I traded my Gold Bug Pro for a Proline Mining 3" Dredge / HighBanker Combo - WooHoo!

[NeoTokyo]

I traded my Gold Bug Pro for a Proline Mining 3" Dredge / HighBanker Combo - WooHoo!

Heya everyone;

Today I scored a very nice Proline Mining 3" Dredge / HighBanker Combo with a 3-wheel cart to go with it.

I traded my Gold Bug Pro for it and am very happy.

Dont worry, I am going to buy another Gold Bug Pro, I just could NOT pass up this trade.


So what do you guys think, awesome trade or what?


Retail marks wise, my GBP was $750 after tax, the Proline would cost $3250 after tax!
The used market is a lot different but still those retail prices are WORLDS apart.

Now to find some gold.

 

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[LinkHylian]

From the sounds of things it's a killer deal and you made out great!!!!!!!
However, how's the quality of the highbanker combo? How used is it? Is there anything wrong with it?
I want a Proline 4" SO DAMN BAD.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Nothing wrong with it, he bought it to work a creek on his property, didnt have any luck and decided that he wanted a MD more.

As far as quality goes, I have yet to work with it but from everything that I have read and looking over it, the quality is great.

The way it works is that the hopper has a connection for the Jet Tube to directly connect when ran as a dredge, many people will add a 5' long length of hose between the hopper and jet tube.
When ran as a highbanker the water is connected to the squirt boss's (PVC tubing) and you put your material right in the top of the hopper, cleaned rocks fall out.

The jet hose can also be used to bust up hard material or to blow material away in underwater sniping.

I have not used it yet, but I think I got all the P's and Q's correct.

The 4" is pretty baddass.

 

[Astrobouncer]

Great deal man! Dont blame you one bit on that. Cant wait to see it in action.

 

[specksandflecks]

What have you gone and done? Now you will have to update your equipment profile.

If you decide you don't want the dredge, I'll trade you my GMT for it.

 

[Goldwasher]

That is an Insane deal good job. The pump is worth the Gold Bug.Your first good spot will buy another and having your expensive gear paid off is awesome.You can use your finds to buy other toys..Dont tell my wife

 

[NeoTokyo]

Yeah, I think I lucked out pretty good on this one, everything lined up right just right and we are both happy with the trade.

I have a spot already lined up that I want to try, its a very small seasonal creek that has a wide flood footprint and dumps a lot of material on it, its on public lands too.
Almost every pan has color, the deeper you go the more color you get. (Duh! lol)

I am going to dig a settling pond out down to hardpan (About 2' down or so) and then run all the material that I dug from that spot.

Correct me if I am wrong but if your tailings and waste water are not going into the creek, you dont need a permit?

 

[Goldwasher]

Yes. be warned though....DO NOT HAVE THAT SUCTION HOSE WITHIN 100 YARDS of that creek you just can't get out of it it is legal to dig and empty holes like you want to do but, you can not posess suction dredging gear within 100 yards. You are probablly going to be told that you flat out can't hibank by some members but it isnt true and you won't need all the PERMITS either there are some very helpful phonecalls you can make.Just look into it.

 

[okbasspro]

Great trade you will love the Proline.I have a 4" and will never go back to a Keene.With Hoser Johns help I have zero plugs and catch -200 gold.
Happy Hunting

 

[NeoTokyo]

Thanks for the heads up pville, very helpfull stuff.

okbasspro: I hope he chimes in for my next question; what sluice should I run behind the Proline sluice to make sure that I am not missing anything, I have heard that you lose a lot through the proline sluice.

Thanks guys.

 

[okbasspro]

Dont know anything about their combos my dredge runs flat no or very little drop and works fantastic.

 

[Goldwasher]

I wager you can set it up to work just fine...they are very similar to keene do some tests at home if you can.

 

[Oakview2]

How about some pics

 

[NeoTokyo]

As soon as I get a chance I will get some pics.

 

[G1sammons]

Nice trade .wish I could get a trade like that !!!!! Though I don't know what I'd do with another dredge!

 

[NeoTokyo]

I got a chance to play with the engine a bit more today, gave it a mini tune up to prep it for this season.

It is the Honda GX120 4hp engine, the newest 3" models this year come with the Honda GX160 5.5hp engine.

The pump is the current HP300 pump.


I also went up to snipe today, I have a nice set of 3.5mm chest waders from Wal-Mart that I wore to keep my feet and lower half from freezing up so bad, some nice waterproof gloves and nothing else, needless to say the top half got pretty cold.

I had to stick to the banks pretty much though, water was too fast and I was too buoyant with the wetsuit waders on that I couldnt get out to where we found our larger pickers.

I found some good color today (Sunday, but I guess its Monday now lol), didnt grab a pic of it though.

I think I will go back up again today, find some nice B-Day gold.

 

[Notsuredomus]

You got a Damn good deal. That proline is a 3100 dollar machine new. Used they will set you back apprx 2K. Congrats

 

[2cmorau]

scored dude, prolines built tough
i have been using my hillbilly highbanker on the north fork yuba quite-a-bit even had DFG come onto the claim while using it about 10’ from the river’s edge, we had a nice chat shook hands said our pleasantries
went back to workin the shovel and feeding the beast
try to contain your muddy water from entering the river if ya can, unless you’re setup in the river, then ya got nothin to worry about
i run the box as flat as i can that allows the lite material to still clean out, if you’re unsure test your tailings, if your on the beach, you can always rerun the material to check for fine stuff, Pan works too
with 3’ proline you and helper can feed that thing pretty hard, need a good water flow and a good drop so the 1” riffle works properly (dancing sands behind the riffle) not enough coffe this morning so i am sure i missed something, chime in
HH, shine, shine, shine

 

[omnicron]

Year old thread...haven't seen Neo around in a long time,,,