Here is the tentative build plan for next year season...

[Lycof]

4 Inch Dredge Highabnker

18" Wide in two 3 foot sections, 9 square feet. All 1/4 ABS construction.

Since all gold here is tiny as hell...
-Gold Hog matting from top to bottom... UR under the header box, scrubber, motherlode then UR. Repeat for the second section.

Running the recommended expensive as hell pump from proline for a 4-5 inch dredge.

this thing is going to be a beast.

$97 for a full sheet of 1/4" ABS
$1067 for the pump
$100 for misc Hardware
$185 for the nozzle
$200 for hoses
$300 for sluice mats

Grand Total ~$2000

I will never find $2000 worth of gold, but who cares, it is fun as hell. I am pretty sure that this dredge setup if it were manufactured would cost well over $4000. DIY is so much fun and less expensive I hate paying for manufacturing costs when I can accomplish it myself.

Someone will say, just buy a Raptor, or a Monster Hog... The Monster exceeds the rules here, and the Raptor, although I want one very badly, is too narrow to run a 4 inch. The Raptor is about $1000, then you still need a pump and hoses. The pump to run a 3 inch Dredge Highbanker is only $37 cheaper than the one to run the 4 inch. The Raptor as a 3 inch would cost more than the Home Built 4 inch. 4 inch it is

Mike, if the capacity of a hose increases by 50% per half inch of diameter... that is a 337% increase? Could i go with a lesser pump if I go with a jet like you designed? The pump is the only real place to save money on this one. If I could knock $500 off the price of the pump, that would be awesome.

 

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[winners58]

the gold is not all tiny in Washington, maybe just where you have been
even where its small on the edges of the river there can be some nice size gold in the deeper waters,
you will need air to get deeper or just be limited to smaller creeks.
why reinvent the wheel, there have been major improvements over the years,
look at how Keene, Proline, Dahlke, Gold grabber dredges are put together.

might consider buying a parts dredge and rebuilding it.
I paid $600 for one and put another $400 into it, had lots a fun getting it just right...
what it looked like;

.
what it looks like now;
.
.
and video of me dredging with it; https://youtu.be/Ho8xJgUo3C4

 

[mike(swWash)]

You'll need to do some research on Docs site to find the water gph range per inch of mat width then size the pump and sluice width accordingly. The "can" will probably cost around $100 to build for that size hose. Just for general reference numbers lets say the pump puts out X gpm at 50psi then the actual outlet through the orifices into the hose will be governed by the size and number of jets. A 25-75%% increase in volume from water through the "can" jets to water sucked up to sluice is possible. Your mileage may vary. Testing the pump and orifice sizes with the hoses all connected will determine actual total output, then build the sluice accordingly.

But then again I'm probably totally wrong, just ask my wife

 

[Lycof]

the gold is not all tiny in Washington, maybe just where you have been
even where its small on the edges of the river there can be some nice size gold in the deeper waters,
you will need air to get deeper or just be limited to smaller creeks.
why reinvent the wheel, there have been major improvements over the years,
look at how Keene, Proline, Dahlke, Gold grabber dredges are put together.

might consider buying a parts dredge and rebuilding it.
I paid $600 for one and put another $400 into it, had lots a fun getting it just right...
what it looked like;
View attachment 1489272
.
what it looks like now;
View attachment 1489273 . View attachment 1489274
.
and video of me dredging with it; https://youtu.be/Ho8xJgUo3C4

Because that is half the fun Don't want a floating dredge, which is what you mostly find for sale used. There has only been one used highbanker online for months and it is a Monster Hog. Too many square feet. I don't like to fix other peoples stuff that they didn't take care of. Dredges need HP pumps, those impellers are delicate. No matter what the person tells you to get you to buy it, how do you know that they didn't chew it up? Did they do their oil changes? Trust noone

You'll need to do some research on Docs site to find the water gph range per inch of mat width then size the pump and sluice width accordingly. The "can" will probably cost around $100 to build for that size hose. Just for general reference numbers lets say the pump puts out X gpm at 50psi then the actual outlet through the orifices into the hose will be governed by the size and number of jets. A 25-75%% increase in volume from water through the "can" jets to water sucked up to sluice is possible. Your mileage may vary. Testing the pump and orifice sizes with the hoses all connected will determine actual total output, then build the sluice accordingly.

But then again I'm probably totally wrong, just ask my wife

Thats the plan

 

[N-Lionberger]

You can bring a wrench and take the housing off to inspect, or even peer down the discharge/intake with a flashlight. If you get a good enough deal it might be cheaper off to buy a new impeller. Honestly conventional dredge highbankers are really crappy. I have used one for years and the 4" will need a lot of power to push all that water and gravel into a hopper. If you truly want the underwater dredging experience up the bank you need to build a Vortxrex hydraulic gravel elevator type device.

 

[russau]

I used one of Dave's Vortxrex jets on my old 4 inch dredge for many years and loved it! I sold that dredge to a friend in Illinois and ended up a year latter buying another only to find out my body hasn't kept up to what I was thinking I could do and cant now! Daves Vortxrex (hydraulic elevator ) as a jet for my dredge worked great! I'm gonna have to get up to see my friend someday soon!

 

[Lycof]

Plans for vortxrex no longer available...

 

[mike(swWash)]

Put 2 of my cans in the line and you'll be able to go much deeper, the deeper you go, the more hose and the bigger the pump you'll need, the longer the hose and bigger the pump, the more weight to deal with, the more weight and volume of equipment the less mobility you have, the less mobility you have, the more limited you are for workable locations.
Everything has a price.
You need to decide what is the best compromise to get the most use out of your equipment in the long term, not just for one location. Or buy a mule or 2 and go old school transportation
You already know what it feels like to go 1/2 mile with half of a 2.5" dredge on your back is like.....it sucks and as we get older the suckier it gets The best locations can't be driven to.

It's proven that a gold pan is a gateway drug to an 8" dredge. Gold fever can get to the best of us even if it's just a hobby. However whatever you decide to go with, I'll help any I can with equipment I can manufacture.

We only fail if we don't try. Sometimes an education is expensive in money and time, but that's how we learn.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Vortxrex Dryland Gold Dredge 4-inch Nozzle Instructions Patterns DVD Kit

I built one and it is functional, I wish I scaled it down to a 3" as the material throughput is insane, overwhelmed my recovery system, going to have to build a trommel for it. Also it needs a lot of water. All the hoses pipe and all makes carrying a 2.5" dredge look like childs play. It operates on a completely different level from a normal dredge, if you stick the business end completely underwater it stops working lol.

 

[Reed Lukens]

That pump price looks totally wrong... You're going to need a 9hp motor with a HP500 pump for an 18" wide box if you actually plan on dredging with it because you're not thinking about the extra lift needed for a highbanker.