noob tryin to build a dredge and or highbanker

[SCBUZZ]

Hey guys. Yep you got it I'm pretty much a noob. My son and I have a year under our belt of looking every where but where we need to. But that just changed. We found our first gold weekend b4 last in Northern GA , and we found more this past weekend in Western NC. My son and I and another SC prospector that turned me on to this site named Astrobouncer met @ thermal city and sluiced for about 8hrs this past weekend and found about double what we did in Northern GA. All total about 20 small flakes.

Now on to the new question. My son and I would love to build a dredge and or highbanker. Money is tight and I have to do it on the cheep. I just bought a 2.5 horse clean water pump that pumps about 60 gal per minhttp://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98013 from harbor freight for $129 bucks on sale. Got 2 year warrante with it. I know its off brand but if it tares up I got 2 years to keep taken it back. I need to know if this will be OK and if so what else I need and where can i buy it on the cheep. Got a kid in collage and tryin to pay the house off so money is a big object.

We have also built pretty much our on highbanker set up I think we got all that stuff together . We have a keen 4 ft sluice and we made the box from a heavy gage plastic storage bin from Lowe's that cost like $16.00 and then ran PVC to it and connected a hose fitting to it that works on same connection as our blue bowl. The grizzly was an old grill grate and a new grate cover that my son bought that cost like $6.00 . All together we got like $60 for the box and grizzlys and $10 in plumbing and $120.00 in the sluice.

Thanks ahead of time for the help. This site has been a great support and resource hope to meet ya all on the river at some point.

 

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[Goodyguy]

My son and I would love to build a dredge and or highbanker. Money is tight and I have to do it on the cheep. I just bought a 2.5 horse clean water pump that pumps about 60 gal per min.

We have also built pretty much our on highbanker set up I think we got all that stuff together . We have a keen 4 ft sluice and we made the box from a heavy gage plastic storage bin from Lowe's that cost like $16.00 and then ran PVC to it and connected a hose fitting to it that works on same connection as our blue bowl. The grizzly was an old grill grate and a new grate cover that my son bought that cost like $6.00 . All together we got like $60 for the box and grizzlys and $10 in plumbing and $120.00 in the sluice.

Thanks ahead of time for the help. This site has been a great support and resource hope to meet ya all on the river at some point.

Need more help with this b4 I start spending money for hose and heads and connectors . My pump is a 2.5hp 550gal a min pump. What would be the best hose size for my set up? 3inch or 2 inch?

SCBUZZ,

In my opinion your 1-1/2" 55 gpm pump is a little too small for use as a 2" or 3" dredge powerplant.
I believe you would have better results using it for a 1-1/2" dredge. (not enough gpm for a 2" which requires 100 gpm or more) The up side to that is less cost for materials.

To use your keene sluice with homemede crash box as a highbanker dredge combo, Here is what you do.............

Run a length of 1-1/2" hose to the 1-1/2" water intake on the pump. Must be long enough to allow your pump to set on dry land and allow the intake hose to be submerged into a water source usually 6-8 feet long.

Then from your output on the pump install a 1-1/2" to 1" reducer. From there connect a 1" x 20 foot long pressure hose to the coupling on the suction nozzle for dredging. (use a shorter 1" pressure hose (6 feet) when connecting it to your spray bar when using it as a highbanker)

Then connect a 1-1/2" x 20 foot suction hose from your suction nozzle to your crash box pointing at your grizzly.

You will need to buy a 1-1/2" suction nozzle with a 1" coupling. (look for a used one)

If this works out then you can build a float to mount everything onto when working small fairly wide deep creeks/rivers. Otherwise this setup works fine just the way it is from the bank or sand bar. If you use it at Thermal City my idea would be to use it to work the tailings that the highbankers empty into the creek. Say hi to Lloyd for me.


Suction Nozzle




#1 suction nozzle
#2 intake hose
#3 reducer
#4 pressure hose
#5 suction hose

Dredge setup


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Below it is set up as just a Highbanker

The green hose is a water hose with spray nozzle for clean up. I also have done modifications to the grizzly and It only takes a few minutes to convert the whole thing over to a 2" dredge complete with rubber mat baffle. I also tossed the carpet and use nomad instead. I upgraded the expanded mesh and added a punch plate. The hose also works good for flushing gold out of the banks. (sort of a mini hydraulicer)

The 2" pump is powered by a 6-1/2 HP, 108 Gallon per minute, 4 stroke overhead valve engine from Harbor Freight.
I pretty much run the pump just above idle for highbanking but nearly full throttle for dredging.


Hope this helps,
GG~

 

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[SCBUZZ]

Great info. And great pictures. I am thinking of taken it back and getting the one you have. I would only have to put like $100.00 with it to get it. And you say it works fine??


This is the one I thought about taken the one I have back for . What do you think of this one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/portab...gas-engine-and-3-inch-inlet-outlet-95976.html







Thank you so much for the information. This forum has really been a God send for us while doing this. Last year we got 0 gold for a full season of prospecting . This year we have gone out 4 times so far and found gold 3 times of the 4. The info I got here is a direct cause of that. Hats off to you all.

 

[Goodyguy]

Great info. And great pictures. I am thinking of taken it back and getting the one you have. I would only have to put like $100.00 with it to get it. And you say it works fine??

This is the one I thought about taken the one I have back for . What do you think of this one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/portab...gas-engine-and-3-inch-inlet-outlet-95976.html

Thank you so much for the information. This forum has really been a God send for us while doing this. Last year we got 0 gold for a full season of prospecting . This year we have gone out 4 times so far and found gold 3 times of the 4. The info I got here is a direct cause of that. Hats off to you all.

That should work well with either a 3 or 4" suction hose due to 263 gallons per minute capability and a Suction head lift of 25 ft.
of course the larger hose and larger nozzle are going to cost more. However, you will also be able to run twice the material
Although you are going to need a larger sluice to handle it.

You may want to price out buying used verses building a 3 or 4" dredge.
or build a 2" to be able to use your existing sluice.

Here are examples of prices just for the suction hose and nozzle of various sizes.
Not counting the pressure hose or fittings.

20' 4" suction hose $180.00 + 4" suction nozzle $180.00 = $360.00

20' 3" suction hose $105.00 + 3" suction nozzle $160.00 = $265.00

20' 2" suction hose $65.00 + 2" suction nozzle $115.00 = $180.00

Anything above 2" will need a larger capacity sluice than you have.

Here is a link for building a decent homemade floating gold dredge:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/design_plans/DIY_dredge/Homemade_dredge.htm


Go for the gold!
GG~

 

[SCBUZZ]

Would it be possible to use it as a 2" until I could dredge enough to pay for the other upgrades? My idea is to buy larger so I can upgrade with it . Being it's the bigest expense.

Also I have the frame and will have the floats by this weekend most likely. I will try to post pics of these when I get time.

I got 0 in the frame and will have $24.00 in the floats.

The wife is on me about results . So I am trying to hold cost down to show here that the $400.00 for engine,sluice and floats and hoses will be off set by what I can dredge up. Forgot the jet .

 

[Goodyguy]

Would it be possible to use it as a 2" until I could dredge enough to pay for the other upgrades? My idea is to buy larger so I can upgrade with it . Being it's the bigest expense.

Also I have the frame and will have the floats by this weekend most likely. I will try to post pics of these when I get time.

I got 0 in the frame and will have $24.00 in the floats.

The wife is on me about results . So I am trying to hold cost down to show here that the $400.00 for engine,sluice and floats and hoses will be off set by what I can dredge up. Forgot the jet .

In that case I would go 3" and get by with the sluice you have now. You would however, need to upgrade to the 3" 6-1/2 hp pump as you suggested and I also recommend using a suction nozzle instead of a power jet.

If you buy a power jet then you must also buy either a flare to connect the jet to, or use a header/crash box. You will also need to buy a metal nozzle for the suction end of the hose. And you will not be able to use the unit as a high banker.

So you must decide whether to go with a power jet, crash box/flare design that is strictly for dredge use, or; a suction nozzle grizzly box design that will allow double duty as a high banker.

Power jet VS suction nozzle:

The suction nozzle will offer better material separation because as the material travels up the hose it is sorting itself out in regards to its specific gravity as it goes into the sluice box. Also a suction nozzle regains prime quickly when lifted in and out of the water while working shallows.

With a power jet, when the material travels past the power jet it gets that burst of pressure that will disturb the separation that happened as it traveled up the hose.

The same reason why a flare is preferred over a header/crash box. When the material that has sorted itself in the hose on its travel from the bottom up enters the flare it is already sorted with the heavies & gold traveling slower & on the very bottom of the hose into the flare where the water velocity is reduced due to the flare & on to where it goes into the sluice.

With a header/crash box, this already sorted material travels up the hose crashes into the header box and thus the separation is lost, so the sluice box has to resort it all over again.

However, due to more suction power, the power jet is generally preferred over the suction nozzle for working deeper water as long as the hose nozzle remains under at all times. If the hose nozzle is removed from the water the prime is lost and air enters the suction tube causing suction to be lost. To regain suction the hose usually must be cleared of sand and gravel then re-submerged and re primed which can be quite a task.


Good luck what ever you decide and I hope I didn't confuse you too much.
Here is a link that discusses the performance of different types of jets vs nozzles: http://www.gouldeng.com/gettingbestper.htm



Go for the Gold
GG~

 

[SCBUZZ]

No sir . Your input is very very helpfull. And much appreciated.

 

[Sierra Sam]

Jack - Sorry for such a delayed response. Been doin other things I guess...
but to answer your question: "Thats an awsome highbanker Sam I think I will make a couple more sections for my sluice so it can be used for various things. Did you bend your sign metal on a brake?"

Answer: No. I clamp it onto a metal table with a 4' steel bar along the bend point, then beat on it. Not easy. Not fun. Not efficient, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do to get the job done. Truth is I'd love a nice heavy duty 4' brake. And a good slip roll, but I wouldn't be using found metal if I could afford better.

This is my latest mod on my Keene sluice. Added a 13" section between the funnel and the sluice and fab'd a grizzly box for it.

Without the extension piece gold was being blasted off the black mat. Seen here before and after modification and with 1/4" welding rod grizzly. Frame is hollywood bed frame (of course), cut and welded.

 

[FiresEye]

Hey Buzz hope the project is going well.... But if you plan to pay off the house etc, I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. The 2.5HP engine awesome ... it's gonna take some trial and error. I mean just pump the sand into that sluice and you're set. With the highbanker to pick the larger rocks you jsut cut material time in way half.
So, let us know how it goes... I still use a tube and good ole lung power to hand drege holes. The suction from the mouth can be perfect.. just be careful not to get a mouthful of water.. I'm pretty good at it, and have picked a few nice flakes out of the cracks before.

 

[Sierra Sam]

I see a lot of experience being contributed and gained here so I'll shoot this out there, what the heck am I doing wrong?

I've converted my Keene sluice to a highbanker, built a crash box and welded up a 2" power jet with 1" pressure hose. Problem is I get nothing. Well, next to nothing with respect to sucking power.

I was told my angle of the pressure hose into the suction nozzle needed to be reduced and I did but, nothing. I was also told to put a bushing reducing orafice of the pressure hose where it enters the suction portion. I did that too. Nothing.

I'm now thinking I'll just buy a suction nozzle that GG uses and forget trying to solve this on my own.

I run a Honda 1" pump.

My crash box.

Reduced angle on power jet not doing the trick... even when pump cranked up.

Honda WX10 1" pump.

Now the question is... Honcoop or Keene?

Honcoop suction nozzle

Keene suction nozzle

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Goodyguy]

That new design with the reduced angle should work. To get suction the hose needs to be filled with water and submerged (primed) are you doing that? For best results the jet and hose both should be submerged as on a dredge with the output of the jet higher than the pressure input so a vacuum seal is formed by the water coming from the pump.

For highbanking with suction, the suction nozzle (either brand) is recommended over the use of a jet.
For dredging with a dredge then either system works fine.

However, due to more suction power, the power jet is generally preferred over the suction nozzle for working deeper water as long as the hose nozzle remains under at all times. If the hose nozzle is removed from the water the prime is lost and air enters the suction tube causing suction to be lost. To regain suction the hose usually must be cleared of sand and gravel then re-submerged and re primed which can be quite a task.


GG~

 

[Sierra Sam]

Yeah GG, I've tried everything with regards to the angle of the dangle, prime and all, but it just won't suck. Which sucks.

Plenty of flow going through to the crashbox, just zilch with regards to suction. It's baffling.

SS

 

[Goodyguy]

Yeah GG, I've tried everything with regards to the angle of the dangle, prime and all, but it just won't suck. Which sucks.

Plenty of flow going through to the crashbox, just zilch with regards to suction. It's baffling.

SS

Must be in the design of the jet then.

I don't know if this will help.

"Formula:
The area of the jet in sq. inches times 7% = eductor bore in sq. inches

At 30 psi a 1/2' eductor will require 41 g.p.m. Without getting into an explanation of friction loss, a ten foot pressure hose, one inch diameter, will require 33.5 psi at the pump to provide the 30 psi at the eductor."

Jet size / Eductor bore
1.5"--------- = .223 or 1/4"
2"----------- = .528 or 1/2"
2 1/2"------- = .661 or 3/4"
3"----------- = .793 or 3/4"
3.5 "-------- = .925 or 1"
4"----------- = 1.058 or 1"

note very shallow angle on power jet. Also you don't want a very elongated hole where the "eductor" connects with the "log". That would cause a severe loss of pressure.


I would just get a suction nozzle and be happy

GG~

 

[Sierra Sam]

Holy Cow there GoodGuy! Hey, I was an art major for a reason!

I think you're right, "I would just get a suction nozzle and be happy". Probably the best advice to be heeded...

Now the big decision, Honcoop or Keene...

 

[Goodyguy]

Holy Cow there GoodGuy! Hey, I was an art major for a reason!

I think you're right, "I would just get a suction nozzle and be happy". Probably the best advice to be heeded...

Now the big decision, Honcoop or Keene...

Can't go wrong either way. Both will get the job done.

I use a Keene.

 

[ry1968]

OK SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! I WANT TO BUY THE G1 HIGHBANKER BUT IT DOES NOT COME WITH A PUMP OR POWER SUPPLY CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT EXACTLY TO BUY FOR IT THAT WILL WORK REALLY WELL..SOMEONE SAID THAT I SHOULD GET A 2 INCH DREDGE PUMP AND MOTOR...I NEED TO KNOW WHAT EXACTLY I SHOULD BUY FOR IT TO GET IT UP AND RUNNING ..ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

 

[Goodyguy]

OK SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! I WANT TO BUY THE G1 HIGHBANKER BUT IT DOES NOT COME WITH A PUMP OR POWER SUPPLY CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT EXACTLY TO BUY FOR IT THAT WILL WORK REALLY WELL..SOMEONE SAID THAT I SHOULD GET A 2 INCH DREDGE PUMP AND MOTOR...I NEED TO KNOW WHAT EXACTLY I SHOULD BUY FOR IT TO GET IT UP AND RUNNING ..ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

I heard that it runs best at 40 gpm. That's all I know .......sorry

Have you seen this video? Past half way through the video it says something about what pumps are best to use.

 

[dpdkld]

Just as input, if you look at my post just a few below yours (home made highbanker) you are almost there on a complete unit. You have the sluice, motor you just need a hopper for your highbanker and header box for dredge. California Sluice Box has a hopper grizzly under highbanker parts that has the spraybar/expanded sheet for grizzly for 68 bucks. I bought the one without the expanded sheet for 52 bucks so I can save some cash and add punch plate or whatever for the grizzly. Now for a dredge, just get a header box from rdh prospecting in arizona. They are on ebay or google them. I think the header box is like 69 bucks that will fit your 10" keene. Just some thoughts, Pat