Idea?

[ArkieGold]

Hey Ya'll

I'm new to this part of the forum. Been looking into getting some gear for underwater hunting. SCUBA certified NAUI and PADI in 1981 but haven't been diving for awhile. The Minelab Excalibur II really looks tempting and I've been also looking at hookah setups on the web. I'm inland so fresh water swimming holes and lake beaches are my primary targets.

Reading alot on this forum last few days. Lots of good info. Of course I always get these hair brained ideas. Thinking about target recovery. See ya'll mostly use scoops but a few comments about fanning and even a couple of gold dredge suction devices mentioned. I kinda vision this device but not sure how well it might work. We have used airlift tubes some in my job to suction grit debris from the bottom of wastewater treatment tanks before so I was thinking of a sort of airlift suction line attached as an "air on demand" type of system where a trigger of sorts would feed air into the suction line only when needed to clear mud, sand or whaterver from the target and expel it behind me, away from the area of sight.

Airlifts work by introducing a column of air bubbles into the side an open ended vertical pipe. Water pressure forces water into the open end to displace the aerated column of water inside the pipe, causing suction on the open end. Wondering how this might work but don't know any about hookah systems or how much air I would need as providing for the airlift and myself. Seems a two man system might suffice being I wouldn't be using a constant supply on the airlift...

Any ideas?

 

[finderzzs]

Whoa.. that's alot to dive into at once. Are you going after gold rings or the Titanic?? I have a hookah and it would be great for both fresh and salt water. As for recovery I fan in the ocean as it is clear. I think if you fan in fresh water you may not be able to see a thing for some time as the sediment would surround you. I'm sure you'll get alot of different responses, but this has worked for me. I also use the whites Pulse PI Pro under water. HH

 

[mcmurphi]

Hello my friend,
I would recommend that you start out a little slower. If water is what you want to hunt, get yourself a good water detector and just start in the shallows. Graduate to mask and snorkel and weight belt, and enjoy yourself. Learn as much as you can with how to recover the stuff. Then go for a few tank dives before you invest in Hookah. Some dive alone but if you had someone to share the adventure and fun with, that is the best. I haven't been water detecting myself too long to give you much advise but one thing for sure is just to have fun and take your time doing this, too many unexpected things can happen in the water so ease into it.....have fun!

 

[ArkieGold]

Thanks for the replies. I'm mostly dreaming and wishing at this point. Who doesn't till they find a way to get what they want. It would be a small airlift. Just enough to vacuum away mud and sand. Just an idea at this point.

Reason I want to get into swimming holes. I'm 45 now, almost 46. When I was 13 and didn't have a care in the world, there was a local old swimming spot. We used to play a game of bombing the swimmers. Everyone would tread water out off the end of the dock and somebody would run the length of the dock, jump and try to land on the unfortunate one who couldn't get away in time

Anyway, I had always searched the area with mask and fins. Found a couple of rings, a watch and some coins just cruising. That day I was wearing the fins and was finning out there off the end of the dock to keep myself up during the bomb session. Later as I was masking around I discovered my fins had blown out a pretty large hole in the bottom off the end of the dock. There was old coins and rings and stuff everywhere. I filled up three large styro cups full of the treasure by the time I was satisfied it was all gone, having done many more fin blowing mud sessions. Some of the coins dated into the late 1800's. There were many gold rings my elder brothers confiscated and we didn't have alot of money in those days so the rest of the silver was sold to help by groceries and such.

I know there are alot of old swim holes just like that one within a short drive. Been researching and gathering info on that the last few weeks and visiting some of the places. Given the right setup, a fella could clean up easy and pay for the equipment in short order. Went back to that place a few years ago when they dropped the lake level down and only found a few coins with my old Garrett. Guess the young salvor did a good job or the stuff was too deep to detect with that machine. There's another place on the lake with an old diving board that was long broke down by the time I was even a kid. It was situated over a steep drop so the lake level drop did little to expose the good bottom there. Just waiting for me... 8)...and many, many more just like it

 

[MikeDahms]

A slow approach would be best. You can practice using a good water machine to learn and work the shallows. If you use a mask and snorkel you can learn what it is like to work in zero visibility. I would recommend a dredge rather than an air lift. Your main stated goal is to move the mud/sand and maintain good visibility. The dredge can use a long hose so the discharge is far away from where you are working.
Many people are jealous and some will just not like you disturbing the lake. I suggest you work in the quietest way possible. Recovering large amounts of booty is a lot of fun but others may want to stop you.
Having a partner is a great way of having someone to bounce ideas off. The partner may also supply some equipment and share other expenses, also there is the safety factor.
I hope you share some of you adventures, Mike.

 

[ArkieGold]

Thanks Mike. I hope to have some adventures to share. Will know today. Went to the bank yesterday and applied for a small loan. Enough to get a Minelab Excalibur II, Air Line 12v Hookah System, three deep cycle marine batteries, wetsuit, mask, fins, snorkle and a Discovery TF-900 for some land caches that might (supposed) to be around, plus a little extra for misc items. My hunting buddy 72Cheyene has the new E-Trac so we got pretty much everything covered from water to land. Seting up my account DBA "Aqua-Terra Search and Recovery".

Really very few places I could use a dredge around here. Have one sitting in storage that needs a few parts. Chose the Air Line 12v system for quiet operations but doubt my small airlift idea would work with it but still may try a few things.

Let the fun begin

 

[ArkieGold]

Just to update this post so there won't be any wondering. I didn't get all the loan applied for. Got the $900. deal on the Minelab Excalibur II 800 at Detector Depot. It was supposedly used one time by a fella in his front yard who decided he wated an E-Trac and traded it back in to them. Had enough left over for a wetsuit, booties, hood and a lycra undergarment from TommyDSports.com.

So I didn't get all I wanted but got what I needed to get started which kind of bummed me out at first but I should be happy even getting a partial loan in these times eh! So the hookah system will have to wait. Perhaps the water treasure gods will smile on me and there will come the finds to further the endeavor later on. Got a good list of swimming areas to hit starting next week.