DIY SGS 1

Lycof

Full Member
Jul 29, 2017
108
85
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I made one and it WORKS!

MikeSW, this is the spot I was talking about, ran a crappy electric 1100GPH DIY Subbie for about an hour. Am still not down to the good stuff yet. I wanna run a 4" in this hole!!!

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0817171827.jpg larger than 50 mesh! that's a first :)

I really need to get better at finish panning, my hands shake too much. There are tiny tiny specs all over this pan.
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N-Lionberger

Bronze Member
Dec 1, 2013
1,363
1,955
Arcata, California
Detector(s) used
Fisher 1212-x
Fisher Gold Bug 2
Whites 4900/SP3
Dowsing rods
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I bet old school Astro-Turf would work well in somthing like that. I made a 3" subbie based on a schmidt bazooka out of ABS a few winters ago, still havent tried it.
 

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Lycof

Full Member
Jul 29, 2017
108
85
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I can't find any of that good astro turf anywhere around here. I am wondering if vortex mat might be a good idea, I have a big chunk of it.

I have tested different jet nozzle sizes. 10, 14, 16 and 18mm. 14mm is giving me the best results. But that was all with running it at 12V. Even with the 14mm, I had to put about an 8 degree pitch on the subbie for the bigger rocks to blow out the back. Going to test all 3 sizes again tomorrow running it at 20V. I will be suspending the subbie underneath the pontoon that I made, just below the surface of the water. I will ahve to anchor it, running it at 20V, there is enough propulsion from the exhaust that the pontoon moves around.
 

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mike(swWash)

Hero Member
Feb 6, 2008
755
1,433
Grays Harbor in Washington state
Detector(s) used
Whites Spectrum XLT with about 1/4" of dust on it and can't even remember how t turn it on?!?!?
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
One of these days the planets will align and I'll meet you there with my 2.5" dredge and we'll see what we can find. Nice work!!
 

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Lycof

Full Member
Jul 29, 2017
108
85
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Just got back, have not done a cleanup yet. I did see another piece of silvery metal. it is smooth and river worn. Will post a pic when I get it cleaned up.

Mike, the only day that I cannot go is wednesday, I can make any other day work.
 

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Lycof

Full Member
Jul 29, 2017
108
85
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Here is the cleanup. 90 minutes running a 4 inch subbie. 1 hour with miners moss, 30 minutes with some castle astro turf stuff. The castle stuff held about twice as many cons as the miners moss. Still not down to an abundance of black sands in this hole. Starting to get some though. Got through layer one, it was about a foot thick. Layer two had a decaying plant matter layer on top of it. More sands of all types in layer 2 among the gravels. Layer one was almost pure gravel.

My first day with the subbie, I got ZERO black sands and a little gold. Today, I had about 1/4 teaspoon of black sands and a little more gold. I am sure that I am losing more than I am catching with this thing.

MikeSW, is this even worth your time?

She ran like a champ at 20 volts. A 3 amp hour lithium Dewalt battery lasts about 12 hour under load on the pump. Have a second pump coming and going to double it up on the jets. 14mm jet nozzle is still the best of the three. didn't have any issues with clogs until I got more than 24 inches under the surface.

Yes, I know, digging is faster than a 1.5 inches crappy dredge... This stuff is under 18 inches of water, a full shovel becomes half a shovel really fast at that depth. Shovels are also a lot more work. Chilling on the bottom of a river in zero current, relaxing, listening to the rocks work their way through the dredge and watching all of the fish coming to check out what I am doing is well worth less material being run. atleast to me.

-20, +50
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Capt Nemo

Bronze Member
Apr 11, 2015
1,058
1,609
Oshkosh, WI
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Go to Lowes and see if you can find that "cities of titties" door mat and try that. It's the one with the 1/2" nubs in a wavy pattern. It works really good in the Goldsnare units.
 

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