vacume - dredger - ideas ? ? D.I.Y

[tonyweston]

just starting off the learning curve with the new hookha unit , we are finding the digging of targets much more time consuming and harder work than normal wading / hunting
I have seen a T.V prog salvage team use a massive vacume pipe / dredger that sucks up sand from the sea bed through a hose directly into a basket that seperates the finds on board ship ?
This seems to be a wonderful idea that would save us a lot of time and hard work , has anyone got any plans or basic design ideas for this type of machine ? I have thought of air or water ventury ? even harnessing the water thrusted from the back of the outboard propeller to provide indirective thrust / suction ? the mind boggles ! !
just for the record we are working at a maximum depth of 20 foot, as Im sure the pressure /depth problem will effect the performance of any machine
any ideas would be welcome regards Tony Weston

 

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[DaChief]

I have seen some divers using the small underwater sea scooters to blow the sand away from the targets. They are relatively inexpensive and my research revealed that you can probably get about an hour or so use from one for blowing purposes since you are not continously on the go button. You simply point the prop wash end towards the sand, pull the trigger on a low setting and place the nose against your chest and brace yourself as best you can. A couple of extra weight belts might help. Seems to work from what I have seen. Beats fanning by hand and digging.

There was a post somewhere on TNET called something like "So You Want to Dive For Treasure" or something like that. It was a fellow called "Seahunter", who was hunting down at Jupiter Inlet. He found a great deal of treasure. He would blow the sand out with a MailBox rig on his boat to start with and the divers would use the small sea scooters to get the last few inches off targets when needed. There were some pics on some of the posts showing the technique but I can't find it anymore.

You may even be able to special rig one of the scooters with a down sized pipe or tube to funnel the prop wash into a smaller directed jet. Kind of like putting a funnel with the large end over the back of the prop and blowing the wash into the funnel and out a smaller tube end where you can better direct the prop wash and possibly negate the effects of the push against you.

You are right. The mind can run wild with possibilities.

DaChief

 

[JP]

I have seen where they use the sea scooters also. I picked up a book a few years ago that shows guys treasure hunting from a rubber motor boat using a sea scooter to move the sand. I believe they had to hold the anchor line to keep themselves from moving.

I have also seen where a few hunters use ping pong pattles to move the sand quicker off the target. With the common target being close to the surface this would be a quick way to uncover something.

I have often thought of making a pump that instead of vacuuming the bottom it would shoot a stream of water that would move out a lot of sand. There are these flyers that come in Thursday's mail from Harbor Freight Tools. Inside I always see these small pumps that cost under $20. I'm sure one could make a setup, hooked to the battery, intake hose in water and outtake also. I don't know if it would have enough force at 20 feet.

 

[Sandman]

I have had experience using the SeaDoo scooters and suction dredges with a hookah. While it seems like a fun thing to do, it is a different type of work. My dredge was by Keene Engineering that had the air pump on it too. All bottom material was sucked up to the screens and the overwash was dumped back into the water farther away from the work area. In many cases permits are needed from the DNR too for any dredging.

The use of scooters to move material is sad at best. To use it for any power you are lifted away from the bottom and more weight is needed to hold the scooter down. You don't add weight to yourself in case you need to surface quickly.

http://www.keeneeng.com/

 

[tonyweston]

Many thanks for the ideas lads , but i am really looking for the vacume / suction idea , I saw a long handled pump that was piped into a bucket on you tube , it was being used for gold recovery in the fast flowing rivers and i wondered if this could be adapted / extended so that the surface man in the boat could recover the targets thus lightening the work load/ nitro levels/ diving times for the scuba hunter below

I think depth and amount of lift required to get the targets to the surface will be a governing factor ( the deeper the target the harder manual pumping would be ) ?

I have considered making a manifold/funnel to clamp/flange onto the prop saftey guard ring ,so then the water would be forced down the tube to a Y junction at the lower end of the vacume lance/hose and the spoil would be hosed up to the boat into a fixed basket .The working area would not be stirred up and lose visual quality as the spoil would be dumped overboard uptide

come on lads somebody must have tried something similar IM ALL EARS
regards Tony Weston

 

[The.Boomer]

I have been working on something similar, but based on Venturi principle and on a much smaller scale. Something small and light and compact enough for your average beach hunter to carry along. I haven't yet taken the time to assemble the parts or even to get them all yet. It starts with a portable battery operated high speed grinder and a hand held water pump. These in combination form a high pressure spray which is directed through a larger pipe thus creating a lower pressure in the opposite end of the pipe, Errgo vaccum suction dredge that can be emptied into a screening box. There's allot of variables, pipe dimensions, rate of flow, heighth of suction rise etc.... but the principles work just need to get busy with the working demo.

 

[xXx]

What your looking for is called an "Air Lift". Google it and you'll find plans. It's common practice off-shore.
xXx