How to Build an Electric Gold Bucket Dredge?

[afreakofnature]

I was wondering if anyone knew how to build one of these
SUPER BUCKET12V ELECTRIC DREDGE

I have all the pieces laying around to build one except for the pump. I just do not know what kind of pump is used (because I am sure it has to be high pressure) and I am not sure what is going on inside the bucket either (like some kind of venturi?).
Has anyone tried to replicate it? I know that it would not be that useful but I have a few gulches that I can dig a hole in down to bedrock that I would like to use to clean off the bedrock with, the shovel in the water is not getting it, and the suction stick is not working to well either.

Any thoughts?

 

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[Timberdoodle]

The idea is a simple vacuum. Fill the bucket with water with a sealed lid and turn on the pump to evacuate the water from the bucket, this causes suction and draws water and material into the bucket. Hopefully you do not pass any material through the pump which is a simple urethane vane pump which will wear over time and was not designed for this. My 2 cents

 

[Goodyguy]

Watch this first..................







Then read this........
http://goldsnare.com/uploads/GOLDSNARE_SGS-2_Operation_Manual.pdf

 

[Sluicedog]

I had the opportunity to use the Goldsnare SGS-1 and SGS-2 on a river in NH. The Grandson and I found it easy to use, portable, light to carry and fun. It assembles quickly and breaks down fast for easy pack in. It got the small gold and other heavies. Fast to clean out, so time back in the river says it all!

It runs a long time on a 12v battery.....time depends on the size you carry, it ran as long as we wanted to work.

 

[afreakofnature]

See I am not in a river though, I am in like a mud puddle. Mini gulch with a trickle for a stream, I dig the hole out in the middle and let it fill up. That is why I thought some like the bucket dredge would be something of use for getting the last little bits off the bed rock. IDK

 

[Goodyguy]

See I am not in a river though, I am in like a mud puddle. Mini gulch with a trickle for a stream, I dig the hole out in the middle and let it fill up. That is why I thought some like the bucket dredge would be something of use for getting the last little bits off the bed rock. IDK

In that case you want a gold vac...........
Easy to make. Basically all you need is a gasoline powered leaf blower a 5 gal bucket and a hose.


AZ Viper has some good plans to build your own.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/drywashing/331022-build-your-own-vacuum-blower.html#post3119794

 

[afreakofnature]

I did not realize that a gold vac could be used in water or wet material. I thought it had to be dry.

 

[Goodyguy]

I did not realize that a gold vac could be used in water or wet material. I thought it had to be dry.

Use it wet or dry, but not worth the trouble if a lot of water is present, due to having to empty the bucket constantly.
If only a little water is present then it's a great tool.

I will use mine along the edges of a creek by prying up layers of bedrock and then suck up the wet muddy material that is trapped underneath.
Also it's great for crevicing wet or dry material. Just not out in the water.

It's a very useful tool that is often overlooked by prospectors who haven't had the opportunity to put one to the test.

GG~

 

[afreakofnature]

That's great GG Thank you! I had no idea it could be used like that. Here I thought it was just for the desert. Well I will have a new project in the works now.

 

[Goodyguy]

That's great GG Thank you! I had no idea it could be used like that. Here I thought it was just for the desert. Well I will have a new project in the works now.

I built mine in about an hour. The hardest part was making the flange to mate the blower to the bucket lid. ( I used 1/8" aluminum) and I put a paint strainer bag over the blower port to catch any stray gold flakes if they would happen to make it past the diverter baffle in the bucket. ( in 7 years none ever have, but the bag gives me peace of mind)

I also have many attachments and extensions plus extra hose and a pack frame to carry it on my back, not pictured.





GG~

 

[biggdave92]

I'm building a bucket dredge as we speak. this is the pump i'm using. 12 Volt Marine Utility Water Pump

for the lid, look up gamma lid. you can get it at home depot. i also got a translucent 5 gallon bucket from lowes.

i know it wont move alot of material, but it will be great for cleaning cracks.

 

[afreakofnature]

After you get it built, let us know how it turns out and how you did it. I would be interested. I can not experiment at the moment, my project list is through the roof.

 

[DizzyDigger]

I'm building a bucket dredge as we speak. this is the pump i'm using. 12 Volt Marine Utility Water Pump

Are you sure that will be enough pump?

Looking at it's specs, it only moves 300 GPH, and draws 5 amps
in the process.

 

[biggdave92]

Are you sure that will be enough pump?

Looking at it's specs, it only moves 300 GPH, and draws 5 amps
in the process.

we shall see. i hooked it up the other day to see how much suction it has and it will just about break your finger off when you cover the end of the hose. That was a regular garden hose. I'm going to try a 3/4" ID hose first. If that works ok, i may move up to 1". In my mind i feel like this thing will be kinda worthless, but we'll see. I really know nothing about water flow, pressure, etc. Example, what will be the difference between using a 7' x 3/4" suction hose and a 10' x 1" suction hose? Everything else being equal.

 

[biggdave92]

First test was a bust. Bucket was collapsing. Sides were sucking in. Old pos battery died. Guess I'll try again later after I clear my mind.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[goldenIrishman]

I used one of AzVipers vacs a while back at my claim and they are "Da BOMB"! We had gotten some rain the week before so much of the sand was still very moist (even flat out wet in some places) and it worked great. We test drove it by going over an area that we had already worked using hand tools and it pulled up as much gold in two buckets as we had gotten in twenty buckets doing it by hand. I WILL be building us one of them soon as I don't want to have to keep borrowing Keiths.

Follow his instruction on his build thread and you'll end up with a vacuum that is made much better than the ones you can buy and for a lot less damage to your wallet! The one I used would have sucked up my 2 burner camp stove if I had given it a chance!