Zipline to send paydirt downhill

Ohiogoldfever

Hero Member
Oct 15, 2020
643
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Tripod ready.

Whole assembly including bucket and line only 43 lbs.

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The telescoping leg extensions if needed, sledge hammer, stakes, and tie down straps will add around another 15-20 lbs. so I've hit my target of 50-60 lbs. for the initial carry uphill. Total cost around $100. More than I wanted to spend but it will pay for itself in saved trips hiking up and down hill all day.

Check out that bucket purchased at C-A-L Ranch $9.95, heavy duty notched bail, shorter depth, still holds 5gal. :icon_thumleft:
Now just waiting for the wire cable to arrive so I can field test it.

GG~

Hot damn that looks great! Can?t wait to hear how it works. Those are killer buckets. We have animals so I have a ton of them around. Good solid buckets.
 

russau

Gold Member
May 29, 2005
7,279
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St. Louis, missouri
NO DOUBT ABOUT THOSE BUCKETS!!!! Regular 3 & 5 gallon buckets will become brittle after some time in the hot sun because of the ultra violet rays will eventually dry them out and crack with any use. Buddy's bucket will last over the long haul ! (no pun intended)
 

OP
OP
Goodyguy

Goodyguy

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Mar 10, 2007
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My zipline cable arrived today and I think I went a little overboard by going with 5/16" I must have gotten it confused with 3/16"
At any rate I have now ordered 3/16" And fingers crossed that it will be strong enough. Pretty sure the 5/16" would have even held me but I only need it to hold 50 lbs.

Weight is the issue, 100ft of the 5/16" weighs 36lbs. while the 3/16" only weighs 7lbs. big difference carrying uphill.
The 3/16" working load is rated at 840lbs. hopefully it will do the trick, just not sure how much of the 840 pounds will be used just winching the wire off the ground and getting it taut enough. If it fails I still have the 5/16" to fall back on.

I almost went with 1/4" but talked myself out of it even though it was only 99cents more. Probably should have went with the 1/4" with a working load limit of 1400 lbs. because I will be spooling it out as I climb the hill making the weight lighter as I go. Plus it was only 4 more lbs. than the 3/16" :BangHead:

*NOTE I cancelled the order in time and changed to 1/4" :icon_thumleft:
Not sure if I gained anything as it will take even more force to lift the heavier cable off the ground :dontknow:


GG~
 

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1637

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May 26, 2011
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xlt mxt gmz and now a gmt whites
ok i found what you need.ps note dog tags,peace sign and hand grenade pin,below picture.
good luck brad
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Goodyguy

Goodyguy

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Mar 10, 2007
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What could possibly go wrong :dontknow:


 

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Goodyguy

Goodyguy

Gold Member
Mar 10, 2007
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Arizona
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Success!

Happy I went with 1/4" cable. Worked out perfect. I did make a trolley to spread out the load from the bucket just in case.
Turned out that I also needed the leg extensions, 6' long legs were a little too short to get the bucket high enough off the ground. 8' was just right.
Also the tripod was the way to go, very sturdy, stable, and easily portable especially with the slip in legs. Plus I'll be able to use it over a hole/shaft on other digs.

Once you factor in the slope and adjust the sag for the weight of the load it's easy to control the bucket speed at the destination. It also helps to have adjustable height at both ends of the line.

Go for the Gold,
GG~
 

Last edited:
Apr 17, 2014
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Success!

Happy I went with 1/4" cable. Worked out perfect. I did make a trolley to spread out the load from the bucket just in case.
Turned out that I also needed the leg extensions, 6' long legs were a little too short to get the bucket high enough off the ground. 8' was just right.
Also the tripod was the way to go, very sturdy, stable, and easily portable especially with the slip in legs. Plus I'll be able to use it over a hole/shaft on other digs.

Once you factor in the slope and adjust the sag for the weight of the load it's easy to control the bucket speed at the destination. It also helps to have adjustable height at both ends of the line.

Go for the Gold,
GG~

Speaking of gold ....
 

Ohiogoldfever

Hero Member
Oct 15, 2020
643
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Dayton Ohio
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Success!

Happy I went with 1/4" cable. Worked out perfect. I did make a trolley to spread out the load from the bucket just in case.
Turned out that I also needed the leg extensions, 6' long legs were a little too short to get the bucket high enough off the ground. 8' was just right.
Also the tripod was the way to go, very sturdy, stable, and easily portable especially with the slip in legs. Plus I'll be able to use it over a hole/shaft on other digs.

Once you factor in the slope and adjust the sag for the weight of the load it's easy to control the bucket speed at the destination. It also helps to have adjustable height at both ends of the line.

Go for the Gold,
GG~

Hot damn! Gotta love it when a plan comes together. Happy hunting.
 

Back-of-the-boat

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You might save yourself a problem down the line( no pun intended) by reinforcing the bucket by making a ring below the lip and using safety or bailing wire to attach it to the handle on both sides the weight of the dirt over time may rip out at the points the bucket attaches to the handle. So some support under the lip of the bucket can relieve some weight off the handle. The only issue is it will make the handle solid.
 

OP
OP
Goodyguy

Goodyguy

Gold Member
Mar 10, 2007
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Arizona
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Whites TM 808, Whites GMT, Tesoro Lobo Super Traq, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Suction Dredges, Trommels, Gold Vacs, High Bankers, Fluid bed Gold Traps, Rock Crushers, Sluices, Dry Washers, Miller Tables, Rp4
Primary Interest:
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You might save yourself a problem down the line( no pun intended) by reinforcing the bucket by making a ring below the lip and using safety or bailing wire to attach it to the handle on both sides the weight of the dirt over time may rip out at the points the bucket attaches to the handle. So some support under the lip of the bucket can relieve some weight off the handle. The only issue is it will make the handle solid.

Thanks for the tip.

Actually the bail on this bucket already has long reinforcement brackets that run underneath the lip lengthwise that each end of the bail is attached to making it impossible for the ends to pull through. Plus the way they are designed still allows the handle to swivel.

The designer of the bucket must have been on your same wavelength, great minds think alike. :icon_thumright:
First time I ever paid $10 for one bucket, but looks like it will be well worth the price.
I usually get all my buckets for FREE at hotels and bakeries.
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GG~
 

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Rte

Tenderfoot
Sep 11, 2021
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Nice thought, but to get dry rocky dirt to go down the chute it would have to be at a really steep angle, most likely over 45 degrees and I have no way to haul (10) 10 foot lengths of pipe. The hill in question is only about 30 degrees in places with no unobstructed straight line on the ground. Boulders of various sizes and shapes are strewn all over, not to mention various types of cactus and vegetation. More work than I want to tackle for this project.

Also a jamb up would be near impossible to locate and clear. Thanks for the idea though. Something to keep in mind for future :icon_thumleft:
This is the issue with the bucket line.
Still in the r&d stage.
Freestanding on the delivery end.
Needs a larger trommel Hopper and a motor.
A fanned out leading edge would work better.
I'm liking the motorized conveyer idea from some sort of grizzly box to a motorized trommel.
 

Tesorodeoro

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Jan 21, 2018
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If there is that much gold up on the hillside, maybe build a light weight work platform and leave your equipment up there. It would be a risk, but it might be mitigated by installing signs and cellular trail cameras. Drive some anchors in the ground and cable lock things. You could cover the gear with camo netting maybe? Don’t know just an idea.
 

Assembler

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May 10, 2017
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If there is that much gold up on the hillside, maybe build a light weight work platform and leave your equipment up there. It would be a risk, but it might be mitigated by installing signs and cellular trail cameras. Drive some anchors in the ground and cable lock things. You could cover the gear with camo netting maybe? Don’t know just an idea.
One should tunnel into the ground to store equipment and work. This may be beyond what the OP wants to do.
 

Assembler

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One could put Anker bolt through two trees to run the zip line. This would make it easier to connect and disconnect the steel cable.
 

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