The amount of material a 3 inch hand sucker will move

[deserdog]

I did a test to see how much material a 3 inch would move. This is material right from the creek, after loosening it up with my digging bar. Each pan is one suction stroke. First picture is all of thematerial in a 14 inch gold pan, then the oversize in a 1/2" classifier.

 

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[deserdog]

If you use the type I showed, I just trim it with tin snipes and then clean up with a file.

 

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[Reed Lukens]

I'm always struck when I watch all the videos of guys using sluices how slow the water is set up. Doc's stream sluice really steps up the production!

The Bear right there is a low flow area. It took half an hour to get it set up enough to get what we had. We had it dammed on both sides of the river. Low flow rivers are hard to work but they do produce. This was the following week -

 

[Au dave]

OK -- so I finally found the right 3" expansion plug...Home Depot and Lowe's around here carry a different design that won't work. I've been turning this thing over and over in my hands the past few days, and taking it apart and putting back together. What method would be the best to trim the top washer so it fits inside the 3" PVC barrel? This thing is no joke -- it's made from heavy gauge steel, I think. I'm almost considering taking it to a machine shop somewhere, but would rather do it myself. Haven't tried a hacksaw yet, but I have a feeling it's just going to polish the edge instead of cut. And cutting a round 2-3/4" circle with a hacksaw sounds like an exercise in futility.

I do have a file set so I can clean the edge when I'm done, but I'd rather it stays reasonably round and not jagged. Hope someone here has a great idea so I won't bang up my knuckles and cut my fingers!

Put the washer on a length of theaded rod or a long bolt, lock it in place with a couple of nuts, put the allthread/bolt in a drill and use it like a lathe and file it down. Iv'e done this a few times ... quick and easy..

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

 

[bcfromfl]

Thanks everyone for your input!

what type of plug are you using? One like I showed in a picture awhile back?

Yes, this is the one:

Here is what I use, a 3" plumbers test plug.
View attachment 1388393

You said you wanted to trim the top washer. Is it removable? Can you just make a new washer? Find one the size you need, or, get a hole saw and some sheets of stainless, aluminum what ever you want.... Then your set! How about a pic ?

You can't see in the photo, but part of the problem is that it's a specially-formed washer that has a concave bowl in the middle, that helps force the rubber outwards when the wingnut is tightened. It's designed to cap the end of a 3" pipe, so that extra needs to be trimmed off so it'll slip inside the barrel.

If you use the type I showed, I just trim it with tin snipes and then clean up with a file.

Tin snips? I must not have good ones -- the gauge on this washer is wayyyyy too heavy for what I've got. The drill technique sounds like it might work, if I had something good to grind it against. Maybe a rock would do?

I was back at Home Depot and Lowe's this afternoon, holding it up against various PVC fittings to decide how best to attach the bottom end to the plunger shaft. That attachment point is going to be the weak spot, I can tell -- but if the stress moves parallel to the shaft, maybe I won't have to worry about the bolt gradually cracking the PVC. Maybe best to have a box with spare pieces, and use a cap with threads so it can be replaced easily!!

Work in progress...

 

[bcfromfl]

The Bear right there is a low flow area. It took half an hour to get it set up enough to get what we had. We had it dammed on both sides of the river. Low flow rivers are hard to work but they do produce. This was the following week

Awesome cleanup! One thing I never see others do with sluices when the water flow isn't quite enough, is to use a couple of cheap tarps (10-12 feet long) and weigh them down with rocks to help dam up the sides feeding into the sluice. A surprising amount of water leaks through the rocks, even if you think you have things dammed up tight.

 

[deserdog]

I have built hundreds of super gold sucker, 2" and 3". Here is how I attach tje washer to the shaft. I use1"pvc for the shaft, and a 1" 90, coupleing and pipe cap for the handle. To attatch the washer to the 1" plunger, I use a Lasco 3/4" slip pvc.pipe plug. I drill a 3/8" hole in the midlde of the 3/4" pvc. slip pliug. Now the 3/4" slip plug is a little too big to fit inside the 1" pvs(it is designed to fit into a 3/4" coupling). So I very gently heat the pvc plug until it is slightly pliable and tap into the 1" pipe. When cool, I take the plug out and put in a stainless steel tap bolt, put the washer over the bolt that sticks out of the plug, and put on a stainless steel nut. I use the lasco plug becasue it is about 3/16" to 1/4" thick on the end. Other plugs are way thinner. I had a plug break here, and have built hundreds.

The tin snips I use are the yellow weiss(think that is the name) and even though the washer is fairly thick, the snips cut the washer easily.

 

[bcfromfl]

Thanks deserdog! You hit the nail right on the head -- when I was checking out PVC caps, I was feeling the thickness at the end of the cap, and thinking to myself, "That's gonna crack!" Lasco it is!

I'll have to find those Weiss snips. Thanks again!

 

[Jeff95531]

Thanks deserdog! You hit the nail right on the head -- when I was checking out PVC caps, I was feeling the thickness at the end of the cap, and thinking to myself, "That's gonna crack!" Lasco it is!

I'll have to find those Weiss snips. Thanks again!

Wiss Straight-Cut Aviation Snips-M3RS - The Home Depot

5 stars and cheap enuff.

 

[bcfromfl]

Wiss Straight-Cut Aviation Snips-M3RS - The Home Depot

5 stars and cheap enuff.

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[Reed Lukens]

Awesome cleanup! One thing I never see others do with sluices when the water flow isn't quite enough, is to use a couple of cheap tarps (10-12 feet long) and weigh them down with rocks to help dam up the sides feeding into the sluice. A surprising amount of water leaks through the rocks, even if you think you have things dammed up tight.

Yup I've done that but this dam worked fine. It's a 30cm or 12" wide sluice designed to run in low water situations. The 2½" rocks ran through pretty good with no classification. Some had to be bumped, then I threw the 1" expanded on the head and it ran perfect as is...
Goldblitz Elvo III Goldwaschrinne [rinne-004] - 199.00?* : Willkommen im Goldblitz Webshop, Goldwaschrinnen, Pfannen und Zubeh?r

This dam started out with 40' of tarp and just grew and grew... then after becoming 6' taller... It's still our tallest hand built dam to date

 

[bcfromfl]

OK...so I'm in the final stages of completing my prototype, and am waiting for a final piece on special order. I spent several days at HD and Lowe's pawing through the various PVC parts, and figuring out how best to put this thing together, and I came up with a couple of great ideas. This thing is like a tank, and the suction is amazing! The thought occurred to me that there might be others out there who would like a hand dredge of this size, so I'm building a second unit to put up on eBay.

The problem is the weight, so I've decided to sell a kit without the 3" barrel...but everything else. I still need a box 10x10x60, and my wife is giving me the stinkeye over the costs so far. I've been on "box patrol" behind all the major stores in the area, and haven't come up with anything. If I order a pack of 10, that's going to set me back another $70 or so. I've already spent $75 in special tools for fabricating the various pieces, and each kit will contain $82 worth of parts. It takes about 4-5 hours to build each one, and 30 miles round-trip to the Post Office or UPS -- you can see where this is heading!

So, what I'm asking is if you all think this is worthwhile to go ahead with a bit more investment? The kit can be configured three different ways: a 5-foot workhorse with a 2-1/2" excluder nozzle, a 5-foot crevice nozzle (~3-foot barrel) with a see-through collection chamber, and an 8-foot monster for reaching the bottom of deep pools. All parts (other than the barrels) are included, and the expansion plug is interchangeable between the two different plunger rods.

I haven't tested the crevice nozzle setup yet, but I anticipate that the suction is going to be substantial, with the 3" piston pulling suction through a 1/2" PVC nozzle.

This is a completely different animal than the other hand dredges I've seen for sale. Is there enough demand for this sort of thing, given it requires some special tools and puttering around to build them? Are most prospectors DIY-types who wouldn't pay for something pre-made?

Appreciate any and all comments!

 

[deserdog]

One thing you will quickly learn when trying to use a 1/2" nozzle on a 3" barrel is that the pull will be extremely hard. This is becasue you are partially blocking off the intake.

 

[Jeff95531]

OK...so I'm in the final stages of completing my prototype, and am waiting for a final piece on special order. I spent several days at HD and Lowe's pawing through the various PVC parts, and figuring out how best to put this thing together, and I came up with a couple of great ideas. This thing is like a tank, and the suction is amazing! The thought occurred to me that there might be others out there who would like a hand dredge of this size, so I'm building a second unit to put up on eBay.

The problem is the weight, so I've decided to sell a kit without the 3" barrel...but everything else. I still need a box 10x10x60, and my wife is giving me the stinkeye over the costs so far. I've been on "box patrol" behind all the major stores in the area, and haven't come up with anything. If I order a pack of 10, that's going to set me back another $70 or so. I've already spent $75 in special tools for fabricating the various pieces, and each kit will contain $82 worth of parts. It takes about 4-5 hours to build each one, and 30 miles round-trip to the Post Office or UPS -- you can see where this is heading!

So, what I'm asking is if you all think this is worthwhile to go ahead with a bit more investment? The kit can be configured three different ways: a 5-foot workhorse with a 2-1/2" excluder nozzle, a 5-foot crevice nozzle (~3-foot barrel) with a see-through collection chamber, and an 8-foot monster for reaching the bottom of deep pools. All parts (other than the barrels) are included, and the expansion plug is interchangeable between the two different plunger rods.

I haven't tested the crevice nozzle setup yet, but I anticipate that the suction is going to be substantial, with the 3" piston pulling suction through a 1/2" PVC nozzle.

This is a completely different animal than the other hand dredges I've seen for sale. Is there enough demand for this sort of thing, given it requires some special tools and puttering around to build them? Are most prospectors DIY-types who wouldn't pay for something pre-made?

Appreciate any and all comments!

IDK, it sounds like a handful to handle...I know mine is and it's 5' by 2 1/2" gun reduced to 1". But...here is your competition and I will say it's the least # of hand dredges I've seen on ebay since fall.

Hand Dredge,Gold Sucker,

 

[deserdog]

When you reduce to 1", the pull is not too bad, but the smaller the nozzle and the bigger the barrel, the harder the pull.

I have not listed any gold suckers or ghost shrip pumps since Sept. I have built literally thousands of them since 2003. I have just taken a break from building them. Wife been in and out of the hospital, so while she is home recuperating I am just concentrating on getting a bunch of stuff listed that we already found.

 

[bcfromfl]

Thanks so much for your responses! I just set up the crevice nozzle and a bucket of water, and the plunger easily pulled with little resistance, and I'm guessing it drew 2-3 quarts of water with no problem. I'm thinking a flake sitting in the bottom of a deep crack would shoot right up the nozzle with the amount of suction it has. The 1/2" PVC will maybe reach into harder-to-get-to spots than a thicker nozzle.

Because it is a bit of a handful, I came up with a good solid handle to get a comfortable grip on it. I've seen another handle design someone else is doing on theirs, but the handle on that one is parallel with the barrel, which doesn't give the best leverage or the most comfortable hand position. The part I found allows for the handle to be movable and repositioned if necessary.

Best wishes for your wife, Deserdog!

 

[bcfromfl]

So far, my efforts to sell the 3" hand dredge kit on eBay have met with failure, and I re-listed it a few days ago. I was at least expecting a tiny bit of interest! Even though my price seems high, I'm selling it at a loss, hoping to break even after four or five units. I don't want to link and break forum rules, but I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Is this just the wrong time of year for this kind of thing? Better to do it in April or May? I swear, I don't know how the other sellers can offer theirs so cheap...

Thanks!

Bruce

 

[Jeff95531]

IMHO, the size could be intimidating to some. My smaller gun can kick my arse if I let it. IDK frankly. The supply on hand dredges was virtually gone around Christmas.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Way to high a price for anyone to pay with any common sense... If it's the one for over $250... The parts aren't that expensive...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-6_LGe9rkZw

 

[bcfromfl]

Way to high a price for anyone to pay with any common sense... If it's the one for over $250... The parts aren't that expensive...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-6_LGe9rkZw

The parts in the kit were $95, plus another $74 in special tools (various hole saws, glues, putty, etc.), shipping $60, eBay and PayPal $35, shipping box $20...not to mention the time putting it together.

Are you implying I'm ripping people off, or that I don't have common sense?

 

[Reed Lukens]

Are you implying I'm ripping people off, or that I don't have common sense?

You can answer that question yourself. The weight of PVC is 3 times the weight of abs and so is the average cost. You're selling an incomplete unit for $265.00, but nobody is buying them, the answer is pretty obvious... It's simply a hard learning experience... The beast is too heavy to use all day because it's designed around too heavy of a material. Anything over 2" needs to be made from ABS or lighter material to be usable. This is just my own opinion of course... I would sell off the PVC parts individually to recoup some of your losses, then make one for yourself out of ABS and look at the differences between the 2.