DIY HAND DREDGE
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2014
- I became interested in these "Gold Suckers", "Hand Dredges" or what ever name you choose to call these by, about a year and a half ago. I built a 1 1/2 inch model to try it out. After trying several different designs I settled on the one in this video. I have been working with this one for a year now and found that it is a pretty solid design.
For the most important part, the plunger, I have found that the best material to use is a leather pump cup designed for water pumps. You can find them on Amazon or Ebay or just google them. Just do a search for "leather cup". They come in all different sizes.
I use the plumbers test plug here and I have found that next to the leather cup, it works very well. The big box store Lowe's and Amazon carries this Oatey brand and you will need two of them. You can buy just one and grind the large part down to fit but I found it's much easier to just get two and use the smaller ends. There is a very small band around one end of the rubber part that needs to be sanded off in order to work smoother.
If you are trying to get material out of a fairly fast moving stream, these units are hard to beat. You can reach out in a stream and suck material out from under the rocks without getting wet. They will reach down into a deep hole that would be inaccessible except for scuba gear. Wonder if a big nugget could be waiting at the base of a small waterfall? Easy way to find out.
If you use a 36 inch body tube like I did here and need more reach, you can buy a 5 or 6 foot tube and the plunger and end cap will work just fine with that.
If you decide to build one, I think you will really like it. It's rather inexpensive to build and If you have the drill bit on hand for the end cap, it only takes about a half an hour to build.
The super sucker nozzle will really move a lot of material and will keep a sluice going very well. Enjoy.
UPDATE: There is a new video update on replacing the plumbers plug with a Leather Pump Cup which works much better than the Plumbers Plug. You can see the update here:
• HAND DREDGE UPGRADE
UPDATE:
For those who are interested, I am enclosing a parts list of parts I used to build mine.
Hand dredge basic body parts list:
Body
1 ea - 2” PVC or ABS pipe 36” long. Be sure it's smooth inside
1 ea - 2” PVC or ABS pipe cap. PVC - end is slightly domed and
white, ABS - end is flat and black
1 ea - 1 5/16” Forstner bit or hole saw to drill the hole in end cap
Handle
1 ea - 1” PVC 45 degree elbow
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe 3” long
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe cap
For Optional “T” shaped handle
1 ea - 1” PVC tee
2 ea - 1” PVC caps
2 ea - 1” x 1 1/2” long pieces of pipe
Plunger
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe 34” long
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe adapter for threaded cap
1 ea - 1” PVC threaded cap for pipe adapter
2 ea - 2” Oatey PVC test plugs. From Amazon or Lowe’s big box
1 ea - 5/16” locking nut (has a nylon insert inside threaded part)
2 ea - 1/2” or 3/4” screws to keep cap and handle from coming off
Super Sucker nozzle
1 ea - 2” ABS or PVC 45 degree angle
1 ea - 2” ABS or PVC pipe 3 - 6” long 
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Great video... you have a very relaxing voice. I tried to build a hand dredge with an o-ring, and simply notching the pvc... didn't work too well. But surely I can build one, with these detailed instructions. Thanks you.
Perhaps the best tutorial on building a hand dredge. Thank you for sharing utahavalanch.
Well, thank you and thanks for watching.
Thanks for taking the time to share this with everyone. So much detail and a parts list included. Wow!! Thanks again. Liked and subscribed.
Thank you for taking the time to watch. If you build one of these, I suggest you check out my update video on it where I show to use a water pump cup instead of the rubber. You can also buy these leather pump cups from gold-n-sand.com/
These make it work so much better.
Lightweight and affordable! My back and wallet thanks you sir! Also, your generosity is appreciated in giving well concise instructions as well as a parts list! May your pan always have colors in it!
Hi John, thank you and thanks for watching. I think you will find one of these little units to be very handy. It's the only thing I use in a stream any more. I mostly use the Super Sucker Nozzle which is the 45 degree elbo with a 3" pipe. I can suck up more useable material in one stroke than I ever could with a shovel. I do a lot of Urban Prospecting and I find it is very useful at cleaning out potholes in the street that collect gold like riffles in a sluice in my area. You can also swap out different length pipes and use the same plunger on a 2' or 8' pipe. 8 footers are handy for getting to the bottom of a waterfall or big rock in the middle of the stream. Golden pans to you as well.
Best hand dredge DIY I’ve seen yet. I really like the idea of using TWO test plugs to build the plunger, that way you don’t have to cut or grind or file the larger half down. And then you also end up with a spare rubber washer. 👍
Hi Mitch thanks and thanks for watching. In the description, I have another video with an upgrade to this if you are interested. With it I use a leather pump washer that seals much better. There is a company that makes hand dredges and also sells parts for them. They have really good leather pump washers that are made just for hand dredges. Here is a link to their washers if interested.
gold-n-sand.com/collections/all/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
@@utahavalanch Thanks! I’ll be gathering parts soon.
@@mitchkronowit3633
I think you will really like one of these. I use mine for urban prospecting as well to suck out pot holes in the roads. They sand our roads in the winter time and the sand has gold in it. The snow melts and washes the gold into the pot holes. I go out after a good rainstorm and clean out pot holes. Interesting what you find sometimes.
@@utahavalanch Gold in potholes? That’s amazing! Unfortunately we rarely get snow in our area so the roads never get salted. Too bad, because we have the potholes! 😂
Thank you for sharing your design. I am very impressed with your use of plumbers plugs. I am building a dredge this weekend and will now use the plugs and screws to hold the handle
Laszlo Soltesz
Thank you Laszlo. These are one of my most used tools. I have tried a number of different designs and this is the one I like the best. I like to be able to disassemble all of my tools so I can make changes or replace parts without having to rebuild them and so I use the screws instead of gluing the parts.
One thing I like better than the plumbers plugs are the water pump leather cups that are used in water pumps. You can buy them on Ebay or Amazon and the nice thing about them is you soak them about 10 minutes before use and they will swell to fit the tube. They are treated with an oil type substance and so they are very slick and move very smoothly in the tube. Good luck with your build and thank you for watching.
Excellent video! Thank you for sharing. I will start working on this as soon as I gather the supplies.
Hi Robert and thanks for watching. You may want to watch my update on this video where I use a pump cup for the plunger. A company called Gold-N-Sand makes these units and sells the pump cups for them. These cups work the best out of anything. You can buy them here
gold-n-sand.com/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
Very best of luck with your build.
Very awesome project. Your narration of your videos is great.
Thank you Rebel. Thanks for watching. Unfortunately the conditions under which I film my videos are very noisy which makes it necessary for me to add a voiceover narration after the fact.
Anybody can make a hand dredge but it is always the plunger that is difficult to get right and be easy to use. I really like your design. I'm going to switch mine over to your design. I think that'll work much better than what I've got now. Thanks for posting the video!!
+Craig H Hi Craig, thanks for watching. You're right, the plunger is what makes or breaks a hand dredge. I have tried a great many different ways to build them. This plunger needs the locknut on it to keep it from loosening up each time you pull back on the handle. Don't fall for the wingnut like so many others use. Lock it at the optimum size so it can't change. The best thing to use instead of the rubber plug is a pump cup leather made for water pumps. You can buy them on Ebay, Amazon or at your local plumbing supply shop. You have to wet them about 10 minutes before you use them but they self adjust to the diameter of the tube. Here is my latest video upgrading to those if you would like:
ruclips.net/video/1OfEcFstPhQ/видео.html
Brilliant serviceable design.
You're like the Bob Ross of mining equipment your one of the few that does things right
Just Incredible
Thank you. I spent many hours watching Mr. Ross paint. An amazing artist. Thanks for watching.
By far the Best Video on this subject by far!
Thanks
Thank you Ainschut and thank you for watching.
Great designs. I really like the detachable catch cup
Thanks Trevor and thanks for watching. This unit has really worked well for me over the years and it is very modifiable. I really like the catch tube but you can also use it like the standard yabby pump. You can also change out the body tube to different lengths and still use the same pump shaft and end cap. I have a 2’ tube I use for sucking out pot holes in the road and an 8’ one for reaching out into streams where it’s too deep to wade and the standard 3’ one.
Awesome thanks for putting the list of stuff you need!
MonkeyMike Outdoors
Your welcome and thanks for watching. Hope the list helps. Great tool to have.
This is a great video! Thankyou soooo much for the details on the variables that can be made with it. Kudos to you my man.✌️
Thank you Aurora and thanks for watching. These are a very handy tool to have. I have since found new uses for this and I’ll have to try and do another video when the snow melts.
Thanks for this. Great video and am looking forward to building one myself.
Hi Ryan and thanks for watching. I think you will really like this little unit. It has a lot of versatility. Check out my upgrade video on it if you really want to make it better. Gold-N-Sand sells the leather pump cups in a 2” size that really improves the suction. You can find them here.
gold-n-sand.com/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
Good luck on the build.
Thanks for another great DIY project!
Thank you very much. Thanks for watching.
Thanks John great how to video
Hope you make more 😊
Sorry Harold. RUclips didn't notify me of your comment. Thank you and thanks for watching. I am planning on making some more now if the weather will let me get out and test some of these ideas. It takes me awhile as I test everything well before I make a video on it. Some of the designs don't make it.
Thanks a lot for this very instructive video. The best I saw about the topic. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience !!!
Thanks for watching Benoit. This is the only tool I use in the streams any more. I can move much more material in 1 stroke of this than I could with a shovel. I love these things.
This is the best design I've seen. Thanks.
Hi Larry and thanks for watching. This design has really worked out well for me and it it can be easily modified into a number of different units from 10 foot long waterfall dredges to small crevicing tools.
Probably the best instructional build video I've seen for these. Thank you for including the parts list and the amazing step by step build.
Thank you Stewart and thanks for watching. This is by far the handiest tool I have ever found for working in streams and rivers. If you build one, I strongly suggest using a leather pump cup. It’s really worth it. Here is a source for the pump cups that are made for these.
gold-n-sand.com/collections/all/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
@@utahavalanch I did built one with the plug from the video last night. I'll upgrade later to the leather cup when I have a moment. Thank you again!
@@mn92283
Sounds good. Hope you enjoy your hand dredge.
Another great build and informative & in depth video as well! May I suggest one thing? With the construction of the plunger, you don't necessarily need a lock nut inside the cap as if someone has some Loctite or even quality superglue, or epoxy, they could place a bead of any of those substances over a regular nut once it is tightened. Also a cool attachment to have is a 2 ft long stick of 1" pvc but heat up the business end thoroughly with a torch until it is malleable and press it to where it has the same shape as a crevice attachment that you get with a household vacuum cleaner. This works great for getting into tighter cracks and crevices between boulders and logs that are submerged in a creek or river.
Hi Clayton and thanks for watching and your comment. Yep, you're right on the nut. That's what's fun about these projects. There are a number of different ways for you to accomplish the same thing. Yes I have made one of the molded crevice attachments like you describe and it works very well. I have also made one using the new 1/2" pex tubing and heating the first foot with a torch and molding it into a flat shape which has let me get into even smaller crevices. These things are like leggos for adults. Just no end to things you can do with PVC. I have a 2" magnet with 148 pound pull that I can exchange with the leather on this unit that lets me collect large amounts of Black sand which I process to get the gold out of.
Thank you for making this helpful and informative video, it is a great multi functional design.
Hi Bright Spark and thanks for watching. I have just touched on some of the things it can do here. I have found more ways to use this. I may have to make another video one of these days 😁
great job with the plumbers test plugs !!!
+Jim Katz Hi Jim, Thanks for watching. Yes, they work quite well for this. I have found that a leather pump cup designed for water pumps works a lot better. It self adjusts to the diameter of the pipe. You just have to soak it for about 10 minutes before you use it.
The upgrade video is here if you are interested:
ruclips.net/video/1OfEcFstPhQ/видео.html
well build,,very nice with a choice of tools with one tube .thank you
Hi Lou. Sorry, RUclips hasn't been notifying me of comments. This is the main tool with the super sucker nozzle is the tool I use for working streams now as I can collect much more material than I can with a shovel. This is an adults leggo set as there is no end to things you can modify on this. Thanks for watching.
Nice use of off the shelf parts. In Australia we have a similar off the shelf pump called a yabby pump made of stainless. Yabbies live in tidal salt water sand/mud banks and you pump them up with the yabby pump to use for live fish bait. Make great bait.
The washer adjuster is similar for the yabby pump except it has a wing nut at the bottom of the shaft. This makes it very accecessable to adjust on the fly. Perhaps you could do the same using the wing nut from the adjusters you purchased. The yabby pump also has an air bleed hole that allows trapped air/water behind the seal washer to escape as you pull up on the handle.
Michael Clark
Hi Michael and thanks for watching. Yes this is very similar to a Yabby pump and that is where the idea came from. I originally used a wing nut but as you pulled back on the plunger, you tended to twist it and loosen the nut and collapse the rubber and lose your suction. I ended up going with the locknut to prevent that. I now have a video showing the best way to go which is to use a leather pump cup which automatically expands to fit to the walls and will last for many years.
Thanks so much for this video. I have been having a terrible time getting my bought plunger to work. The website I got the sucker from has a terrible plunger. Very cheaply made. Can't get suction enough to pick up any material.
I ordered the plugs you show here and they should arrive tomorrow. Thanks again my friend.
Dean Mayer
Hi Dean and thanks for watching. If you want to do an upgrade on the plunger that really works much better, use a water pump leather instead. Yea, I know, now you tell me after I've already bought one. 😄 I have a video on upgrading this to the leather. However if you have a 2" tube, Gold-N-Sand sells the pump leathers for theirs and these really give you the maximum suction and they last for many years. You have to soak them in water for about 10 minutes before you use them and spread out the back section a bit and after that it will automatically expand to the sides of the tube and give you great suction. Here is a link to their leathers
gold-n-sand.com/collections/all/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
Best of luck on your build. These are by far the best tools for getting gravel out of streams.
Very helpful, a time saver. Thank you Sir.
Thank you and thanks for watching.
Thank YOU for sharing! great video, good luck.
Housam Abaza Thank you for stopping by and watching.
Nice. Almost the exact method I used to make mine. One addition I made was a check valve system near the head with a T and 2" pvc flapper check valve and heater hose to small sluice or 5 gal bucket. If someone reads this I found go 50% larger with the check valve (large ones generally called waterway valves) portion or sediments will clog it and reduce suction. Also if you use screen across the suction end that will reduce problems.
Hi Boneyfreak. Thanks for watching and the info. I originally had planned on going that route with the check valves but I had a hard time finding some that were large enough so I postponed buying them til I found some that were. I found out that with the 2" super sucker nozzle that I could move enough material to keep me more than happy so I just stayed with it. I really like these tools.
hello again,,last week i build a super sucker 3 inchs by 36 long with a 22 degree elbow and a 6 inches pipes,,i use a test plug on the plunger and its pulling super good,,plus i have a reducer 3 to 2 inches with a 24 inches pipe long for now or longer for deep water,,i dint try it yet,,but i think this will be a good tool,,spring is just around the corner and i cant hardly wait to try it,the fever is pretty high,,,have a nice day
Hi Lou. Sounds like a great build to me. You will be surprised at how much material one of those things can suck up at a time. You can easily keep a sluice or highbanker going with one of them. Let me know how it works for you. I can hardly wait till spring as well.
Great design. I tried making my own before watching your video. I used a 2" pvc pipe also. For the plunger i used a 1 1/2" pvc pipe and cut two notches at one end for 2
O-rings. It works well. However, next time i will not glue my fittings. I like your catch cup idea. I will be including that on my next build. I also like the plumbers plugs too. I have damaged some O-rings on mine due to maintenance. I like your idea of plumbers plugs better because you can control the swell.
Ryan Doyle Hi Ryan, Thanks for stopping by. These tubes are my most used tool when working a stream. I have accumulated quite a collection of them. If you use the plumbers plug, you might want to be sure to use the lock nut like I show in the video. With the wing nut I found that when you turn the tube with the super sucker nozzle, you unscrew the wing nut and you have to adjust it again before you can suck any more material. The lock nut prevents any loosening no matter how hard you twist. You need to adjust them with a wrench and socket but once adjusted they will stay put.
Yep, I tried a number of ways to make these over the years. Since I made this video I have found that that leather pump cups made for water pumps so far work the best for me. There is nothing to adjust as you soak the cup in water for about 10 minutes before you use it and the leather swells to fill the tube creating a perfect seal. The material they treat them with makes them slide very easily in the tube. They are treated leather and so will last for many years. You can buy these pump cups on Amazon and Ebay. They run about $8 - $10.00 for the 2 inch size.
great build
Thank you, and thanks for watching. This has really been a great hand dredge for me.
Great idea!!!
+Wenceslao Tobisz Thanks for watching. Yes, they are really a handy tool for getting material out of a stream.
Man I LOVE MINE. I've got a ton of gold with it after the shovel. I've got the hose and bucket attached. Pumps all my material right in the bucket.
1, 132nd lIKe 👍.
Congratulations. I appreciate the report. It’s always good to hear from folks who are using these tools. I really love mine as well and gave up on the shovel when I built this. That is a nice modification you made to it.
Great "How To" video and your narration was easy to understand! Living in SoCal, we are going through a severe draught and streams are hard to find. I will make one to take with me on vacation to Nevada and northern Cal. Thanks again! P.S. I subscribed to your channel.
Docdaugh Thank you and thanks for watching and subscribing. I think you will find one of these will be very handy on your trip. Plus think positive, The rains and streams must come back sooner or later. I hope sooner :-)
Awesome idea i like the catch cup idea. Mine dont have that but it will now.
Hi Knowles. Sorry, so slow. RUclips didn’t notify me of your comment. The catch tube has worked out very well for me. The one I use most is the 45 degree elbo on the end. You just suck up the material in the tube and then twist it till the mouth of the tube points up to hold the material in. Then twist it down to empty it. You can move a lot of material very quickly that way.
Its all good brother. Better late then never. My youtube has been doing the same thing regularly. Thank you for the info.
Amazing pic of the rainbow trout! Looks iridescent.
Tom Richardson
Hi Tom, thanks for watching. Yes they have an iridescent silver and rainbow colored streak down their sides. Hence the name rainbow trout. This one sure surprised me. :-)
Thank you very much for this video.
One of the best straightforward videos I've seen thank you again .
I will be building mine soon.
You Be you and I'll be me. Thanks....later
You’re welcome and thank you for watching. Be sure to watch the follow up video on it as well.
very nice, as a Australian we are spoilt, we can just buy a yabby pump ( stainless steel bait pump ) and just build the accessories we want. but i like how you've built yours
HiTony, thanks and thanks for watching. Yes, you have some very nice ones. I tried to buy one years ago before they got popular here but I couldn’t afford the shipping from Australia. But they inspired me to try building one. This is my 3rd generation version and I’ve since improved on it quite a bit. I love these for working in streams.
Thank you for this video.
Thanks for watching Pete. This is the only way I get material out of streams anymore. With the supersucker nozzle you can pick up more than what you can in a shovel.
made it and love it
+Jacob Stradiota Thanks for watching Jacob. I hope you enjoy your Hand Dredge. I really love mine as well. They are a very handy tool.
Adding one of these to my list.. 8) Great video.
I think you'll really like it. Thanks for stopping by and watching
Very helpful.Thank You so much.Now I'm off to the hardware store.
You're welcome. Hope it helps.
steve hansen haha right? I’m about to travel my ass down to Home Depot.
I just bought one plug and grind the larger disk down. I also like this method. Nice work.
+Doublenotminer Yippers, that works just as well. I was mainly just too lazy to go to all that work :-) Now I use water pump cup leather instead of the plumbers plug and it works much better. You have to soak it in water for about 10 minutes ahead of time but It self adjusts to the size of the tube for a good seal. My local plumbing supply house has the 3 inch cup leathers so I may try making a larger Hand Dredge. Thanks for stopping by.
I made a 2 inch with a leather cup and a flap inside to hold material so you can dump it out.
+Doublenotminer That should work very well for you. I usually just use the 45 degree super sucker nozzle and after I pull the plunger to the top, I rotate it so the nozzle is up so you don't lose any material. Lots of different things you can do with these.
+utahavalanch Yeah I plan on making one like this might cut back some time of having to reinsert the plunger every time.
+Doublenotminer If you go to time 13:11 in the video you can see what the nozzle looks like although I usually like the tip a little shorter now. The rest of the video shows it in use. You just suck in, rotate nozzle up so the material doesn't fall out and then move to the bucket and push the plunger to dump. Very fast.
If you don't glue any parts together you can change any of the nozzles out quickly. I also have 2 foot long tubes for crevicing if you are on your knees.
Best DIY hand dredge video I have seen to date! Thanks for sharing! I have been doing a lot of looking around to buy one at a decent price and for similar designs im looking at dropping $65 + and for that price I can build a bunch of my own :) If there is anyway possible for you to make a shopping list of parts that would be amazing!!!
HI Christopher thank you and thanks for watching.
Yes, here is a parts list for you.
Hand dredge basic body parts list:
Body
1 ea - 2” PVC or ABS pipe 36” long. Be sure it's smooth inside
1 ea - 2” PVC or ABS pipe cap. PVC end slightly domed and white, ABS
end flat and black
1 ea - 1 5/16” Forstner bit or hole saw to drill the hole in end cap
Handle
1 ea - 1” PVC 45 degree elbow
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe 3” long
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe cap
Optional “T” handle
1 ea - 1” PVC tee
2 ea - 1” PVC caps
2 ea - 1” x 1 1/2” long pieces of pipe
Plunger
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe 34” long
1 ea - 1” PVC pipe adapter for cap
1 ea - 1” PVC threaded cap for pipe adapter
2 ea - 2” Oatey PVC test plugs. From Amazon or Lowe’s big box
1 ea - 5/16” locking nut (has a nylon insert inside threaded part)
2 ea - 1/2” or 3/4” screws to keep cap and handle from coming off
Super Sucker nozzle
1 ea - 2” ABS or PVC 45 degree angle
1 ea - 2” ABS or PVC pipe 6” long
I made this video mainly to show how to build the basic body for a Hand Dredge which like all my projects is built so that the individual can modify them to fit their own needs. Once you have the basic body you can spend many hours building different attachments for it. As you can see in the video these things are like a leggos set. I only showed a small portion of what I have here. I use the Super Sucker Nozzle the most on mine for getting material from streams and so I have included the parts for it. There are so many different types of attachments you can build for these that I let the individual decide on what they want.
With the basic body you can have a number of different lengths and the plunger and cap will fit on all of them. If you want to make a much smaller body like say 2 foot long, you can buy another plunger pipe and use the handle and rubber plug on it, or make a handle for it as well and just swap out the rubber plug.
That’s the reason for the screw on rubber plug. Quick exchange. When I have to get on my knees to work I use the short body in the video and just swap the rubber plug.
The long plunger pipe will also work. You just have a lot of it sticking out the cap.
If you have any questions, just feel free to ask.
Wowsers! The angled catch tube is a super idea. I'm tempted to widening it to a 12"x4" liter size. Hiking into the Arizona creek areas without batteries for 12v electrics eases the load. Thanks ever so much. My post-retirement 6 years at HDepot's Lumber-Bldg Mtls next to Hardware and Plumbing gives an advantage for finding the goodies to play with.
+Goo59ber Hi and thanks for stopping by. This is a very handy tool for working creeks. I use a little garden cultivator with a 4 foot telescoping handle that I use for raking the rocks out of the way and loosening the sand and then just suck it out with this. You can modify these to your heart's content and it is easy to do. I mostly use the angled "super sucker" tube you see towards the end of the video. This will suck in almost a quart of material at a stroke with good loose material.
+utahavalanch Watching your video on homemade black sand magnets gave me an idea. I have the "old" White's GMT from '98. The new ones have a special black sand indicator. By scouting dry beds for trails of the sand, quite often placer fines and flakes are mixed in. While sampling, I can take your version of the long tube with a free moving set of magnets like a cane. By testing for the black sand trails, I can mark/flag the pattern. Then I can go back for sampling for the dry washer or sluicing if wet. Just a thought. It would save me a bunch of moolah by keeping my older GMT. Good stuff on your videos. Thanks a bunch!
+Goo59ber Yes, I have also been finding that if you can find fairly heavy deposits of Magnetite and black sands that a lot ot times there is gold close by or mixed in. This has worked well for me this summer especially in working the dry washes. I made a walking stick and staff just for that purpose and they have been very helpful in finding gold. My walking stick has put me on the gold over 60% of the time. In places where I find very little magnetite I have found no gold and so I now know not to waste time working that area no matter how good it looks. If you are interested in them, I did a short video for a couple of other people who were also interested in trying them out. You can find it here:
ruclips.net/video/1QmWxzo8bZM/видео.html
I think your white would be a great help as well along those lines. Here they spread sand and salt on the roadways in the winter and I have found that the sand contains fine gold. The melting ice and rains wash the sand and gold into the potholes in the older roads just like the riffles on a sluice. I used my walking stick to find the ones that have heavy concentrations of magnetite and then using a small hand cultivator, loosen the material in the bottom and suck it out with my sucker tube here.
Great build i need to maked one thanks
Ben Warren
Hi Ben. I think you will find this little tool really handy in a stream. Also check out my update on it where I update to pump cup to create the suction. You can buy the pump cups here at gold-N-Sand. These were made for hand dredges and really work well. They will give you much more suction.
gold-n-sand.com/collections/all/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
I bought one similar but that one seems cooler. Good video
Thank you and thanks for watching. I built a number of versions and this one has been my favorite. It really works well and you can make many attachments for it. You can swap the main body out and make it longer or shorter without changing anything else on it.
Can't' thank you enough for taking the time to help me along - muchly appreciated!!! For now I just have one more question: Have you experimented with larger diameter Dredge Tubes - say 3inches?
Have you tried to make one out of 3" tubes? You could modify the catch tube with some type of hose to empty into a bucket so you could spend more time cleaning the crevices.
Very interesting for the small creeks and stuff down in the foothills of Western North Carolina where my family's from it's where I started gold mining in gem prospecting about 15 years ago.
Hi Billy and thanks for watching. I use this all the time collecting material in the water. I use shovel only for sand bars. As I screen my material, the 2" nozzle limits the big rocks and makes it easier to screen the material to run which is 12 mesh. I can fill half a gold pan with one stroke and so it makes it nice when you are out sampling a new stream looking for a good spot. I usually use my black sand probe (another one of my videos) to try and find a good collection of black sand where the best chance of gold is and then I start to sucking :-D
Good to know. I checked out a few of your videos and I am impressed and like your page considering you're a fellow prospector. So I subscribed and followed you.
@@billyswamphawk53
Well, thank you sir. I appreciate it. yep, I started out working old mine tailing piles in the mid 70's and been puttering at it ever since. I spend a lot of my time now building and testing different types of equipment. I can't get out and work in the bush much any more but building and testing these different pieces of gear gives me something to do. Funny, but I only work about as much dirt in a season as I used to work on a good 3 day week end and I get way more gold. Trying to work smarter, not harder. :-D
Nice job - In Australia we call that a yabbie pump
Thanks mark and thanks for watching. Yippers, we don't have any of the little critters here to suck up so I use it for something a little different. :-D These are a very hand tool to have when working the streams. I don't use a shovel in streams any more.
It's a good idea - I'm a plumber so l should have enough bits and bobs in the ute to knock one of those up - Either that or I'll just buy a yabby pump and make an adaptor 👍
Probably making an adapter for a commercial pump would probably be easier. But I can modify mine into an 8 foot length or 2 foot and I even have adapted it over to a large black sand magnet for fishing for black sands.
The problem is with these things that they are like a set of Legos for adults. You can spend hours making up attachments for them. But when it comes to moving a lot of material out of a stream in a hurry, these are just the ticket.
No problem. Happy to help if I can. I haven't gone the 3 inch version yet. You build them the same as the smaller ones. Basically the difference between the different sizes is the amount of material they can pick up in a stroke and how much of a work out they will give you. The larger you go the more energy it takes to pull the handle and lift the load. If you noticed in the video 1 stroke on my 1 1/2 inch almost filled my gold pan. The 2 inch in the video with a super sucker nozzle will pick up about a quart to a quart and a half of sand and water in a stroke. I can fill a 2 1/2 gallon bucket in a short time. I'd guess a good 3 inch super sucker will pull up close to a half gallon. That's lifting around 4 or 5 pounds per stroke. I'm not as young as I used to be so that is a bit much of a workout for me for a number of hours. But should not be a problem for you younger people. They don't cost all that much to build so you may as well try all 3. A 1 1/2" for sniping and tight spots, a 2" for general use and when you need a longer tube to give you more reach. Ever wonder what's at the bottom of a waterfall or a deep hole in the river? And the 3" for really moving material. The accessory nozzles and even the plunger tube can be cheaply and easily adapted to work on the 1 1/2" and the 2". They are like a set of leggos. Once you get started you will find all kinds of things you can build for them.
I think these and the miller tables are the handiest accessories you can build and you will get a lot of use out of them.
Thanks!
You’re welcome and thank you for watching.
very nice.i will make your black sand magnet.your bazooka style sluice and this pump.thank you for your videos.
+Hugo Chavez Thank you for watching Hugo. If you want to wait for a couple of months on the Bazooka type sluice I will have a new video out on it. I have made a lot of improvements on it in the past year and I thinks it's way better than the Bazooka. It will be much more versatile and easier to modify and change parts out on. I spent 4 years building these and testing them and I have one that I think works well. I have most of the video shot and I'm now trying to put it all together into the video. The holidays are taking my time away from the video right now. You may also want to try building the Miller Table. They are the best tool I have found for separating the gold from the black sand.
+utahavalanch yes sir.enjoy your holiday time.i agree im also building your miller table.i just started gold prospecting for some reason i keep having a feeling that theres still gold around where i live.i live in northern california.in CORNING.i have an under flow sluice.im not liking it.i feel its too small.i also made me a sluice.its 4'x11" but i havent taken it to a river or a creek.i am very interested in that style bazooka gold trap desing.i will patiently be waiting to see what your desing will look like.by that time i will be a member of the GPAA thank you for taking your time to reply.my email address is hchavez535@gmail.com any tips and suggestions will be much apreciate it.MERRY XMAS to you and your family.
Thank you.
+Ray Dorman Thank you for watching.
Love your Miller Table video's - have ordered in some hobby mat. Also love this video. I think the Test Plug plunger is genious! For whatever reason, I'm having a hell of a time finding them up here in Canada. Just how much better do the Leather Pump Cups work compared to the PVC Test Plugs? Thanx for your time: Shawn
Hi Shawn. Thank you for watching. The Lowe's big box store down here is the one who carries the test plug I used. If you have them up there you might check with them. Amazon and Ebay also carry the Oatey test plug. I think the leather pump cup works much better than the test plug. I would really recommend it over the test plug if possible. The ones with the small hole in the center are the easiest to use. With my 1 1/2 inch unit, I just drilled a hole in the center of a PVC cap placed the cup leather over it and ran a bolt through it to bolt the pump cup to it. Then just placed the assembly on the end of the plunger rod. There is a picture of it in the video. The larger hole version takes a bit of work and trial and error to get to work. I'm still playing around with different ways with the 2 inch version to see what works best. I'll try to do a video if I come up with a good solution.
One thing, you do have to soak these in water for about 15 minutes ahead of time to allow the leather to swell up so it fills the body tube.
You can order the Leather pump cups from Ebay, Amazon or a lot of other places on the internet. Just search for cup leather or pump cup leather. The ones that have a small hole in the center are the easiest to make work. Gold and sand hand dredges has replacement cups that look good and their prices are good as well.
I have found that these are one of the handiest tools you can have and they can really be modified and used in so many ways. They let you reach into areas that otherwise would be very difficult to get into. You can use the same plunger, back cap and nozzles on different length body tubes from 2 foot to 8 foot. I now primarily use this to suck the material out from under the big rocks in the stream and run it through my mini fluid bed sluice. I end up with about 4 oz of concentrates from a 5 gallon bucket. I then swap out the sluice with the miller table and clean the gold.
Good luck on your build and If you have any other questions, just ask. Thanks for watching.
Just curious why you mixed ABS with PVC pipe? Either way, this has been the best DIY video on a hand dredge. Thanks!
Hi Krie thanks and thanks for watching. It mostly depended upon which one was available at the time I was shopping. Also some sizes like 3/4” to 1 1/4” were only available in PVC. ABS is a little cheaper in the larger sizes like for the body and some of the adapters. It’s nice that you are able to mix when one part is not available in one type.
You need a back flow preventer before your y branch. Small flap that opens when sucking and closes when pushing. Add a hose instead of a catch cup and run that hose into a sluice box. Skip the pan all together. Or a 5 gal bucket with a classifier pan top.
Hi Dwight and thanks for watching. Yippers, I tried that and I spent most of the time clearing rock jams in the flap. Plus this moves much more material at a stroke. Yep, I have 1 gallon classifier buckets with a screen on the bottom that I dump into. Much easier to carry around. 😄👍
very nice project. do you also use a return valve or not. want to make one with a seperat concentrator.
Hi Marcel and thanks for watching. I don't use the valves on these because I compared this one with one of the commercially made ones a friend of mine has and found that with the 2" super sucker nozzle, (see at 13:05 in the video) I was able to move more material in the same amount of time as he could with his. Plus I don't have to stop to clean out the rock jams in the valves like he does. I can move nearly a quart of sand with one stroke of this one. He is pretty much restricted to having to use a smaller nozzle due to the smaller size of the valves and can only move about half what I do if that. However if it comes to working small cracks and crevices with small nozzles the two units move about the same amount of material.
I usually take a 2 1/2 gallon bucket and fill it half full of water so it won't float away and put it in the river in easy reach and just dump each stroke into that. If you build or buy one of these I think you will really like it.
thanks for the how to make & demo utahavalanch
+1uptospeed Thank you for watching
Hi there
Great video and very well done!!
I’m interested in making one the same but instead of the catch tube area I’d love to add a hose to pump it directly into my sluice ! Just wondering what I’d need to do so the water would push through the hose on the down stroke if you know what I mean?.
Cheers take care
Hi Squizzy Gold Dog. Thank you. Yippers know just what you mean. The easiest thing to do is to go to Gold-N-Sand and buy the parts. You can buy the pump cups and the valves you need there. Here is a link to their site.
gold-n-sand.com/
You need two one way check valves one intake and other to hose put some 1/4 inch mesh wire cage material to keep out clogs
Great video. How about a clear collect tube? You can see if it's full
Thank you and thanks for watching. Good idea and I thought about that back when I was making these but I couldn't find a clear tube at the time. I'll have to keep my eye open for one.
Yeah that is a great idea
Great video. I was wondering if you used a 1 inch tube in the inside of your 1.5 inch hand dredge or did you use something smaller.
John Back Hi John. Thank you for watching. No I used a 3/4" tube on the 1.5 inch although a 1 inch would probably work better. It was mostly made from materials I already had. If you used a 1 inch tube and the screw on cap for the rubber plug, you could use the plunger part interchangeably on both a 1.5 and a 2 inch and just change out the rubber plug part. I eventually went with leather pump cups on both units and it turned out that the 3/4" tube was easier to fit the cup to on the 1.5 inch unit. There is just a quick shot in the video of the leather cup. They work much better although more expensive and you have to soak them in water for awhile before using.
@ 3mins and 1 sec into the video, i was wondering.
How do you know when the little 'Catch Cup' is full?
(I enjoyed the video, thanx)
Well sir, I made one. It's great! I put vaseline covering the rubber. It's way tight, and runs smooth. I swear I pulled two gallons on one stroke!
Yes, these will collect an amazing amount of material in a stroke. Great for collecting material out of rivers where a shovel won’t work.
Vaseline will make gold float.
Headed to the Black Hills soon, so I'm going to give this a shot. Think I might make one upgrade, however. I'm going to try to put a second ring a few inches from the cap on the top end (nearest the handle), as an extra support to keep the inner piston from flopping too much when it's fully extended on the back stroke. Might cost me about 4-6 inches off the overall length (or I may just have to make it 6" longer to compensate), but it seems like it might make it a bit more sturdy and less susceptible to damage. We'll see. But I love your overall design. Modular is always better.
Hi Denis. I'd like to hear how things go for you. If you saw my video on the upgrade for this by using the pump leather, that would solve the problem. The leather cup adjusts automatically and keeps a tight seal no matter what. Also you can buy longer and shorter sections of body pipe and your plunger will work in all of them. I have 2, 3 and 5 foot pieces and the plunger works in all of them. However I do have a shorter plunger that I can use with the 2 footer when I'm working crevices, but the regular plunger will still work fine. let me know how you do.
How would you convert the nozzle to incorporate pex tuning for reaching into smaller cracks.
Hi John and thanks for watching. I looked into this about a year ago before the lockdown and found all the parts to make a video on it and but I ended up sick all year and didn’t get it made. It turned out to be easier than I thought. Home Depot has adapters to convert 1/2” Pex to 3/4” PVC there are converters to connect this adapter to 2” ABS pipe. The next time I can get to HD I’ll have to look them up again.
awesome build! better than the others ive seen. so ideal cup is leather and thats 2"??
Hi City and thanks for watching. Yes the pump cups work the best. If you soak it for about 10 minutes before you use the pump, the leather will swell and fit snuggly to the side of the tube making sure you get good suction. There is a company that makes hand dredges called Gold-N-Sand and they sell the pump cups as repair parts. You can find them here. These are 2” leather cups.
gold-n-sand.com/products/leather-cups-for-x-stream-pro-hand-pump
I like the 2” diameter size better than my 1-1/2” as it gives much better suction and will take up much more material in a stroke.
Stick the wing nut to the outer end of the thing so ypu can adjust it without taking it apart. And keep a can of silicon spray to keep it slick.
Thanks for watching. I tried that originally but when you pull back on the plunger to take in material, you twist it as you do. This allows the wing nut to loosen and you lose your suction.You have to readjust the nut each time you make a stroke. That is why the locking nut. Once you adjust it to where you want it, it will stay. The better way to do it is with a leather pump washer. There isn't any adjustment needed as it automatically adjusts to fit the tube each time you take a stroke. I made a video on it that you can see here if you're interested:
ruclips.net/video/1OfEcFstPhQ/видео.html
thanks, I will give this a go
GoProspecting
Thanks for watching. If you haven't already, you may want to checkout my video on the upgrade for this using pump washers. They work much better and you can buy them on EBay and pump outlets.
I will check it out, thanks
utahavalanch would you have a parts list by chance?
Yes, there is a parts list in the description click on the "Show More". Sorry, I meant pump cup leather in my earlier reply and not pump washers. The link to that video is in the description as well.
great, thanks again
I found a Golden Nugget but don't know how to tell if it's actual gold. It is smooth and redish in the middle. Weighs a little more than a quarter oz. If add a picture but idk if it's possible
Hi Christopher. It's hard to tell without seeing it but a gold nugget will be bright and shiny like metal and will be very heavy. If it's dull looking, it's not gold. Gold will look bright and shiny in the sun and if you move it into the shade it will still look shiny. Other minerals will look dark and dull in the shade.
You can buy gold test kits on Ebay and Amazon that will allow you to test it to see if it is gold or not. That is probably the best route to go. I hope this helps somewhat. Thanks for watching.
It's probably not gold if you're questioning what you have. When you find gold you know it!
Good video! Hope you find some gold
MrLodak Thank You J. It has been getting a real workout this spring. I have been using it as my primary tool for getting new material out of the streams. Saves having to wade in that cold water. Lol. I have also been able to get into some pockets between the boulders and waterfalls that I wouldn't normally be able to get into. Very handy and versatile tool. I just adapted a leather water pump seal over to use on it instead of the rubber plug. It's much smoother. Will have to make a video on how to do. Thanks for stopping by.
How would you add a Pex tube for it to get down into smaller cracks and crevices?he nozzle
Hmmm, good question John. It used to be easy when PEX first came out and was like PVC where you glued everything. Now it's a pain. Right off, I'm thinking of using a brass PEX barb to MIP adaptor. Quick and easy to adapt the hose to PVC. but the pipe is probably what you want.
Something that is a little pricy but would work for a 3/8" adapter is this:
www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-3-8-in-O-D-x-12-in-Copper-Faucet-Riser-with-1-2-in-MIP-1-4-in-FIP-Tap-Nosepiece-in-Chrome-1-12K-C/205214658
You can screw it into a PVC FIP to slip or screw on adapter.
Something that may work for 1/4" copper pipe nozzle is this:
www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-MIP-x-1-4-in-FIP-Lead-Free-Brass-Pipe-Hex-Bushing-802639/207176802
this will screw into a PVC 1/2" MIP to 1/2" slip or screw on adapter and I think will let you use a straight 1/4" pipe. They aren't too clear on it. The metal nozzles would last longer and the wall thickness is much thinner so they would be able to get into smaller cracks and still have the larger hole in the center.
I'll have to get back to you for sure. I have to go to Home Depot this week for materials for the gold furnace I'm building so I'll do some checking and see if I can find a solution. Thanks for watching
Hi again John. Just got back from a quick trip to HD. They have a 3/4" to 1/2" PVC adapter that is threaded on the inside. It will fit a PEX 1/2" pipe quite well. You would probably have to glue the PEX pipe inside the adapter.
They also have a brass male iron pipe or MIP to 1/2" adapter. you can screw the 3/4" MIP threaded end into a 3/4" PVC threaded connector to connect it to a piece of 3/4" pipe. The 1/2" end has a nozzle coming out of it that will fit into a 1/2" PEX pipe. I'm thinking that you might be able to drill out the inside of a piece of 1/2" PEX pipe to fit a length of 1/4" PEX to make a 1/4" crevice sucker. I hope some of this will be of help.
I need a list
Hi Utahavalanch.....I built one of your 2" hand dredges and gave it a try down at the local crick...I could not get it to pick up any material,so I tightened the plug and still nothing..any tighter and I am not able to move it..any ideas as to why it won't pick...should I have soaked the inside of the 2" black pipe first???
Hi Gregory, A couple of questions if I may. First, will it suck up water? And the second is what kind of nozzle do you have on it?
Hey.thanks for getting back..it really wouldn't even suck much water up..I had a reducer on it down to 1"..I'm wondering if the inside of the 2" black pipe may be too rough?..would spray silicone on the plug allow me to expand it tighter?
A couple of things that could cause the problem.The inside of the pipe must be smooth. If it's rough the rubber won't be able to seal off the tube. You may have to drill a 1/4" hole in the tube just under the cap to let the air out as you pull the plunger up. Silicone spray may help. If you go to 13:04 in the video and try that 45 degree nozzle, you should be able to suck in about a quart of water and material. See if any of this helps.
You also have a small sapphire in the pan, not only the trout. Did you miss it?
Gus Castel
Hi Gus. Yippers, I did. I was so surprised at catching the trout I didn't notice anything else. :-D I think I dumped most of the pan trying to get the fish back in the water. I'm going back up again next summer to see if I can catch him again. Should be a better size by now. Lol. Thanks for watching.
What is the reason for using the black abs for the main part of dredge ?
Hi Braden. Actually it was all they had in stock when I went in to buy it. LOL. But other than that, the black is lighter in weight and less expensive and some of the "Y's" and such are only easily found in the black. If you add a lot of attachments, you will probably end up with a mix of both like I have. These are like an adult leggos set. I spend hours sitting in the aisle trying out different ideas. I have a 2', 5, and 8' body for mine for different conditions. 2' is great for crevicing and potholes in the road when it rains. 8' for getting down into a deep waterfall pool.
The reason I asked is because I built one with all pvc and the inside of the 2 in seams to be a little inconsistent on the inside so it pulls harder on the first couple feet and less drag at the end so I didnt know if the black pipe was better for that
To tell the truth I have never tried the PVC pipe. But a couple of things come to mind, if you use a regular nut or wingnut on the plumbers plug to adjust the fit in the pipe, every time you pull back on the plunger you twist the shaft which will loosen it and make the fit looser as you pull up and then you will have to re-tighten the nut again before you make another stroke. That is why the lock nut is very important. It will not let your twisting loosen things up. If you are using the lock nut, you may want to try the black pipe. Lowe's carries it in 5 foot lengths and is a little cheaper than the 8 foot. Be sure the inside is nice and smooth and not rough.
The ideal thing to use is a pump cup leather like in my upgrade video on this. It will automatically adjust to fit the pipe when you pull up on the shaft and it also makes a very smooth pumping action because there is very little drag. You can buy these on Ebay or at a lot of plumbing shops and they are really worth the money. Do a search for 2" pump cup leather.
@@utahavalanch is this what you're referring to? www.ebay.com/itm/PUMP-CUP-LEATHER-2X1-1-4/163294762012?epid=1100757238&hash=item260520541c:g:yv0AAOSwl1pbtbHn:rk:26:pf:0
there are so many sizes--- only just a few that say 2x?.... some are full cups and some look like donuts. The full bottom ones are kind of pricey at $34 each.
SO IF WE get this... just put a 1.75" washer on each side?? or what?
Im not in the best health, Ive just had both hips replaced. Ive bought dirt from ebay and I can pan it in my chair at home. I dont have the strength to go out and dig and pan, but I was thinking I could try to stop at some local creeks and suck a lil material to pan at home. I live in SC on the border of NC and Im told that gold can be found in this area. My question is; what size do you think I should build? How long? How long should the collection cup be and still be effective? Could you make the collection cup wider than the same size pipe? Do you think I could JB weld or epoxy some chicken wire at the mouth or opening where the split off is to the collection cup to prevent anything larger from going inside the collection cup? and last would you make a list of parts and size that I can print out and take it to the hardware store with me? I dont know much/anything about plumbing parts/names. I was hoping to show the list to a employee so he can help me find the right parts. If you dont have time to I will understand. If you would, just reply so I know you have seen my comment. Thanks for taking the time to read!
mark oshields Hi Mark, Thanks for watching. I can relate to your situation very well. I have several handicaps that put me in a very similar situation and these units are how I have to gather my material from streams now. They are especially handy in winter when a little bit of the stream is not frozen. You can reach out and still get material from the bank.
You live in a gold area and I think you should have very little trouble gathering a bucket or two of material in a short time. I really like the 2 inch version the best as it will move quite a bit of material with each stroke. If you look at the video starting at the 13:04 time mark, you will see the tube with a 45 degree elbow and a short piece of tube. This is what many refer to as a “Super Sucker Nozzle”. You place the tip of that in the sand and pull back on the plunger and as you reach the end of the stroke then rotate the tube so the end points up so the material doesn’t fall out. Takes a little practice to get the hang of. Then move it to your bucket and rotate the tip down into the bucket and push the handle back down to empty. I show a short segment there on how to do it. You can move about a quart of material per stroke with this. You can also do a RUclips search for Super Sucker and find other videos on folks using it in the super sucker mode.
If you use it with the collection cup accessories, you can make the collection cup larger than the pipe if you wish. Some folks even adapt a mayo type jar to collect the material. Or you can put an adapter on and use a section of 3 or 4 inch pipe to collect into. You can make the collection pipe as long as you want and it will work fine. Once you get the basic tube and pump built you can experiment to your heart’s content.
I have found that placing wire mesh over the mouth does cut down on the size of the material going in but the larger rocks also get sucked up and block some of the holes and thus cut down on the amount of material that can go in. I have found that using the “Super Sucker” nozzle without a screen and then dumping into a 5 gallon bucket with a 1/8” classifier sitting on top works the best for me. I then classify that down through a 20 mesh screen to run through my mini sluice.
If you make the inside shaft with the screw on tip for the rubber plug like in the video, you can make all different lengths of tubes and use the same parts. You can just unscrew the rubber plug off the end and screw it onto a different length shaft. My standard tube length is 36”. If I wish to extend that to 5 feet I just buy a 5 foot outer tube. You just swap the inside shaft and cap with the longer body. It will fit just fine. You can also do the same with shorter sections of outer tubing but the shaft will stick out of the cap farther. I also have a 2 foot tube and inner shaft and just swap out the rubber plug tip, handle and cap. Great for if you are on your knees cleaning crevices. I have 3 different length tubes for different situations. Once you get the basic tube and plunger assembly built you can make a great number of different accessories for it. Just like a big leggos set, only in pipe. As you can see in the video I have made quite a few for mine.
If you want to cut down on the amount of panning you have to do, you might want to check out my mini recirculating sluice. This is simple to build and only requires 4 pieces of wood and a special mat. I use the Martin Gold Stop Mat that you can buy on Ebay. I bought the 6 x 24 piece of mat they sell and made this in the 6 in width by 18 inches long. It will take a 5 gallon bucket of material and leave you with only about 1 1/2 oz. of cons to pan out.
You can find the video on it at:
ruclips.net/video/M3mL2wAOY7c/видео.html
I have now included the parts list in the description on the video for you and I hope that will work. If not or if you have more questions, please let me know. Good Luck and happy panning.
utahavalanch Thanks very much!!! As far as mini sluice, I have one already I forget the name but its abs with a steel flange mouth, it has 2 areas with blue miners moss and premolded riffles. It works great! Before I would use a garden hose and let the dirt and rocks wash off into the garden. I do think I might make a recirculating setup but what to do with it once I run 25lbs thru it, I wont be able to lift it with all the water and dirt in it. I suppose I could put a valve on to let the water out but 25lbs of now wet dirt will be really heavy do you have any ideas?
mark oshields I was in the same boat you are and I used to use the 10 gallon tote in the video. when it was full of water and had a gallon of dirt in the catch container, it weighted around 100 lbs. Recently after 2 more heart surgeries I can’t lift it either.
My solution was to build a PVC frame work that all my sluices and miller tables would fit on and it breaks down into a small package for traveling. I then bought a 2 gallon plastic tote that would fit under the end of it. I bought a 1 gallon plastic box to go inside of it to catch the tailings. I have a 500 GPH pump to move the water. This gives me a 3 gallon recirculating system that is very light and portable. I can only do 1 gallon at a time before I have to dump the tailings box (3 to 5 lbs) but it is something I can handle easily. It’s handy because I can set it up on the end gate of my truck or on a picnic table, and even the bank of a stream. When we go camping in the desert it is very easy on the water supply. When I need to change or dump the water and I don’t feel up to lifting it, I can just fire up the pump and pump it back into the 5 gallon water jug if in the desert or just on the ground. It’s also handy around home as we are in a drought and have to pay pretty high prices for water.
We have very few streams here we can run a sluice in and so most of the material I collect is in 2 1/2 gallon buckets. I screen that down to minus 8 mesh in the field and then screen it down to minus 20 when I get home. I usually get 1 gallon of material to run through the sluice so it works out well.
I have a new video to post here shortly on my new larger Vortex mat sluice I built out of a 2x4. Yea, had a wild hair. :-)
Any way I have it running on that set up and maybe you can get some ideas for your own set up.
utahavalanch good ill take a look at it im going to start picking up some of the parts to make the hand dredge..im so poor and ssi has not even sent me my 1st check yet and they said they will be deducting 300 from the 710 they give because I live in my fathers trailer and will include further deductions as well...I will be lucky to have 200 a month
What could be really nice is if you created a PDF file with the list of components + assembly instructions, and linked it in the video description. (You could even create an ad-link, and generate a little income from your wonderful idea) OR create a patreon account, with a donation unlocking the .PDF file. I would happily donate $5 to access the product of your time and experience.)
I can do this myself by following along the video, but it would be really handy for folks to just print off the PDF and take it straight down to the hardware store.
Holy_Hand_Grenade-of-Antioch
Hi Holy, thanks for watching. If you will check in the description you will find a parts list that you can print off and take with you. Also check my video on the upgrade for it. The pump leather cup is well worth picking up. You can get one on EBay. All of the equipment in my videos are things I have built and continue to use almost daily and I thought others would be interested in them as well as they work well and are inexpensive to build. I'd rather use these than my commercial equipment that I've bought.
@ 7 mins.....makin' that part is tricky!
ahhh, i just got an 'AD' to buy one for $4.49 :) lol.....
about how much does it cost to build?
+Ghost Watts Hi Ghost. Thanks for watching. The parts for the basic 2 inch body tube, 1 inch plunger, handle and 2 inch test plug from Lowes or Home Depot in my area came to about $23.00 using the ABS Black body pipe and about $19.21 with the White body pipe. Pricing may vary in your area. I buy the 2" x 5' tubes from Lowes and cut them down to about 3' long. You can leave them the full 5' if you want longer reach. Or you can cut the 5' pipe in a 3' piece and you will have a 2' piece you can use if you need to get on your knees. With the test plug that screws off and on you can change it out between the 2 and 3 foot body tubes very easily and use the same one for both. You can also use the handle for both and just make a shorter plunger tube for the 2 foot tube.
If you use just the Super Sucker 45 degree nozzle then that will be an additional: $1.45 for the black elbow and $1.98 for the white elbow. If you want to make small sniping attachments then that will depend on how you build it. You can spend hours putting things together and making different attachments. Like a big Lego set. :-)
I hope this helps
Great design! That works better than most pro stuff! Will you be my friend!?
Hi Shanon, thank you and thanks for watching. Yes,I find that it is very comparable to the commercial units.
What was the cost for this thing?
Hi Montana and thanks for watching. It varies greatly by where you buy your parts. I bought mine at Lowes because they sell the 2 inch pipe and 3/4 inch pipe in 5 foot sections which is much cheaper than having to buy 10 foot pieces. The basic pipe and cap and the pump shaft, and handle along with the super sucker nozzle which is a 45 degree elbow came to about $20.00. There are a quite a number of attachments you can make for it which cost around $2 - 7.00 each. If you watch my upgrade video on this, it shows how to use a leather pump cup instead of the rubber plug. You can buy 2 - 2inch pump cups from Gold-n-sands for about $20.00 and they are made just for this. They also sell valves if you want to make one of their units.
@@utahavalanch Great, thank you!
I went to Lowes and got all the parts but the 1 5/16" hole saw or bit and they only had 1 that was 1 5/16" and it was a hole saw without the arbor for 15 dollars and who knows how much more the arbor would cost me. Are you sure that is the right size the 1 5/16? or will any other size work? Also the list you made above includes a catch cup set up or do I need more parts to make that? So far I have all the parts on the list but a way to drill the hole
mark oshields I usually use what they call a forstner bit to drill the hole. This is a large circular bit that you can usually buy at the hardware stores. I bought mine on Amazon. 1 5/16" is the right size. You can also use a 1 1/4". The hole will be just a little too large but it will work. When you pull back on the handle the air in the top of the tube needs some way to get out and the extra room around the 1 1/4" hole will allow that air to move out.
NOTE: Be sure to put the cap securely in a vise when you drill because if the bit hangs up for some reason it can cause a fair amount of damage. Also don't apply much downward pressure when drilling to help prevent a hang up. Just take it slow and easy. You can also draw the size hole you need on the cap and use a small coping saw to cut it out and smooth things out with a file. Here again be very careful and use some gloves.
I only included the parts to make the Super Sucker nozzle which is the cheapest and simplest and allow you to gather the most amount of material in a stroke. With it you pull the plunger and suck the material up into the main body tube and you turn the tube so the nozzle is up so the material doesn’t fall out. Then you place the nozzle in your bucket and push the plunger to empty.
If you wish to have a catch cup it will require a few more parts. As you can see in the video there are dozens of different combinations you can do. It would be very hard to try to cover even a few here.
A simple one would be:
1 ea. 2 “ ABS Tee - This will fit on the end of the main body tube.
1 ea. 2” ABS Cap - This will fit on the bottom of the catch cup tube.
1 ea. 2” ABS pipe however long you want for the catch cup. 3 to 6 inches long. This will go into the part of the tube
that faces down when the Tee is mounted on the end of the body tube. The cap will go onto the end of it.
1 ea. 2" ABS pipe 6 to 12' long for a nozzle.
If you want smaller nozzles on the end like at the end of the video then you will have to buy the adapters to adapt the smaller pipe to the end of the Tee.
Example:
2” to 1 1/2” adaptor to make a 1 1/2” dia. nozzle. You will have to buy a piece of 1 1/2” piece of pipe to make the nozzle. Home Depot sells 2 foot pieces of pipe.
2” to 1” adaptor for a 1” dia. nozzle. You will also have to buy a piece of 1” pipe for the nozzle.
2” to 3/4” adaptor for a 3/4” dia. nozzle. You will also have to buy the 3/4” pipe for the nozzle.
There are a number of different adapters and different ways to adapt smaller pipe to fit into a larger one. You can spend a few hours sitting in the isle of the store making up different combinations.
I hope this helps and is not too confusing.
utahavalanch Great! finding a 1 1/4" is easy and a whole lot cheaper!
Ok lets go to school I am watching you , and I can save you about 20 bucks if you are will to take a chance , get your self some cutting board material about 3/8th to 1/2 thick use your 2" hole cutter then get your center mark and drill it out , you will need some leather 12 to 15 oz utility leather you can get it good price from wicket & craig veg tanned make 2 disks 2" toss then in warm linseed oil after you drill your center hole shove a bolt in the holes same dia let soak 24 hours place one leather disk between the two plastic cutting board disks and then one leather disk in front , use a 1.75 flat washer and suck them up tight . That piston will last you years longer than the Pvc shaft will . and on a 50 or 60 dollar investment for cutting board and 12 to 15 oz utility leather the nice thing about boiled linseed oil is it dries warm up the linseed oil to 150 F you can add mineral sprits to it as well once 150F put your disks in and the leather will suck in the oil once cold remove and hang to dry takes about 24 hours when you after drying 15 to 20 sets it make things move a lot easier for production with a one man shop . , and the mix on that oil and sprits is about 2 to 1 mix 2 sprits to one linseed oil you can use lacquer thinner and do it 1 to 1 to 1 ,
Overly complicated! "Been working on it for a year and still Not there.
You don't need to buy two test plugs, cut down the outer ring of the larger one to match the smaller.
Also, place the nut on the other / outside of the test plug so you can access / adjust it later. And most don't use a 1" plunger tube, 1/2" inside 2" is most commonly used.
Yippers, that’s what’s nice about these, you can build them any way you want as they are very versatile.
What I have here is what worked best for me and still is. I now use the water pump leather as it doesn’t wear out and it expands to fill and seal the tube. That’s why they use them in water pumps. To create the best suction and last forever.
I spent a year and a half building and testing over a dozen different designs. I used 1/2”, 3/4” and 1” tubing in pvc, steel and aluminum for the shaft. I’ve used every plumbing plug on the market, rubber washers, silicone, spray foam, rubber balls, tennis balls, duct tape, pool noodles, plastic bags and I still like the water pump leather the best.
Using the pump leather I can build one of these in about 15 minutes as there is not much to them. I have them in 1, 4, 5 and 8 foot lengths. I originally built a set in 1-1/2” pipe and then the 2” pipe. I only use the 2” now as it gives me the most suction and I just have to buy 1 set of attachments for the 4 tubes.
Yep, these are very handy tools to have.
L
Robert Prado
Hi Robert. Thanks for watching.
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