easily, its glued. But over all its a great unit and if you cant quiet get the bed rock clean with a shovel.. this will usually do the trick pretty well! I've been able to even put my and around the nozzle for better accuracy/clogs and still pump it.

thanks, for $150 or something i figure why not get the real thing. i don't have time or tools for messing about building one while living in a van.

 

[fowledup]

"living in a van"...........down by the river, smoking doobies!" Sorry not making fun of ya, I had a Chris Farley SNL moment, couldn't resist, actually I'm jealous as el, I'd love to spend a summer or two touring up and down the state chasing gold staying in a 4wd van, that'd be fine, fun livin! I'm a tad bit passed the lean and mean, throw and go mode, we skip the kitchen sink and bring the freaken house, comfy but miss those old no muss, no fuss, no plan days.

 

[steveh2112]

its going to be interesting for me and my wife too, living in a van, we've never really done that. i've done a few long weekend trips in the back of an SUV, that's it.

anyhow, i just ordered the Gold-n-Sand dredge, get to try it out next month

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

"living in a van"...........down by the river, smoking doobies!" Sorry not making fun of ya, I had a Chris Farley SNL moment, couldn't resist, actually I'm jealous as el, I'd love to spend a summer or two touring up and down the state chasing gold staying in a 4wd van, that'd be fine, fun livin! I'm a tad bit passed the lean and mean, throw and go mode, we skip the kitchen sink and bring the freaken house, comfy but miss those old no muss, no fuss, no plan days.

https://screen.yahoo.com/down-river-000000356.html

 

[allenkeeton]

You can build your own on the cheap with home made check valves included. I paid about 40 bucks for mine.



The rubber washer has metal washer and a bolt holding them in place in order to add weight and seal up the inside hole. The two screws up top hold it down in that section and allow the bottom to flap out, while the inner diameter prevents it from flapping back in.

the inner pipe uses an oatey stopper, cut to fit in completely for an inner seal. it is adjustable. the looser the seal, the more air it allows to pass, but it easier to handle. All in all this build costs about 40 bucks including the glue that would allow me to make multiple.

The hose is a whole nother fish to fry. you do not want ribbed hose. at all. after all, doesn't gold settle into crevices?

 

[allenkeeton]

In addition, you'll want a screen on the end to keep bigger rocks from going up the tube. a big rock will foul the whole device out. Oh and i have tested it with a bucket of water, and this thing does work. I would love to post a video but it's kinda hard by yourself with both hands a pumpin.

 

[allenkeeton]