my highbanker build

[akflyer]

After searching the internet and looking at various designs this is what I came up with. I wanted something light weight I could toss in the plane yet still run a decent amount of dirt through. I only got to test it out for about an hours worth of running and I captured all the dirt that ran off the end so I can run it in the multisluice and check for losses so I can get the mats and the water flow dialed in. I only had time to run the cons from the mats through the multi sluice before I had to shut down and fly back to work. All in all it was a fun build and my daughter had a great day out with dad playing in the dirt!






This one is 8"x36" but I am going to build a 10"X 36" with a 36" extension on it when I get home for the places I can drive to. Lots of fun and a great way to spend time with the kid!

 

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[nh.nugget]

I can tell you've got too much angle on the hopper by the amount of water coming out of the back. Mine will do that when it's to steep. Do you have a side view of it? Do you have a slick plate area in front of your mats

 

[akflyer]

no slick plate. Drops down onto hog moss with the rubber mats under it. Using gold hog mats for it. I had the water cranked way up in that pic, I was just getting it fired up for the first time. I did drop the header box down. I have multiple holes drilled in the support arms 1/2" apart to help tune it all. There is an adjustable rubber flap in front of the hog moss to make the deadening pool. I wish I would have gotten a video of the dirt running through it. It is very highly inspired by the gold hog mini piglet.

I will add a SS plate in the hopper to keep the gravel from tearing up the aluminum box and help it slide better. I will also be replacing the aluminum grizzly bars with SS tubing for the same reason. After about an hours run you can see the wear on them already.

This one was a quick build to kind of figure out what I wanted to change for the next one. I love to build and improve on things so its a quest for me now to build one that will run the way I want and keep it as light as possible for packing in and carrying in the plane. The 2" keene dredge pump is a bit of overkill for the high banker as I still have to shut it down a bit with a ball valve even at an idle. It is about the lightest pump setup I can find though that will give me the volume needed as well. If you have any leads on a better pump I am all ears!

 

[nh.nugget]

I have a 2'' on mine that runs at an idle as well with a ball valve. The guy I mine with runs his Gold buddy High banker with a Harbor Freight 1'' pump seems to have plenty of water and it weighs 43lbs. The nice thing with that 2'' if you want to run a suction nozzle you can run a 3'' hose I do. Your grizzlies the stainless tubing might bend try 3/16 round stock 1/2 apart they seem to hold up better should be lighter than stainless. Give yourself a slick area under your hopper my buddy had his drop onto the mat and ended up blowing a bunch of gold out of his sluice it doesn't have time to drop out it just gets flushed with the dirt hope this helps

 

[akflyer]

Thanks for the tips! That's why I have a catch pan at the end of the dredge. When I get home I will run them through the multi sluice and see what may have blown out the end of the sluice box. Going to make 36" extension for this one as well if I find too much in the catch pan. That's the fun part of tuning and playing. Figuring out what works for the shiny stuff in your area! This stuff while small is pretty chunky and was at the top of the mats for the most part so I am hoping to not find too much in the tub. Was thinking about putting a punch plate over the hog moss too. Lots of stuff to experiment with till I get her dialed in.

 

[arizau]

I have no experience with high bankers but if I were to ever build one I would base it on pictures and descriptions of one of Doc's goldhog models and maybe that is what you have done. There is enough dimensional info available that you can guesstimate the rest.* I think he even suggests what pump capacity to utilize for the different sized models so, in your case, similar size then similar pump.

Good luck and have fun with your daughter.

*Print a picture and proportionally scale known dimensions and base your other parts on the same proportions and you should be close.

 

[nh.nugget]

Mines basically a Keene A52 with a Doc style hopper I run it flat like3-4 degrees and fairly fast like it would be in a stream. I lose a few fly poops out the end it catches most in the top of the sluice.

 

[winners58]

if you build another and using the goldhog mats 9" is a better width than 10" as the mats come 36" wide

 

[akflyer]

9" would be better to get the most out of the mats. I already have 3 10" wide sluice runs from the 2 dredges so the plan was to use them instead of having to make additional sluice boxes too. Just make the hopper to fit the 10" sluice.

Arizua I pretty much did that. Based off the sluice box dimensions I had a buddy cad out the hopper box and print full size patterns for me to lay out the hopper in one piece then fold it up and weld the corners. Based on this first one I made, there have been a few changes to the 10 wide one now and I am having this one cut on the water jet to save me time cutting and drilling. It will be much quicker to break the angles and weld it up. Looks like Doc has the high bankers figured out. One thing I can say about Docs high bankers. After the time that I put into this one, I don't know how he could sell them as cheap as he does and still make money! By the time I buy his mats, the aluminum, the various other hardware etc it is hard for me to justify building my own other than I enjoy fabrication and finding gold with something I have made myself even if it is based closely on someone else's design. At the end of the day, it would really be hard to re-invent a "new" high banker that was NOT somehow based on someone else's ideas or design. You can really only change so much on them and have a functioning piece of equipment.

 

[akflyer]

Mines basically a Keene A52 with a Doc style hopper I run it flat like3-4 degrees and fairly fast like it would be in a stream. I lose a few fly poops out the end it catches most in the top of the sluice.

Are you running gold hog mats or something more traditional. Even running fast I would think your mats would load up pretty quickly running that flat ?

 

[nh.nugget]

No it's just the way it came carpet, riffles, expanded steel. Doesn't load up at all. Got the water flow to run it. I'll see if I can get some video of it.

 

[akflyer]

After only running the banker for about an hour I noticed wear on the bottom of it. I was thinking about putting in a thin sheet of SS for a wear plate. I am having the new ones cut so I am now wondering if anyone knows what alloy aluminum the others are using as I would guess the commercial ones are probably made of a harder aluminum than 6061. 5086 or something of that nature? Any guesses?

 

[arizau]

After only running the banker for about an hour I noticed wear on the bottom of it. I was thinking about putting in a thin sheet of SS for a wear plate. I am having the new ones cut so I am now wondering if anyone knows what alloy aluminum the others are using as I would guess the commercial ones are probably made of a harder aluminum than 6061. 5086 or something of that nature? Any guesses?

One (maybe more) of Doc's sluices uses one style of his mats in that area and he says it also kind of acts like a fluid bed if I recall correctly. It could serve two purposes...collection and wear protection.

 

[Vance in AK]

Nice Flyer!
Where part of the state are you in? I'm in Kenai.

 

[akflyer]

Nice Flyer!
Where part of the state are you in? I'm in Kenai.

Thanks
I'm in Soldotna

 

[akflyer]

One (maybe more) of Doc's sluices uses one style of his mats in that area and he says it also kind of acts like a fluid bed if I recall correctly. It could serve two purposes...collection and wear protection.

I am going to put some thin UHMW in the bottom of the hopper. This will take care of any wear issues. I may put it on 1/4" stand offs and punch some holes in it too so the fine stuff will drop right out and run in the slower water under the plate to the sluice box. Being at work gives me 2 weeks to think about what I want to do for improvements to the design to maximize capture and minimize work... I am all about making it easier and better

 

[akflyer]

Getting excited. Sent the cad files off to have them water jetted and will pick them up next week. A little bending and welding and I will have a Highbanker capable of moving some dirt. Ended up with the header box 10" wide and 37" long (at the top including the rake at the end), sluice is 10X40 with a straight 10X40 extension and a 14X40 I can use is needed for the really fine stuff. Will post pics as it comes together!

 

[akflyer]

Quick update. Got all the parts made but not completely assembled. I did get out for about an hour and used my mini to dig a little more. Next project will be to make a dry-land nozzle to play with that I can run on this new highbanker.

I did a dummy and did not get all the air out of the vial so the next morning the bottom was busted out of it and I just swept what I could off the counter and put into a new vial... Lesson learned the hard way. I was packing up to go home so I did not have time to clean the broken glass out before I put it in the new vial.

So what I ended up with is a hopper that is 10" wide and 37" long. The main sluice is 10" X 40" with a 10.25" X 40" ext and a 14" X 40" flared section. I still have to make the mats and decide just what to use in them. I will tape the mats together first and do a few trial runs and catch all tailing till I am happy with the configuration before I glue them up. For what its worth. The hour I was able to dig and run the mini I saved the tailings and ran them through the multi sluice. I found one spec of ~100 mesh so I am very happy with that set up!

 

[akflyer]

sorry, double post

 

[akflyer]

I had the leg brackets cut out of flat plate, then I made a die to press them into in a shop press to get the shape. Was a fun project and I can crank one out about every minute or so by the time I bolt it to the die and press them. Yes I could have bought them but I enjoy fabricating things and it seems more satisfying to go out and catch color with your own creation.