Hand Dredge Question...

[laidback4sho]

Hey guys, I have a Gold Buddy Magnum hand dredge, the PVC kind that looks kinda like a bicycle pump. My question is how do you secure the end caps so that they don't come off the unit while in operation? Glue is not an option because you have to get the caps off for maintenance and to empty the sand and gravel. I need them to stay on, no matter what, until I get ready to take them off.

Any thoughts on this?

 

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[arizau]

Hey guys, I have a Gold Buddy Magnum hand dredge, the PVC kind that looks kinda like a bicycle pump. My question is how do you secure the end caps so that they don't come off the unit while in operation? Glue is not an option because you have to get the caps off for maintenance and to empty the sand and gravel. I need them to stay on, no matter what, until I get ready to take them off.

Any thoughts on this?

Thumb screws through the caps? A dab or two of glue on the barrel (let it dry) may create a little bulge and create a tighter fit. If that is too tight then sand them down.

 

[dash4cash]

I drilled an 1/8 inch hole through the upper and put a metal cloths hanger piece through it, 45 degree bend on one end and just bend down the other end by hand easy on easy off, 1 wrap of electric tape makes for a tight fit on the lower end of the gold buddy.

Carl

 

[Bejay]

Don't use an end cap! Suck the material up and quickly discharge the material into a container ( a restaurant dish lug works great.....as it is low sided). Suck...lift...shoot/discharge!

Bejay

 

[dash4cash]

Don't use an end cap! Suck the material up and quickly discharge the material into a container ( a restaurant dish lug works great.....as it is low sided). Suck...lift...shoot/discharge!

Bejay

Bejay, I tried mine without the end cap and kept pulling the plunger out the end lol.

Carl

 

[Bejay]

Bejay, I tried mine without the end cap and kept pulling the plunger out the end lol.

Carl

I imagine the length of the tube and ones "pull length" are relevant. I use what is termed a ghost shrimp suction gun. About 40 years ago I realized it would work to suck up crevices in water. They are commercially made and sold at Oregon coastal hardware and retail dept stores. They sell for about $18 and utilize a rubber ball squished between two washers and nuts on some threaded stock fitted into some PVC innards. Almost all of my mining friends have come to use them over the years. I will see if I can find the link to them and post it here.

http://shrimpguns.com/shrimp-guns/


Bejay

 

[dash4cash]

I imagine the length of the tube and ones "pull length" are relevant. I use what is termed a ghost shrimp suction gun. About 40 years ago I realized it would work to suck up crevices in water. They are commercially made and sold at Oregon coastal hardware and retail dept stores. They sell for about $18 and utilize a rubber ball squished between two washers and nuts on some threaded stock fitted into some PVC innards. Almost all of my mining friends have come to use them over the years. I will see if I can find the link to them and post it here.

Shrimp Guns


Bejay

yep, would be much harder to pull out with length like that lol.

Carl

 

[mendoAu]

Do those come in a 5inch version

 

[Bejay]

About 40 years ago I bought a back pack 2 inch dredge. I wanted to get up into some remote areas of a drainage I new had gold. That said; I had to pack tools and fuel along with the dredge that was a single unit back pack set up. After a few excursions and moving from here to there I thought of my shrimp gun and decided to use it instead of packing the dredge unit all over the place. It worked extremely well and I found a lot of gold....some days I brought out more gold using the shrimp gun than I did running a 4 inch dredge. The secret to using the suck and shoot method is to NOT USE a High Sided container to receive the material you shoot from the tube......as it wants to fall out as you are lifting the tube up out of the water. So you learn to use a very low sided square container and you learn to suck and shoot quickly. I have set up sluices in the creek and shot right into the sluice......and it performs equally to a small 2 inch dredge at times.

A Canadian friend of mine, who had a major claim operation in BC, was often out in the bush and would find old miners cabins in extremely remote areas. I gave him a shrimp gun and showed him how to use it. Thus he could get back into places and use the shrimp gun. He also found a lot of gold....as dredging was not allowed and the remoteness proved valuable for the gun.


Bejay

 

[enamel7]

I do the ole sucking up and blowing it out into a 5 gallon bucket. When I've finished cleaning out the area I pull the handle and seal out.I then put one hand over one end and the other over the tip, putting water in and shaking it. I pour the water and material into the bucket and repeat until no more material comes out. Get all of the gold that way!