I'm back, with more questions!

ProspectorALEX

Sr. Member
Apr 14, 2013
292
184
Clam Gulch, AK
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT E-series
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Hi everyone. It has been a long time since my last post, but my dad and I have finally gotten a dredge and hope to finally be serious with this prospecting thing. So, for the last few years I've been out of the loop and haven't done much prospecting besides playing around with beach sands in the springs. My summers have been taken up with commercial set net fishing, which takes up a whole summer because they only tell you when you fish a day or two beforehand. So, we got a proline 4in dredge with a compressor and regulator for $3300. It is in great condition and the guy we bought it from said he only had around 130 hours of runtime on it. So, now that we have a dredge, we are going to need wetsuits and a heater of some sort because the areas I have found are made up mainly of meltwater and runoff form the mountains. This is where my questions begin.

First, does anyone have a 7mm wetsuit in particular that they recommend? Cheaper is better, but I don't want one that will fall apart in the middle of the season.

Second, I know that there are posts and videos on building wetsuit heaters but the people making them either buy them and have no idea about them or they seem haphazard. Another forum had rough sketches on a heater, but they weren't detailed enough for me. so, can anyone help guide me through building a heater?

Third, Would it be worth it to replace thee miners moss with new moss or another type of matting? the moss in it now is several years old, but has low hours on it. I would imagine that it would be fine, but I know that stuff degrades over time and I don't know if that is one of the things that does.

Lastly, how realistic would it be for my dad and I to pack the dredge in 2-3 miles? I know it depends on how dedicated we are, and we intend on leaving it there for the summer once we get it there because it is plenty safe from people and there are few if any bears in the area according to DFG.

Also, thankyou to ya OGs for putting up with me and helping me get into prospecting. I really enjoy it and appreciate everything you have done to help me along. I know a few of those people have passed away since I have joined and I never got a chance to thank them for their help and advice and I wish I had.
 

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ProspectorALEX

ProspectorALEX

Sr. Member
Apr 14, 2013
292
184
Clam Gulch, AK
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT E-series
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Last edited:

Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,418
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Whites MXT, Vsat, GMT, 5900Di Pro, Minelab GPX 5000, GPXtreme, 2200SD, Excalibur 1000!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The engine is the Honda gx160 and I believe the pump is the proline hp350.
Also, will running the engine at max rpms reduce the life of the engine, pump, or compressor?

No, just run Mobile 1 10/30 synthetic in it. With the small motor, you may need to cut the suction hose down to 15 feet or 12 for more suction if diving deep. You can pull the belt off of the compressor when not using it. Just take a razor knife with you to cut the hose if needed.
 

Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,418
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Whites MXT, Vsat, GMT, 5900Di Pro, Minelab GPX 5000, GPXtreme, 2200SD, Excalibur 1000!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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ProspectorALEX

ProspectorALEX

Sr. Member
Apr 14, 2013
292
184
Clam Gulch, AK
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT E-series
Primary Interest:
Prospecting

So, when I was reading on another part of those archived forum posts, it redirects you to another page with a link to copy and paste into the search bar. when I did, it was a scam page that clearly had viruses. IDK what I did wrong, but it wasn't working for me. However, the other posts you made with these old forums were good reads and I appreciate your contribution of posting them for me to read.
 

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