Im back with a 6" Build

Oh yea, I almost forgot. My buddies welder that I was using decided to go out on him the other day so I decided to go out and get my own.

Hobart 210 running on 230v. Welds up to 3/8" steel in one pass.

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Quick question! With the sluice base setting of 1" of drop per foot, a 6' sluice will have a base setting drop of 6". How much additional drop adjustment is recommended? 2,3,4 additional inches? Or will that 6" drop be enough.

I'm just trying to get the sluice as low as possible while still being above the water level at maximum crop.
 

I think the 1" drop per foot is for high-bankers, a dredge has a lot more water flow that will push the material through
on my 4" dredge my box is 58" with a 1 inch drop for the whole box.
I'm building a 20"x5' box too. maybe someone that has a larger dredge could chime in with some measurements?

(edit) Now ya got me curios I’ll have to pull my 4” out and see what slope it has!

checked, my factory 4in. both the same 5" down from the top, the bar that slides the sluice in and out is the same
I did raise the back of the sluice so I could have it closer to the center to get it dialed in and not load up.

one thing I saw for adjusting the box I liked was the way they do it on the 6" dahlke dredge
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAHLKE-NEW-...353?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item259362d369
 

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Despite the fact that I'm still waiting to get my sluice back from D&K as well as waiting on delivery of my new floats, I was able to get started on my new frame.

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0423152024_zpslo2qkptf.jpg
 

winners58 said:
I think the 1" drop per foot is for high-bankers, a dredge has a lot more water flow that will push the material through
on my 4" dredge my box is 58" with a 1 inch drop for the whole box.
I'm building a 20"x5' box too. maybe someone that has a larger dredge could chime in with some measurements?

(edit) Now ya got me curios I’ll have to pull my 4” out and see what slope it has!

checked, my factory 4in. both the same 5" down from the top, the bar that slides the sluice in and out is the same
I did raise the back of the sluice so I could have it closer to the center to get it dialed in and not load up.

one thing I saw for adjusting the box I liked was the way they do it on the 6" dahlke dredge
Dahlke New Millennium 6" Gold Dredge | eBay
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I also like the way they have sluice adjustment on the Dahlke dredge set up as well. I've been thinking of a similar design.
 

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I got the new floats in today. The Cabelas website is a little off on the dimensions. Cabelas shows 48"x14". Turns out they are only 46.5" x 13.5" and only 9.5" tall. Not as much floatation as I was hoping for but they should still work. They seem to be very well built. Flat and straight sides, no warping. Thick walls and only 16lbs each.

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How much did they whack ya on those floats?
 

$650 for the floats. I'll be returning these tomorrow as well. The advertised size is off and these floats dont have near enough floatation for a 6". I'm not happy, 2nd set of floats that are not going to work. I've done nothing but waste time and money lately, and am running low on both. Thinking about just using 35 gallon plastic drums as I originally planned.
 

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If they were the 48"x14"x14" as advertised that would be perfect. 46"x13.5"x9.5" just doesn't cut it.
 

I don't know, these floats might just barely work. They'll probably be 3/4 of the way under water so I'll have to set the sluice in higher and the motor up higher to compensate.
 

this is who makes them you could see if they sent the right ones,
get their advice for your build, they only have the 36x12x12 on the website
the 48x14x9 could be an intermediate size or could be the wide surface area will work alright
https://www.prospectorsplus.com/
 

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winners58 said:
this is who makes them you could see if they sent the right ones,
get their advice for your build, they only have the 36x12x12 on the website
the 48x14x9 could be an intermediate size or could be the wide surface area will work alright
https://www.prospectorsplus.com/
Click to expand...

I called them as soon as they were delivered. They are the largest that they build. Turns out Cabelas lists the size as the size of shipping, not actual size. Tomorrow I'll measure their actual volume by filling them with water and measuring out how much they hold. That will let me know how much they can float. I believe 1 cubic foot of air they hold will be able to float about 62lbs. Therefore I need to find out how much each float can carry. Divide that by two to have them sit at about 1/2 way in the water. I can get away with them sitting at about 3/4 of the way in the water, they'll work, it just won't be ideal. I'll just have to raise the sluice and motor up a little higher to ensure proper sluice angle and weight balance.

I really like the way these floats are built and would lpblve to be able to use them, if possible.
 

I like the low shape, working smaller streams I've had my dredge siting on the bottom
or the only place to put it was on my tailings, thats great that Briggs creek has been taken off ESH
I'm sure all your frustrations now will just evaporate when you start pulling out all that gold...
 

oragonads said:
I called them as soon as they were delivered. They are the largest that they build. Turns out Cabelas lists the size as the size of shipping, not actual size. Tomorrow I'll measure their actual volume by filling them with water and measuring out how much they hold. That will let me know how much they can float. I believe 1 cubic foot of air they hold will be able to float about 62lbs. Therefore I need to find out how much each float can carry. Divide that by two to have them sit at about 1/2 way in the water. I can get away with them sitting at about 3/4 of the way in the water, they'll work, it just won't be ideal. I'll just have to raise the sluice and motor up a little higher to ensure proper sluice angle and weight balance.

I really like the way these floats are built and would lpblve to be able to use them, if possible.
Click to expand...

You need to figure it out by how much water it will displace...1 gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds...so for every gallon of water you displace, you can float 8.3 pounds. Fill one float up half way then figure out you gallons. IMO you do not want your pontoons more then 50% submerged. You also will need to figure out how much water will be in your sluice box when dredging so you can calculate that in to your overall weight.
 

°°°All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy°°° add another section of flotation, Stop building frames before you have your floats correctly configured. Because of waves and rapids go for -1/3 below the waterline on smooth water tests°°°
 

Problem solved! I'm running out of time so I've decided to stop experimenting with different floats. Im ordering 4 more of these brawn floats to completely solve any floatation issues. I might as well girl over the money now for extra floatation and hope that a properly working dredge will pay its self off.

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0427151325_zpsmcpxpnnq.jpg
 

Yes, it would be a lot easier just buying the Keene floats and frame. Price wise will be close to the same but my I've already got all the steel I need and it will be a much stronger frame set up. Hopefully it will last me for years and years.
 

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