lite weight dry washer

1637

1637

Bronze Member
May 26, 2011
1,792
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tujunga ca
Detector(s) used
xlt mxt gmz and now a gmt whites
so my crazy drywasher is get harder to move after i set it up.so iam thinking of making a small lite weight one using pvc and a 12volt motor with a offset weighted fan,so i can do some testing,will a 12volt motor work ok with a weighted fan.i just dont want to use a leaf blower.or handcrank.i also tried hauling buckets ,not for me
thanks get out there the weather is still great.
brad
 

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1637 said:
so my crazy drywasher is get harder to move after i set it up.so iam thinking of making a small lite weight one using pvc and a 12volt motor with a offset weighted fan,so i can do some testing,will a 12volt motor work ok with a weighted fan.i just dont want to use a leaf blower.or handcrank.i also tried hauling buckets ,not for me
thanks get out there the weather is still great.
brad
Click to expand...

I bought a Thompson with the 12 v puffer hand crank combo. Its "light"

a 12 volt air driven unit is probably not a real option... your really asking is there a good battery powered leaf blower that will last long enough for me to actually process?

The answer is no. If your wanting real portability. And run Time.
 

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IMG_20190528_150510 (1).jpgi build this one,but hoping to build a small cheap one,just for sampling.thanks for the input.
brad
 

The "Whippet guys" really seem to like their machines. I've always used a Thompson, weighs a bit more but at half price. The hand crank only model is especially lite.

If sampling only, the Garret Super Sluice (gold pan) actually can be quite effective for dry panning. I've been doing this more lately as a very quick technique to prospect so long as the material is powder dry. This used with a Falcon MD20 works quite well, just dry pan down to about a cup left in bottom of pan then run the Falcon over it. If there is so much a spec of gold in the pan the Falcon will sound off.
 

Hard Prospector said:
The "Whippet guys" really seem to like their machines. I've always used a Thompson, weighs a bit more but at half price. The hand crank only model is especially lite.

If sampling only, the Garret Super Sluice (gold pan) actually can be quite effective for dry panning. I've been doing this more lately as a very quick technique to prospect so long as the material is powder dry. This used with a Falcon MD20 works quite well, just dry pan down to about a cup left in bottom of pan then run the Falcon over it. If there is so much a spec of gold in the pan the Falcon will sound off.
Click to expand...

I’m another Whippet guy who loves his machine. Helps that I didn’t have to pay for it!

I also agree on the Garrett Super Sluice. Best dry panning tool I’ve used.
 

1637 said:
View attachment 1770129i build this one,but hoping to build a small cheap one,just for sampling.thanks for the input.
brad
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If it were mine I would add wheels and maybe power them with one or both of those large 12V motors already there.

GG~
 

we think alike.i have thought about that.but what is holding me back is getting it all in my suv.my dog said nothing goes in the back seat with her. iam not ready to get trailer yet.
thanks brad
 

Best dry panning technique I've found came from that You Tube prospecting channel; "ask Jeff Williams". He has a couple ways to do it, but my favorite utilizes the rim of a 5 gallon bucket to help maintain the right angle, consistent spill over the pan edge plus adds some vibration. When I get down to less than a cup (of material) in the pan, I just run my Falcon through it . But I've also dumped those cons into a tiny gold pan, added a bit of water from my canteen and swirled it down looking for color.
That guy Jeff Williams is a character but he knows his stuff.
 

Hard Prospector said:
Best dry panning technique I've found came from that You Tube prospecting channel; "ask Jeff Williams". He has a couple ways to do it, but my favorite utilizes the rim of a 5 gallon bucket to help maintain the right angle, consistent spill over the pan edge plus adds some vibration. When I get down to less than a cup (of material) in the pan, I just run my Falcon through it . But I've also dumped those cons into a tiny gold pan, added a bit of water from my canteen and swirled it down looking for color.
That guy Jeff Williams is a character but he knows his stuff.
Click to expand...

Jeff came to one of our club meetings (Mohave Prospectors Association) and brought another character "Nevada Jack" with him, put on quite a show and left us with some laughs and some good info.



Go for the Gold
GG~
 

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1637, I do in fact happen to have a small 12 volt blower and it works very well. Uses a small motor that draws about 7 amps into a 1950's heater blower fan. It has an handle on the back that is easily done with one hand. These were MFR's back in the early 60's at a Rock shop in what is now South Central Los Angeles and advertised in the California Mining Journal. The motor is mounted on thin aluminum so that it causes a nice vibration and the riffles are smaller than a normal drywasher. I refer to it as a "Dry Shaker Table" and is has a nice laminar flow to it.
 

Seden said:
1637, I do in fact happen to have a small 12 volt blower and it works very well. Uses a small motor that draws about 7 amps into a 1950's heater blower fan. It has an handle on the back that is easily done with one hand. These were MFR's back in the early 60's at a Rock shop in what is now South Central Los Angeles and advertised in the California Mining Journal. The motor is mounted on thin aluminum so that it causes a nice vibration and the riffles are smaller than a normal drywasher. I refer to it as a "Dry Shaker Table" and is has a nice laminar flow to it.
Click to expand...

It might be instructive to some DIYers if you were to post a couple of pictures of what you have just in case someone wants some different construction ideas.

Heavy pans.
 

If you want a small lightweight drywasher how about one that fit's in a bucket & is less than 10 lbs , Take a look at my mini sampler , runs for 10 - 15 min. on one battery or hook up to a full size for all day use .

mini drywasher 001.JPG mini drywasher 004.JPG mini drywasher 005.JPG

mini drywasher 008.JPG mini drywasher 009.JPG

I have a short video but it is not good enough for u-tube
 

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Looks well thought out :)
I would upgrade that drill to one of the newer drills with the large battery power packs and then just take some spare batteries, plug and play, all day :)

https://www.whippetengineering.com/index.html
 

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That reminded me of a light weight one that I built 10 years ago out of plastic wastebaskets ...............

dw.jpg drywash2.jpg


GG~
 

I remember that!
 

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