Hi guys I recently aquired this home made 4 inch dredge and hose with venturi type nozzle from a guy who made it years ago with no experience but he never used it so he asked if I wanted it for a couple boxes of booze so I thought why not .
After having a quick look at it I realize the whole riffle system is no good being aluminum angle so I’m guna have a go at making my own out of steel, but I’m not 100% on the design of it .so would one or two of you have a bit of advice on a relatively simple set up ? Also I realize there is no flare at the inlet so is this going to be a re do ? I’m guessing yes ? The width of the tray is 400mm and length to the rubber flap is 1m
Thanks for any advice
Josh
1 Like
I recently aquired a dredge in much the same way as you did. I had to rebuild the riffle system so I just got an engineer to fold me some lengths of flat bar into the same shape as the riffles out of a Keene dredge (I took a set along to him so he could copy them). Then I just cut and welded them together myself. So far so good. Seen to be catching well. Also running a section of raised expanded mesh in the first section of the box
1 Like
Just run it , see how it go,s , you mite find those alloy riffles last longer than you think , you could turn that into a crash box pretty easy instead of a flare . Good luck .
1 Like
I am not an expert, so my opinions may not be right 8-). But I do have a few years experience now with my own 4 inch and I’ve seen a few home made systems and talked to a few people who have home made dredges.
imao - I just wouldn’t use a home made box or flare for a dredge, even a free one, unless the person who made it really knew what they were doing. There are a few people who do, (less than believe they are) and possibly not the person who made that one.
Your frame, floats, etc. can be always be home made, but the box and flare and even pump, I’d invest in a brand ones from a company who have done the testing and you know are reliable like proline or keene.
My reasoning is that its a lot of cost and hard work to get a dredge to where you need it on your claim, and a lot of work to run it, and if its not made right you’ll have low recovery which is not fun after all the work and cost. I’d rather pay the $ and something that I know works as I’d rather spend my time under water than above it fixing problems.
Looking at your purchase, even for a couple of cases of beer - you still have to think carefully if its possible to redeem. I guess if you are just having a bit of fun, and not so worried about recovery, try it and see what happens.
If you are going to invest time and energy, then maybe keep the frame and floats and look to replace the flare and box. Also I reckon you need a much longer damper. It looks like there is one now but it looks very short? This is actually a very important part of the system and often ignored in home built systems forcing the water down and the material over the riffles. If you buy a flare it should come with a proper damper, but if you buy a flare it’ll likely be designed for a brand box which will help. And it starts to get more expensive.
Good luck and stay safe!
2 Likes
I’d suggest that this will probably work OK. Especially the expanded mesh will catch all the fine gold. The riffles should still trap the odd nugget. It’s certainly not the best set up but we all have a to operate within our budgets.
1 Like
Doesn’t look like you can slide the box along the floats? If it sits front-heavy in the water you could attach a small bucket with a length of rope to catch the current behind it and get it to sit down. Have seen this done with suitcase dredges to stop them from bucking back and forwards
1 Like
I am with Elliot. If just to muck around, try it and spend countless hours in the garage … maybe you like that sort of thing. Otherwise if you are serious; buy a new dredge with spare belts etc. Even a 4 inch Keene mini (with compressor) will pay for itself quickly if you work hard and have some reasonable gold on your claim. Good luck.
2 Likes
I’d chuck punch plate in the 1st third, then woven mesh in the mid 3rd. See how it goes.
2 Likes
Thanks guys . I think I knew all along that atleast @ElliotS coment was the truth before I even asked, but hoped I might have been on a winner lol.
I appreciate everyone’s comments big time and think I just need to stop being a little bitch and going all in like I know I should have in the first place .
On a side note I’d like to just send a bit of appreciation to all the others that have commented on all my other posts . I’m a cheap ass and also opportunist who thinks I’ve got a winner whenever I come across something “cheap” . But I guess now I realize that it’s cheap for a reason .
1 Like