building dredge pontoons

russau · Jun 5, 2013

rebel003 said:
one of our club memers made a PVC frame with no filler for his 2.5" worked great in the stream we have to dredge in. good luck.
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those fittings are expensive and all of it is real heavy,i know i have a pile of it behind my shop! there to heavy for a old guy like me tobe hauling around and down to a stream!yesa it would work, but my gosh would it be heavy!

Gelmac · Nov 13, 2014

John, the picture is of small resolution , so may be it didn't show clearly your setup.Nonetheless, I like that contraption LOL

Do you have any measurements , specs of that dredge shown in the picture ? How did you attach these barrels to the frame and to each other so they stay in tandem with the whole setup ? How did sealed the openings of the barrels ?

Reed Lukens · Nov 13, 2014

You're looking and replying to posts over a year old.
Obviously you need floats so... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL39A9E7B702FF1B8A

Gelmac · Nov 14, 2014

Reed Lukens said:
You're looking and replying to posts over a year old.
Obviously you need floats so... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL39A9E7B702FF1B8A

Reed, Yeb I know it is old

just trying to stir the water a little bit :tongue3:

You guessed it, that's right I need the floats for a small dredge I am building with the help from a friend.

I 've put your videos on building dredge on my "to watch" list. Thanks.

I have thin steel pipes , the ones used in reinforced cement building structures. I think I will try them , if they rigid may be I will elsewhere. What do you think?

Reed Lukens · Nov 14, 2014

You mean rebar? It bends too easily and weighs a lot. Small dredge like a 3"? Here's another video that will give you a light weight small frame with free floats.

okbasspro · Nov 14, 2014

I used a frame of square tubes (old security bars from house window cost free) added 4 5 gal jugs from atwoods $20 works great with my 2.5

Reed Lukens · Nov 14, 2014

okbasspro said:
I used a frame of square tubes (old security bars from house window cost free) added 4 5 gal jugs from atwoods $20 works great with my 2.5

Nice build

I have a 2½ like yours and now I will build a flotation system for it like yours. Do you have a picture of when it is running? Or how much pontoon is left above the water when it is running?
I can get as many 5 gallon drums as I need for free from car washes. Basically my question is, would you add 1 or 2 more drums now after seeing it run for fast water or does it need extra flotation in light rapids?

Jason in Enid · Nov 14, 2014

Reed Lukens said:
Nice build I have a 2½ like yours and now I will build a flotation system for it like yours. Do you have a picture of when it is running? Or how much pontoon is left above the water when it is running?
I can get as many 5 gallon drums as I need for free from car washes. Basically my question is, would you add 1 or 2 more drums now after seeing it run for fast water or does it need extra flotation in light rapids?

Reed, I have some footage of his dredge in my video here....

Reed Lukens · Nov 14, 2014

Jason in Enid said:
Reed, I have some footage of his dredge in my video here....

Thanks Jason

That was perfect. Years ago it was my son with me out mining and these days it's my grandson.

Gelmac · Nov 14, 2014

Thanks Reed. That's right I mean rebar. I also noticed the bending issue with these rods judging from the weight of the whole setup (Engine, pump, sluice...etc) and the water velocity then the drag action of the divers. I think the latter could be compensated by long hoses.

By small I mean 2 or 3 " , I need to haul it easily into remote areas. With all the supplies would be hard if it is bigger.

Thanks for the video it shows exactly what I need. I have lots of the 5 gallon drum types. Only after building and real test will show how they perform under load on water.

Gelmac · Nov 14, 2014

okbasspro, those pontoons looks they should do the trick. Thanks

Gelmac · Nov 14, 2014

That's nice looking clean out , Thanks Jason for the video.

okbasspro · Nov 14, 2014

Reed Lukens said:
Nice build I have a 2½ like yours and now I will build a flotation system for it like yours. Do you have a picture of when it is running? Or how much pontoon is left above the water when it is running? I can get as many 5 gallon drums as I need for free from car washes. Basically my question is, would you add 1 or 2 more drums now after seeing it run for fast water or does it need extra flotation in light rapids?

Reed it stays well above water I just slide box back and forth to get my angle I need I am running it on a 2.5hp engine with a 2" trash pump

Jason in Enid · Nov 14, 2014

Gelmac said:
That's nice looking clean out , Thanks Jason for the video.

Best cleanout I've had in OK! That hole we worked through feet of overburden down to the hardpack (concrete pack!) layer. The next trip, we pounded down through about 3 feet of hardpack to the bedrock and got almost nothing. But at least we learned not to waste time going below hardpack again.

okbasspro · Nov 14, 2014

Jason in Enid said:
Best cleanout I've had in OK! That hole we worked through feet of overburden down to the hardpack (concrete pack!) layer. The next trip, we pounded down through about 3 feet of hardpack to the bedrock and got almost nothing. But at least we learned not to waste time going below hardpack again.

Yep most gold there in overburden not on bedrock If ever get some time off we need to hit it again Jason

Jason in Enid · Nov 14, 2014

okbasspro said:
Yep most gold there in overburden not on bedrock If ever get some time off we need to hit it again Jason

Definitely! I didn't have the time off to do any dredging this year.

Sticks · Nov 16, 2014

You should have seen my 2nd dredge build, I used styrofoam dock floats and cut into quarters with a saw. I tried to wrap in plastic but didn't help. It was awful. A claim owner let me test it on his property. When he came to check on me after a couple of days he was standing at the edge of my hole looking at all these styro balls floating in the water. The fish were eating them, he lost his mind. I pulled my junk out of the creek and tried to clean up my mess. I have to add here that while under water you could see the fish suck in the pellets and then spit them right back out. I was a newbie and knew no better. 15 gal barrels are excellent floats and available at any dairy for free or cheap and they are food grade. It is what they're cleaner comes in and they use a bunch of it. I now use them to hold down my Elk Tent on all 4 corners, just fill with water and good to go. Don't use styrofoam.

Bejay · Nov 17, 2014

A matched set of the black plastic elongated plastic fuel/gas tanks off of small pickups....obtained at a wrecking yard. Tougher than nails, lightweight, and easy to patch any holes. Very inexpensive at most wrecking yards. Once the fuel is removed and the tanks rinsed out they are clean as a whistle.