Drywasher Blower to Puffer to Manual

Goodyguy

Gold Member
Mar 10, 2007
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From this...............
blower01.jpg

To this...................
puff1.jpg

To This!......................
dwm.jpg


dwm1.jpg


No more noise, no more mixing gasoline, no more hose, no more carrying a blower, no more carrying gas can, no more charging or carrying a battery.
Now only 23lbs. total.

If I wanted to I could still go electric, but for now I'm happy with manual.


Go for the Gold :3barsgold:
GG~
 

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Oddjob

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Aug 23, 2012
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Is it just as effective.
 

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Goodyguy

Goodyguy

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Mar 10, 2007
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Is it just as effective.

You can process more dirt in less time with a blower. The trade off is more fine gold loss, more noise, and more dust.
The puffer may be slower but it's quieter, less dusty, with more fine gold retention.

Manual processes dirt the same as electric. I sit on a bucket and work the bellows lever with my left hand and feed the hopper from a 5 gallon bucket with my right hand, one full scoop at a time.
scoop.jpg
Very relaxing and at 70 years old I'm in no hurry anyway.

Actually, I just drywash as a way to sample before bringing in a highbanker washplant and a helper which allows running way more paydirt many times faster with even less gold loss.

I also have a much larger electric homemade puffer drywasher that I can barely keep up feeding with a #2 shovel and I have decided that it's just too heavy and awkward to load and unload and carry, so it's going to be up for sale.

GG~
 

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Bodfish Mike

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Dec 12, 2014
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Goodyguy How did you get your bellows pleated like that did you sew them in ?
Very nice job.
Cheers Mike
 

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Goodyguy

Goodyguy

Gold Member
Mar 10, 2007
6,489
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Arizona
Detector(s) used
Whites TM 808, Whites GMT, Tesoro Lobo Super Traq, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Suction Dredges, Trommels, Gold Vacs, High Bankers, Fluid bed Gold Traps, Rock Crushers, Sluices, Dry Washers, Miller Tables, Rp4
Primary Interest:
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Goodyguy How did you get your bellows pleated like that did you sew them in ?
Very nice job.
Cheers Mike

Thank you Mike,
I marked the folds with an ink pen then folded along the lines and then used a steam iron to set the creases.

GG~
 

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Goodyguy

Goodyguy

Gold Member
Mar 10, 2007
6,489
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Arizona
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Whites TM 808, Whites GMT, Tesoro Lobo Super Traq, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Suction Dredges, Trommels, Gold Vacs, High Bankers, Fluid bed Gold Traps, Rock Crushers, Sluices, Dry Washers, Miller Tables, Rp4
Primary Interest:
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Buddy , do you do shirts also?? :laughing7: very nice job on the folds for the bellows!!
Thanks Russ,
Used to own a drycleaners and did tons of shirts but now that I am retired I wear my shirts wrinkled to match my pants. :tongue3:

Well after 2 hours working manual in 110 degree heat I decided to go back to electric!
I can still work the manual lever but only if I have to.

Got rid of the noisy cam and went to simple linkage no pulleys.



The video is only showing half the speed I normally run.
Also after shooting the video I removed the spring from the sluice support chain and it made a huge improvement. (it was way to bouncy)

Also have a small old school puffer that works great but it's a lot heavier than my light weight aluminum version.
I like it though and I'm gonna keep it.
362.jpg

The wind was blowing that day and blew my chair into my old school DW just before I took the photo.
It's an oldy but a goody.

I also have another Puffer that's three times larger but just too much work to keep fed plus it's heavy to carry and awkward to load and unload, will be posting it on Craigs list cheap.



GG~
 

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