Purchasing my first drywasher

[utah mason]

As the title says, getting ready to purchase my first drywasher. Up to this point I have been using a recirculating sluice when I've been in places with no water. Needless to say it really limits the places l can prospect. I think a 12 v puffer is for me, no loud motor no heavy gas to carry. I have been looking at the Thompson and the whippet. Mainly because I love to hike. my question is which is better at fine recovery, since I'll mainly be exploring Utah and Nevada areas. Or are they very similar in gold recovery.
Thanks everyone.

 

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[KevinInColorado]

I can't compare them but I can tell you my Whippet does a great job catching -100 gold

 

[Hamfist]

I also have a Whippet and the fine gold it catches never ceases to amaze me. I have no first-hand experience with the Thompson but people who own them seem to love them.

 

[Terry Soloman]

As the title says, getting ready to purchase my first drywasher. Up to this point I have been using a recirculating sluice when I've been in places with no water. Needless to say it really limits the places l can prospect. I think a 12 v puffer is for me, no loud motor no heavy gas to carry. I have been looking at the Thompson and the whippet. Mainly because I love to hike. my question is which is better at fine recovery, since I'll mainly be exploring Utah and Nevada areas. Or are they very similar in gold recovery.
Thanks everyone.

The only thing with these small drywashers is you have to classify to 1/2" and you have to feed it more slowly. Naturally, the riffles fill more quickly, and your material must be really dry to prevent gold loss. I know a fella that carries a full size Keene puffer with a motorcycle battery into his claim a mile or two back in the hills, and run buckets for 7-hours on that battery with time left over. If you are just sampling the small Frank Campagnano drywasher, or the much more expensive Whippet is fine, but if you want to run buckets they are too small.

 

[1637]

i love my 12 volt keene,i did change the screen to about 3/8.brad

 

[utah mason]

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, anyone out there know the weight of the Keene puffer?

 

[KevinInColorado]

I have a ton of respect for Terry S but I don't know what makes him say you have to classify to 1/2 with a Whippet. Nope. Just shovel raw material onto the feed hopper. It also does a great job drying out damp material.

 

[utah mason]

They all look like good products. Right now it's a fight between my wallet and my back. I'm leaning towards the whippet due to the fact I'm not getting any younger, and plan on prospecting for many more years. And right now my son is only 8 and can't help pack as much of the weight. But as he gets older he will be able to help carry more, if he stays interested in geology and prospecting. He loves it right now, but you never know what the teenage year hold in store for you.

 

[Hamfist]

No need to classify to 1/2 with the Whippet, and I dump half a 3.5 gal bucket into the hopper at a time. Takes less than two minutes to run one.

 

[rodoconnor]

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, anyone out there know the weight of the Keene puffer?

U.M. I can't tell you the exact weight of the Keene. Sold mine years ago . It is fairly heavy,very well built.I wouldn't want to pack it and a battery too many miles.It came with an optional handcrank.

 

[utah mason]

U.M. I can't tell you the exact weight of the Keene. Sold mine years ago . It is fairly heavy,very well built.I wouldn't want to pack it and a battery too many miles.It came with an optional handcrank.

It looks well built, but darn heavy. Terry's Buddy must be a hulk. I know I've had my pack in the 70 lbs range a few times. My legs were silly putty after a couple of miles.

 

[Terry Soloman]

This is the machine Bob would carry in. Probably 20-lbs.

 

[utah mason]

This is the machine Bob would carry in. Probably 20-lbs.

Seen that video, I'm a subscriber. Lots of great videos. Is that 20 lbs without the battery

 

[Terry Soloman]

Yes, without the battery, buckets, classifier, shovel, crack vac, etc., etc. Thanks for your sub!

 

[Hard Prospector]

I use the Keene and Thompson puffers. I believe its important the machine be able to function either 12v or hand crank as batteries have a fondness for failure at worst possible times. No amount of charging will work if the cells are shot.

The Keene DW212V I feel is the best portable production puffer on the market today. Well built, parts readily available and can take a beating. Notice that I didn't say "backpackable" as this unit has some weight to it. Perfect in the back of a Jeep or even lashed to the back of a quad...... but not to a pack frame.

Bill builds his puffers from aluminum with steel legs, tough, stout yet still very packable for a man in average shape. He builds them in his shop and is an expert craftsman. I like his machines so much I own three. One is a dedicated "hand crank" model that I use just for backpacking into the most difficult of places. I modified it somewhat by replacing the steel legs with extruded aluminum ones which cut the over-all weight by over 30%. It sure is nice to have a brother that can weld aluminum. Also when you own a Thompson, you bought a piece of history built by an old timer which is cool in its self.

 

[utah mason]

I use the Keene and Thompson puffers. I believe its important the machine be able to function either 12v or hand crank as batteries have a fondness for failure at worst possible times. No amount of charging will work if the cells are shot.

The Keene DW212V I feel is the best portable production puffer on the market today. Well built, parts readily available and can take a beating. Notice that I didn't say "backpackable" as this unit has some weight to it. Perfect in the back of a Jeep or even lashed to the back of a quad...... but not to a pack frame.

Bill builds his puffers from aluminum with steel legs, tough, stout yet still very packable for a man in average shape. He builds them in his shop and is an expert craftsman. I like his machines so much I own three. One is a dedicated "hand crank" model that I use just for backpacking into the most difficult of places. I modified it somewhat by replacing the steel legs with extruded aluminum ones which cut the over-all weight by over 30%. It sure is nice to have a brother that can weld aluminum. Also when you own a Thompson, you bought a piece of history built by an old timer which is cool in its self.

How's the recovery rate for 100 mesh and smaller? I do like how it has the hand crank.

 

[Bodfish Mike]

The only thing with these small drywashers is you have to classify to 1/2"

A Drywasher is a self classifier -- you shovel the dirt to the hopper that has a screen the big rock slide off the screen to the ground. Don't see why you would pre classify if the machine will do it for you .
Unless you need the exercise.
Mike

 

[Hard Prospector]

Yes..... the Keene and Thompson will catch up to -100 mesh. The Thompson actually has a two speed motor and when working an area known for fines, I run the motor on slow. Any well built bellows will catch the tiny stuff because thats what they were designed for.

Truth be known, the key to maximum (drywashing) fine gold recovery is to prep the material then run;

* pulverize n' pound out the clay clods (screening them off that 1/2 hopper screen is the same as throwing out the fine gold)

* classify to at least a 1/4 or even an 1/8, in addition to effective fines recovery this also removes organics (sticks and leaves) and makes setting the feed gate flow much easier and consistent.

* the material should be bone dry and have the consistency of "baby powder" for maximum recovery.

Extra work yes but I'm confident in recovering as much gold as possible with this program.

BTW,

I would just like to add that many desert drywashers I know don't do any additional classification other than shoveling material on top of the hopper screen and rubbing it around a bit. Their feeling is that by eliminating extra steps, they move more material over-all and this works for them. Also..... even though I haven't used a Whippet, I've seen it work and think its a fine machine

 

[Bodfish Mike]

"shoveling material on top of the hopper screen and rubbing it around a bit"
This is what I do and if I think I missing some I'll run it twice.
Volume is your friend.

Terry comment "The only thing with these small drywashers is you have to classify to 1/2"
why would this be the case for a small drywasher and not a big one?

PS
Utah mason -- sorry to go off topic -- have you looked into building your own.
Don't have a whippet but it sure looks well made and lite weight. It may take time to
pay for itself.

 

[utah mason]

"shoveling material on top of the hopper screen and rubbing it around a bit"
This is what I do and if I think I missing some I'll run it twice.
Volume is your friend.

Terry comment "The only thing with these small drywashers is you have to classify to 1/2"
why would this be the case for a small drywasher and not a big one?

PS
Utah mason -- sorry to go off topic -- have you looked into building your own.
Don't have a whippet but it sure looks well made and lite weight. It may take time to
pay for itself.

I haven't really thought about building one myself. Any time I consider building or fixing something myself I try and figure out how many hours will take. And if I spent the same amount of time at work would I be able to make that much money and just buy it. And would I be able to do as good of a job. Most of the time it is more beneficial for me to just put in a couple more hours on the job. I try and not work more then 6 hours a day, so there is a little time in my schedule to make a few more bucks. mainly because I try and spend as much time with my kids as possible. I try and have them at the daycare as little as possible ( even though my daycare loves and takes great care of them) it is one of the most important lessons I learned from my dad. Your time is the most important thing you possess and the one thing you have a limited amount of, use it wisely.
I'm not doing this to make money. I just Really enjoy it and the time spent with my son is the true treasure for me.