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Gold and Sand hand dredge...

Bikerman		Posted : Tuesday, 18 January 2011 6:15:11 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Arrived at last, needed some minor assembly, filled a bucket with water to try it out and was not impressed at all....OK...READ the instructions (rescued from the bin as per yer average kiwi bloke)and find that the leather washers on the plunger need a bit of pre-treatment with hot water and soap to remove the wax the leather has been treated with...re-asasembled. Wow what a difference THAT made, man that fair shifts some water...cant wait to try it out in the river now lol Maybe this arvo.....

roman holiday		Posted : Tuesday, 18 January 2011 8:31:21 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		Thanks for the heads up Bikerman. I'll be testing mine out in a few weeks time... and will make sure to read those thar instructions. I'll be starting out in the Coromandel area, before heading down South for the end of the summer.

criticol		Posted : Tuesday, 18 January 2011 1:22:13 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/05/2010(UTC) Posts: 234 Location: coromandel Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 66 time(s) in 48 post(s)		Yo, Roman. With all this gear your buying up, you'll never cart it all into the bush. : ) Regards--- Colin.
		WWW

roman holiday		Posted : Tuesday, 18 January 2011 2:17:40 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		criticol wrote: Yo, Roman. With all this gear your buying up, you'll never cart it all into the bush. : ) Regards--- Colin. lol... carting a backpack into the bush is central to my plans. I bought the California/ plastic sluice "box" due to its relatively small size and light weight... it's basically just a two-dimensional sheet with riffles in it to process material. I guess the next thing I'll be looking for is a good backpack, some decent waders to keep the feet/legs dry... and of course a gold pan.

Bikerman		Posted : Tuesday, 18 January 2011 3:11:25 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Well I went down to the river and gave it a good tryout, had a couple of blockages with the big nozzle, but once I switched to the sniping nozzle all was good..well pleased and it will be a good addition to the arsenal...

kiwijw		Posted : Wednesday, 19 January 2011 10:33:56 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		G'day Bikerman, What is the biggest bit of material this thing will suck up? I have a sucker I have made that will suck up a 48mm diameter stone with no problems & no blockages. I would rather it was a 48mm nugget......maybe one day LOL :). I like the idea of being able to suck up & discharge directly in to a sluice box. Happy hunting JW :)

Bikerman		Posted : Wednesday, 19 January 2011 2:44:04 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		1 1/2" I think the valve is mate....the blockages were not in the pump itself, but where the flexy tube fits on the fitting on the bucket lid....I think it would easily feed a small sluice

kiwijw		Posted : Thursday, 20 January 2011 12:15:35 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Thanks bikerman. I am looking at making my own version of a similar type pump that I can suck up material off bed rock & discarge dirctly into a sluice box. Nice & quiet but hopefully very efficient at doing the job. No more of this pre classifying & then slowly feeding through the box but just suck & dump straight into the box. NO DOWN TIME in the process. I wouldnt be using it for just sucking up sands & gravels as you could shovel this a lot quicker. But once on the bed rock you got to suck the material up as there is no way you can the goddies that are in those cracks & crevices. You need suction. Happy hunting JW :)

roman holiday		Posted : Thursday, 20 January 2011 12:30:29 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		kiwijw wrote: Thanks bikerman. I am looking at making my own version of a similar type pump that I can suck up material off bed rock & discarge dirctly into a sluice box. Nice & quiet but hopefully very efficient at doing the job. No more of this pre classifying & then slowly feeding through the box but just suck & dump straight into the box. NO DOWN TIME in the process. I wouldnt be using it for just sucking up sands & gravels as you could shovel this a lot quicker. But once on the bed rock you got to suck the material up as there is no way you can the goddies that are in those cracks & crevices. You need suction. Happy hunting JW :) That's an interesting point. Thus far my backpacking equipment consists of; the 'gold-n-sand' hand dredge, a shovel... and the stream sluice "box". Check out this little beauty.... a good size [10" X 39"]... for processing material directly from shovel or pump.... and only weighs a kilo. http://www.goldminingnz.com/equipment.html As Bikerman suggested, an extension for the pump would be good in order to bypass the bucket/ feeding stage. Edited by user Thursday, 20 January 2011 12:34:25 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

roman holiday		Posted : Thursday, 20 January 2011 12:33:30 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		double post Edited by user Thursday, 20 January 2011 12:34:59 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Bikerman		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 1:12:50 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Need to make up some sort of s/s clip-on for the pump so you can stand on it while keeping the pumpoff the bottom of the river or where-ever you are pumping the water roman....plus it would make it a one-hand affair while feeding a sluice

roman holiday		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:04:11 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		Bikerman wrote: Need to make up some sort of s/s clip-on for the pump so you can stand on it while keeping the pumpoff the bottom of the river or where-ever you are pumping the water roman....plus it would make it a one-hand affair while feeding a sluice Good point Bikerman.... it looks like you need to free a hand up somewhere. The other thing I was thinking of was to set up some kind of clamp to your sluice, where the material gets fed... and then fix the pipe from the pump to that with a large O ring or something. That way you wouldn't have to manage that end so much either. I like the idea of just shovelling as much material as I can over the largish plastic sluice box.... then go around with the pump on the lower stuff/ crevasses etc. Edited by user Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:06:33 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Bikerman		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:14:46 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Another thing I take with me, is a piece of boat carpet, 6" wide by 20" long, ribs crossways.....very handy to have in your pack. The otherday I was getting just fine gold and it was taking awhile panning it so this is what I did. Took my carpet and laid it on a big rock on an angle near the river edge, poked some stones under the sides to give it a channel....After classifying I troweled that in small amounts onto the carpet topend and just scooped water out of the river and dribbled it onto it....got heaps of fine gold when I washed out the carpet in my pan

roman holiday		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:21:35 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		Cool, will remember that trick with the boat carpet. I haven't tried out my plastic sluice box yet [will be hitting the streams in a few weeks time]. It will be interesting to see how fine a gold it picks up. At this stage, I'm not sure whether I'll even bother buying a pan.... it will depend on how this sluice box works out, and how easy it is to set up. Edited by user Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:22:58 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Bikerman		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:29:46 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Light-weight 12V batteries are the main thing I'm looking for at the mo, my next 'major' purchase is that small high-banker....I'm miles away from my car, got a heavy pack as it is now lol

roman holiday		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:40:52 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		Bikerman wrote: Light-weight 12V batteries are the main thing I'm looking for at the mo, my next 'major' purchase is that small high-banker....I'm miles away from my car, got a heavy pack as it is now lol What happened to your bike? lol So you're tramping in the wops at night? I suppose you're using 3G or something for internet coverage?

Bikerman		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:45:06 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Na lol....when out and about....

mintcar		Posted : Sunday, 23 January 2011 3:19:37 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 30/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 32 Location: nelson Thanks: 102 times Was thanked: 7 time(s) in 7 post(s)		roman holiday wrote: Cool, will remember that trick with the boat carpet. I haven't tried out my plastic sluice box yet [will be hitting the streams in a few weeks time]. It will be interesting to see how fine a gold it picks up. At this stage, I'm not sure whether I'll even bother buying a pan.... it will depend on how this sluice box works out, and how easy it is to set up. Hi Roman Holiday you will need a pan to recover most gold even a small one is ok mintcar

roman holiday		Posted : Sunday, 23 January 2011 5:42:54 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 26/04/2010(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Tauranga Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 8 time(s) in 7 post(s)		mintcar wrote: roman holiday wrote: Cool, will remember that trick with the boat carpet. I haven't tried out my plastic sluice box yet [will be hitting the streams in a few weeks time]. It will be interesting to see how fine a gold it picks up. At this stage, I'm not sure whether I'll even bother buying a pan.... it will depend on how this sluice box works out, and how easy it is to set up. Hi Roman Holiday you will need a pan to recover most gold even a small one is ok mintcar OK, a small one it shall be.

kiwijw		Posted : Sunday, 23 January 2011 7:46:47 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Yes.....You deffinatly need a gold pan. No matter what recovery devise you use you still have to pan out the concentrates to be left with just gold. How else were you going to do it?? JW :)

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