Hand Dredge Tips and Tricks

[AugustMoose87]

So I have been working on a homemade hand dredge, and have come up with a few little tricks I thought I'd share, and see if anyone else has any to share.

Tip/Trick 1 - The Pump Handle - So in looking online, I saw 3 designs: a straight shaft, a 90 degree turn, and a T. I played with the parts, and found I wasn't a fan of any of them. So I looked around the shop and saw a snow shovel handle... Turns out a 3/4" sprinkler riser can be glued inside that snow shovel handle, and also inside a 1" PVC pipe... Gives me a comfortable angle, directly over the shaft, and 0 chance of smashing my fingers.



Tip/Trick 2 - The Dredge Handle - Again, I saw 2 options: just hold the main tube, or a fixed 90 degree handle. I just so happened to have been working with a drill earlier in the day, and thought wow, one of those adjustable, rotating handles off a drill would be great. I got lucky to find a "parts" drill whose handle fit PERFECTLY on my 2" PVC. Plus, you just rotate the handle to loosen/tighten it, and it can be moved up or down and rotated to any position. You can google "5101990-00" and it will come up if anyone else is interested in one.



Tip/Trick 3 - The Seal - The initial build I saw used pipe insulation, so I gave that a shot - It was OK, but not great (difficult to replace, worked OK with just water, but grit fouled things up). Then I thought maybe a pool noodle would be better (same problems, though some improvement). So I started thinking about similar applications - moving water, high durability. inline style pumping... a windmill came to mind. So I looked that up and found that they typically use a "leather cup washer", the idea being that the force causes the cup to expand against the walls and form the seal. And being the cheap skate I am, I wondered if I could just make a leather cup washer - turns out I can. Basically you get something that is the diameter of your pipe (a piece of scrap 2" PVC in this case) and something that is right at or just under the diameter of your pipe minus the thickness of the leather x2 (a scrap PVC fitting for me). Then you soak the leather in water for a few hours, place it between the two halve and put it in a vice. I had a scrap hide piece just large enough to make one, and am planning to get more leather and make a second on so that there ill be a good seal in both strokes. However, I can tell you already that just with the single cup it is WAY better than any of the other stuff I've tried. Plus I was able to use a wing nut to secure it, so if/when the time comes to replace it, it will be SUPER easy.



Sorry the pictures aren't better quality

 

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[vpnavy]

Thanks for sharing...

 

[GoldpannerDave]

That's some great ideas.

I particularly like the snow shovel handle. And making my own gaskets will save money also. That side handle appears to be rather useful, too. Have you got any other useful suggestions? Thanks for your great ideas.

 

[AugustMoose87]

The only other one I have are on the intake, and I haven't had a chance to test them in the field. So take them for what they are worth...

The first is I had the right pieces to connect a small section of garden hose on the end. I'm thinking that way if i ever have a crevice or rock I'm trying to work around, I would have a flexible tip to work with. I can get some pics once I get home tonight if anyone is interested.

The second is I managed to get the right pieces to allow me to put a PVC floor drain on the end. I'm thinking that could help act as a classifier, but again, I haven't had it in the field, so I don't know if it was a good idea or not. Here is a picture of the drain I used...

 

[Underburden]

Be careful with the side handle. If you tighten the clamp too much, it will distort the PVC slightly and your piston will hang in that area...not too tight is the key.

Bob

 

[fowledup]

I think in order to be effective with the garden hose you'd need a third arm,lol. Just messing with you. I used to carry different attachments but found it a waste of time and extra weight. Instead use the hand dredge as designed until it won't reach or pick up good amounts of material, then instead of reducing and changing out nozzles simply flush or blast out the crack using the hand dredge, a bucket, or your pan. A lot more efficient then picking up smaller amounts with a down sized nozzle. Depending on conditions I may also mine out a catch basin, or put a pan or bucket at the base of the crack. That way I don't worry about material heading down stream.

Also I think you find the classifier unnecessary. They don't clog up that much, and most clogs will clear with a tap or two. If that doesn't work use your screwdriver or crevice tool to clear the nozzle. Again more unnecessary weight.

 

[Reed Lukens]

You want to be able to move the material out of the way so you will not want a classifier. A lot of good ideas Moose
I built mine a little bigger but it moves the material. I put pvc over a 90° handle.

 

[bedrock bubba]

When I bought my first sucker from Pioneer Mining, I went ape and hurt the ligaments in my left hand. So I cut the main barrel about half way down and glued in a 1 1/2" inch TEE with a 3/4 inch threaded side, and screwed in a 3/4" piece of pipe for a handle. Works great! I also use a PVC tee handle at the very end of the shaft.

I use a snout of 1" pipe about 8" long, and was getting pebbles jammed in it. So I heated the tip and curved it into an oblong oval, and no more jams!

For the gasket, I use an 1 1/4" rubber ring used from auto shocks, with two big flat washers and a wing nut on the very end to hold it all together. Works great. I have not had to change the ring for years, and can adjust the thing just by turning the wing nut. Occasionally, I will spray it with non greasy lube to keep it moving smoothly.

I can shoot a collumn of water strait up in the air 15 feet, when folks ask me what this is! Kids get a kick out of that, its like a giant squirt gun to them.

I use the 8 " snout to punch a hole to bedrock, just to test it. Cool! I attach a piece of 1 " flexible clear hose to get around tight spots. I can also blast cracks clean. I drilled 3 release holes up on the top cap, to let air and water out.

I need to build a shorter version of this, so I can work shallow water.
I do have a bulb type sucker, with different attachments that works too.And a complete assortment of hand made sniping tools that I use.