2” dredge

i AGREE with ratled on this ! BUT get with someone that has been dredging for some time and be his "goffer" for sometime to learn the in's an out's in dredging smart ! I had several dredge's (2" /3"/and several 4 inch dredges and I was building a 5 inch when I had to give it up for health reason's and I regret it ever since !
 

Don Barton said:
Is a 2” dredge a good starter dredge
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A 2" dredge is designed to clean out cracks on clean bedrock. This is its only purpose.
For moving material and normal dredging, generally a 4" is considered the best starting size.
 

Southern part of my state, DIY backpack 2" dredges were popular for wading shallow streams. I think the idea was to work crevices on bedrock but had to be connected to part in water.
 

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russau said:
i AGREE with ratled on this ! BUT get with someone that has been dredging for some time and be his "goffer" for sometime to learn the in's an out's in dredging smart ! I had several dredge's (2" /3"/and several 4 inch dredges and I was building a 5 inch when I had to give it up for health reason's and I regret it ever since !
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If you list about where you are at maybe there is someone here who can take you under their wing. I'm SURE you would be better off running someone else's equipment first to see what you NEED and like
 

The price of a new 2” you can easily find a used 4”, but as others have mentioned here I wouldn’t go into this purchase blind I highly recommend finding a friend to dredge a little with figure out what you need, also dredging by yourself is lame I have done it many years it’s not safe and you need to work your butt off to see money unless you’re in a killer spot. I broke my leg dredging by myself it made for a really shitty few days. Unless you have a ton of bedrock to clean you can outpace a 2” dredge with a stream sluice and a shovel and get better gold recovery. You can also run a small hose into a larger hose and attack those cracks.
 

N-Lionberger said:
The price of a new 2” you can easily find a used 4”, but as others have mentioned here I wouldn’t go into this purchase blind I highly recommend finding a friend to dredge a little with figure out what you need, also dredging by yourself is lame I have done it many years it’s not safe and you need to work your butt off to see money unless you’re in a killer spot. I broke my leg dredging by myself it made for a really shitty few days. Unless you have a ton of bedrock to clean you can outpace a 2” dredge with a stream sluice and a shovel and get better gold recovery. You can also run a small hose into a larger hose and attack those cracks.
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My first dredge was a 3" and it nearly worked me to death. Anything that will not fit up the hose must be moved by hand. Om our first trip out we dug a 10 yard hole and it took us a week of insane labor. Fast forward...we now have a 5" and that same hole is done in half a day.
 

I use to own a 2” backpack dredge from Keene. Worked good for small creeks but I had to put a guard on the nozzle. Nozzle stopped up easily. Also owned a 3” power sluice dredge. Had gold hog matting in it. It got the gold. Ending up selling it due to back injury’s. Hope this helped.
 

I own a 2.5 pro line dredge/highbanker combo and it has been great. You can use a shovel or a suction hose.
 

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Papa-t said:
I use to own a 2” backpack dredge from Keene. Worked good for small creeks but I had to put a guard on the nozzle. Nozzle stopped up easily. Also owned a 3” power sluice dredge. Had gold hog matting in it. It got the gold. Ending up selling it due to back injury’s. Hope this helped.
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Thank you sir I do have a guard on my nozzle haven’t tried it yet too hot
 

Too Hot???!!!! Thats the best time. Cool water on hot days with warm evenings.... throw in a few good friends and its better than a baseball field in Iowa! And after a good day dredging the food always tastes good
 

ratled said:
Too Hot???!!!! Thats the best time. Cool water on hot days with warm evenings.... throw in a few good friends and its better than a baseball field in Iowa! And after a good day dredging the food always tastes good
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That sounds good might just try that so far I can only dredge at Alabama Gold Camp I don’t know any private land owners on a creek thanks for the reply
 

I have a small clay bottom creek with fair gold for my area running through my property. The clay bottom is exposed in some areas and under no more than 3 feet of gravel in other areas. I have a large highbanker that I plan on converting to a 2 inch dredge. I think several people can shovel the gravel overburden into the dredge while the person on the dredge nozzle cleans the clay surface. If this works like I think it will, the 2 inch should do well for me.
 

Using a 2 inch high banker converted to a 2 inch dredge with 1 guy on the nozzle and using several people shoveling into it would be a MAJOR overload for that device ! Depending on the type of material your shoveling , 1 man with a shovel max's out a 2 inch system ,any more would be way to much !
 

The AGC is a good place to go ! they have small cabins to rent and plenty of trailer or tent spaces . and it's cool down by the stream and in the shade of tree's . the staff there is /was when I was there real nice and helpful !
 

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