OwenTs Shot at a BGT Highbanker

[OwenT]

OwenT's Shot at a BGT Highbanker

Since ChrisnCo seems to have fallen of the face of the earth and left us hanging with his attempt at a prospector highbanker, I decided to go ahead and do my own experimenting with my sniper. Right now it's just a bucket with the bazooka sticking out of the bottom, ideally the bucket would always be kept full by a pump and the water would just free flow out the bottom. Since I don't have a pump that would work right now I just tried pouring about 10 gallons in over a few seconds. The purpose of the bucket design is twofold: One is that the bucket acts as a settling area for the water so it comes out smoothly and is not shooting straight out of the pump and the other is to surround the whole open end to mimic the creek as far as pressure going in the scoop and over the top. As far as I can tell it's fluidizing properly and the setup could work with a few angle tweaks, maybe I need to close the gap where water come out a little more, and the right pump. Here's a short video of how it goes:

Comments and criticisms welcome.

 

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[arizau]

Since ChrisnCo seems to have fallen of the face of the earth and left us hanging with his attempt at a prospector highbanker, I decided to go ahead and do my own experimenting with my sniper. Right now it's just a bucket with the bazooka sticking out of the bottom, ideally the bucket would always be kept full by a pump and the water would just free flow out the bottom. Since I don't have a pump that would work right now I just tried pouring about 10 gallons in over a few seconds. The purpose of the bucket design is twofold: One is that the bucket acts as a settling area for the water so it comes out smoothly and is not shooting straight out of the pump and the other is to surround the whole open end to mimic the creek as far as pressure going in the scoop and over the top. As far as I can tell it's fluidizing properly and the setup could work with a few and angle tweaks, maybe I need to close the gap where water come out a little more, and the right pump. Here's a short video of how it goes:

Comments and criticisms welcome.

Now that is thinking outside the box. I think you are on the right track with a vertical reservoir to create head pressure for the tube water feed but you may need to isolate it from the top of the sluice and figure out a way to get better horizontal water flow down the sluice to encourage the material to move with it. It may stack up the way it is now.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[OwenT]

Actually the pressure is what I had in mind when I had the vertical idea too. While testing this it seems like that's actually not going to be a big factor. Even with not to much water built up in that bucket the water just wants to get out of there as quick as it can. I think I may do some testing with a more horizontal design but so far I like this because it provides good flow and is probably going to be more compact.

 

[arizau]

Maybe cap and pressurize the reservoir will be the solution? Water will seek the path of least resistance in any case and that is over the sluice so the tubes may not get enough pressure to act at their optimum. Still a solvable problem.

 

[OwenT]

Yes I think I have a lot of room to work, I need to find a pump I can use to do some proper testing though then I will see if this design can be perfected.

 

[SunshineMiner]

I'm thinking put the lid back on it. Tape that sucker down. Get a bulkhead fitting for the side. Run your pump into the side of that. And hopefully with all that tape it'll flow properly.. Otherwise.. Add more tape. Personally.. I love Gorilla Tape when it comes to water applications. Looks like regular duct tape?

 

[mytimetoshine]

Since ChrisnCo seems to have fallen of the face of the earth and left us hanging with his attempt at a prospector highbanker, I decided to go ahead and do my own experimenting with my sniper. Right now it's just a bucket with the bazooka sticking out of the bottom, ideally the bucket would always be kept full by a pump and the water would just free flow out the bottom. Since I don't have a pump that would work right now I just tried pouring about 10 gallons in over a few seconds. The purpose of the bucket design is twofold: One is that the bucket acts as a settling area for the water so it comes out smoothly and is not shooting straight out of the pump and the other is to surround the whole open end to mimic the creek as far as pressure going in the scoop and over the top. As far as I can tell it's fluidizing properly and the setup could work with a few angle tweaks, maybe I need to close the gap where water come out a little more, and the right pump. Here's a short video of how it goes:

Comments and criticisms welcome.

Wow. That's really pretty ingenious. Don't think I've ever seen that, it's a good idea. More test are in order

 

[HMiller]

Simple and effective with the right pump. Good idea.

 

[OwenT]

I'm thinking put the lid back on it. Tape that sucker down. Get a bulkhead fitting for the side. Run your pump into the side of that. And hopefully with all that tape it'll flow properly.. Otherwise.. Add more tape. Personally.. I love Gorilla Tape when it comes to water applications. Looks like regular duct tape?

Yep it's just duct tape, I have gorilla tape too but the duct tape is working fine for this prototype. I think I will make some kind of sleeve that the whole thing will fit into then seal around the edges when I get to the final stages.

 

[njcommercialdiver]

that's a neat idea for when you cant get it sitting right in a deeper stretch of creek, just put it on the bank and run it as a highbanker

 

[Goodyguy]

Cool
I like it.

GG~

 

[tvanwho]

I like your idea, wonder how many gpms are needed? Maybe the header box could be mounted a foot above the BGT with a 45 degree deflector plate at the main sluice, for a gravity assisted flow. A bilge pump could power the fluid bed perhaps.

 

[OwenT]

I like your idea, wonder how many gpms are needed? Maybe the header box could be mounted a foot above the BGT with a 45 degree deflector plate at the main sluice, for a gravity assisted flow. A bilge pump could power the fluid bed perhaps.

Goldwasher has recommended around 60 gpm for the sniper.Flow doesn't seem to be a problem if you've got the water so I think I will end up running it pretty flat. I will probably have a pump to do more testing with this week.

 

[OwenT]

I think I'm buying a pump today, there's a good deal on one at a local store. It's a 2" 150 gpm with a 5.5 hp B&S for $199, and it only is around 40lbs, significantly lighter than most 2 inchers. A lot more water than I need but I figure I'll probably use it for something else in the future and I'll need more water. Better to have too much than not enough right. Does anyone know anything about a pump requiring it be run at full throttle? I've seen something about that before but I was hoping I could dial it back and there's no mention of that sort of thing in any of the literature I can find for it.

 

[okbasspro]

I run mine at a idle for hours at a time.

 

[russau]

Make sure you break that new engine in properly for lots of worry free use in the future !

 

[OwenT]

You mean just changing the oil after the first few hours as the manufacturer recommends and such?

 

[Goldwasher]

I think I'm buying a pump today, there's a good deal on one at a local store. It's a 2" 150 gpm with a 5.5 hp B&S for $199, and it only is around 40lbs, significantly lighter than most 2 inchers. A lot more water than I need but I figure I'll probably use it for something else in the future and I'll need more water. Better to have too much than not enough right. Does anyone know anything about a pump requiring it be run at full throttle? I've seen something about that before but I was hoping I could dial it back and there's no mention of that sort of thing in any of the literature I can find for it.

That ill be plenty for a sniper...close or doable for a prospector....and a steal for a B&S engine!!!!

you don't need to run at full throttle thats hy you get a pump rated higher than you "need". The pump output is rated at full throttle FYI.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing is your seal around the box to get h20 over the deck. ANY leaks are going to fight you getting flo over the grizz bars...its amazing the difference a good seal makes.

 

[OwenT]

Here is is, the inaugural run of the pump. Looks promising! Sorry for the delay, I was waiting for my store to restock a fitting. This pump is really nice as far as I can tell. (Pacer 150 gpm)I can't speak for it's durability yet but it looks pretty nice, it's not super heavy, it starts easy and it has all the nice levers and things you would need, plus the price is right. I think with a few tweaks I'll be getting the gold!

 

[russau]

As new engines get broke in their seal of the piston rings get better (as everyone should know) and your flow rates improve over time as the engine gets broke in! Engines with pumps for dredgeing fluctuate until the rings are seated and always follow the manufactures instructions when breaking in a new engine. there is a post on doing just this somewhere on TN that is good to view!