The beginning of a floating dredge

[Lycof]

4 feet long, 3 feet wide.

It only has 4 of the 5 gallon cans right now, will have 6.

Any tips?

 

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[hunterbill]

If you really do have a place to go dredging, just buy a Proline factory built dredge off craigslist and be done with it. One good day producing gold to pay for it. vs. however long you spend trying to build one. There is A LOT of engineering that goes into those things. Unless, do you already have a factory high banker/dredge combo and just want to build floats for it? if so i'd say you'll figure something out. just make sure the discharge end is not underwater as that will cause back pressure and loading of the riffles.

 

[Hoser John]

dredge size?

 

[Goldwasher]

That plastic isn't going to last very long.

 

[winners58]

be better off using superstrut get the sliding nuts
I used it when rebuilding my frame, I could have used it to build the whole frame.
.

 

[Lycof]

Awesome replies gentlemen, thank you!!! I may sound like an ass in my replies to you, I am not trying to be. My goal is to build a dredge, where the pump costs more than the dredge. I promise, I will do it and it WILL catch the gold!

Questions that I can think of right now.

- Average pitch for a floating dredge? I am sure that no one is using the factory pitch.
- Is 240 pound of flotation sufficient? I am not trying to put my fat ass on top of it don't worry.
- I think that's it for now, not awake yet.

If you really do have a place to go dredging, just buy a Proline factory built dredge off craigslist and be done with it. One good day producing gold to pay for it. vs. however long you spend trying to build one. There is A LOT of engineering that goes into those things. Unless, do you already have a factory high banker/dredge combo and just want to build floats for it? if so i'd say you'll figure something out. just make sure the discharge end is not underwater as that will cause back pressure and loading of the riffles.

I do have many places to dredge here, only thing is, there is not $1200-$4500 in gold to get in one day. More like $12-$45. I would absolutely love to have the cash sitting around to drop on a Manufactured Dredge. I just cannot buy used mechanical things. I know that's stupid, but I don't trust ANYONE when it comes to maintenance and wear and tear. I know too many people that dump a pile of money on a piece of equipment and just run it until it breaks, no oil change, no lubing, nothing.

Thanks for the tip on the end of the sluice!

dredge size?

The size of the dredge will depend on what sizes of flare tube header thingy I can find. Hoping somewhere around 14-18 inches, then about 5 feet long.

That plastic isn't going to last very long.

I will be very surprised if I get 2 years out of the jugs, but they were a grand total of free I will replace free once a year without batting an eye. So far I am about 40 dollars into this whole thing

be better off using superstrut get the sliding nuts
I used it when rebuilding my frame, I could have used it to build the whole frame.

View attachment 1484378

Yes, I like those, and wanted to use them. but it would have been 3 times the money. Someday hopefully. What is that green flare part actually called? I still need to hunt one down.

 

[Zaroc]

Lycof,

I totally respect the effort you're putting into this thing. As far as I'm concerned, I hope this sucker makes you rich or at least helps satisfy your fever! I just built myself a highbanker and cleanup sluice because I was too proud to drop money on something I could "easily" make. Well, it turned out fantastic! The only problem is that every time i got stuck solving small mechanical or engineering problems it cost me more money. I'm sure I came out ahead. I got much more machine for my money, but now I have to manage a very large (for my location) setup. Just be careful in the planning stages. These projects can sort of run away on you if you're not watching yourself.

Keep us posted!

Z

 

[Lycof]

Lycof,

I totally respect the effort you're putting into this thing. As far as I'm concerned, I hope this sucker makes you rich or at least helps satisfy your fever! I just built myself a highbanker and cleanup sluice because I was too proud to drop money on something I could "easily" make. Well, it turned out fantastic! The only problem is that every time i got stuck solving small mechanical or engineering problems it cost me more money. I'm sure I came out ahead. I got much more machine for my money, but now I have to manage a very large (for my location) setup. Just be careful in the planning stages. These projects can sort of run away on you if you're not watching yourself.

Keep us posted!

Z

No getting rich, just getting wet and having fun. I sat hunched up next to a homemade SGS-1 for an hour yesterday in just a couple feet of water. Scooping trowels full of material up to the nozzle over and over and over until it became automatic and i was able to pay less attention to that and watch all of the fish that were up checking out my tailings pile for snacks. It is not just about the gold

Yeah, every project runs away. The costs for me will be very minimal, a few bucks here and there. Depending on the price of the flare tube part that goes into the end of the sluice, I should be well under $200. I am building everything to be completely adjustable. I can hang the sluice underneath, or put it on top of one and under the other, or I can turn the whole float upside down and go for any height I want. If the floats are too short to be stable, I can make them longer. Do you have pics of your Highbanker?

I was just told that the plastics supplier in my area has ABS plastic sheets, so that is what I am going to make the sluice itself out of. The people that own that plastics place are awesome. They can't cut material square to save their lives, but they are good people. They have a remnants bin that sometime before next dredge season will most likely have the materials that I need in it for ten cents on the dollar.

I am planning on running Gold Hog mats in the sluice. If I go 12 inches wide, I get 18 sluice length inches per mat. I could make a 6 foot sluice mat for less than 150!!

 

[johngfoster]

Just be aware. Gold Hog mats are 6" long by 36" wide. However, the 6" long includes the tongue and groove joint, so when you string them together, each section ends up being only 5 1/2" long. Make sure you figure that in when calculating how much mat you need. Trust me, I speak from experience.

 

[Lycof]

I didn't know that you lose the half inch. Thank you

 

[N-Lionberger]

I bought a used dredge and honestly I would have been better off building it as I have almost replaced everything. Unless you're in a really good spot you wont pay for a dredge in the first day, in all the places I have dredged it took days to get through the overburden, but then again I am usually a one man show. That first few days will be spent fighting plugups and figuring it all out everything wrong with your setup. I dont recommend the water cooler jugs as I have tried it, cold water makes them brittle and a bump on a rock and down she goes. I think Hoser was asking about the size of hose, size of dredge is usually designated by ID of the suction hose. I highly recommend a 4" with air, I have a 2.5" and unless you have nothing but shallow bedrock to work you are better off with a stream sluice and shovel as it is faster and you get better recovery of fines. As for the flare you can fabricate your own from ABS plastic, it comes in sheet and pipe and is super easy to cut, heat form and glue or you can cut up and squish one of those orange safety cones.

 

[jsurddy]

I recommend turning the jugs around so the necks face outward. That will give you a little bit more streamlining.


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