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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 16, 2013 10:40:19 GMT -5
After trying four different video editing programs, I finally found one I could work with with. This video is just under six minutes long. Watch some of it, or all of it, it's up to you. (Sorry for the quick movements in some sections, I'll do better the next time  . See what I mean fossilman? I do it, too!) This is the first test run of the home-made highbanker. @wampidy, it uses a "dirty water" sump pump from Harbor Freight. The material we were runnning was collected at one of our prospecting club's claims, which is about 50 miles east of us. We brought home about five or six buckets worth. I've seen a couple of pans from others working this area, and there is some gold to be found here. Unfortunately, it's mostly flour. bushmanbilly , I tried dropped some shot in the pan, no problem at all recovering them. There's just no bits of gold that size to be found here. I am getting more proficient at panning. There are several variables that can be changed, depending on conditions. In the first part of the video, the lower sluice box was at a steeper angle. After turning off the pump partway through the run, we lowered the angle of it. Compare the flow over the riffles. The volume of the sump pump can also be adjusted. All in all, I think it worked pretty good! Here's a link to the video: Highbanker videoThanks for looking! |
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bushmanbilly
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2008
Posts: 4,719 
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Post by bushmanbilly on Aug 16, 2013 12:08:12 GMT -5
Real nice setup. I really like the inserts above the punch plate. I think I will have to add them to mine.
Thanks for posting.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2013 15:35:13 GMT -5
Really sweet setup. I especially like the drilled PVC and the pins for adjusting things. Way cool and I AM IMPRESSED. Good luck. I hope you find buckets full of gold instead of dirt.
(whispering) You might want to suggest to your husband to move the bucket of dirt closer to the sluice.
Jim
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 16, 2013 17:08:27 GMT -5
Thanks, Jim, glad you like it. It seems to do the job, now we just have to find some pay dirt.
(whispering) Okay, Jim, I'll tell him!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2013 19:58:59 GMT -5
is that AC/DC playing in the background?
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 16, 2013 20:26:30 GMT -5
Yes, AC/DC - Back in Black, Jackson Browne - Red Neck Friend, Cream - Crossroads. There was a Moody Blues song, guess it got cut out. It's a playlist on my iPod, that I play through the old amplifier. Can't work without some tunes!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2013 0:16:52 GMT -5
Yes, AC/DC - Back in Black, Jackson Browne - Red Neck Friend, Cream - Crossroads. There was a Moody Blues song, guess it got cut out. It's a playlist on my iPod, that I play through the old amplifier. Can't work without some tunes! HA!! Awesome! |
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 18, 2013 10:09:05 GMT -5
I am new to high bankers. But I got a little 2.5HP Keene dredge and understand how heavy stuff falls out of the flow and lands in that carpet. Is that little sump pump recirculating that much water?  I guess so. Must bring auto batteries w/ya. I converted this tiny dredge into an artifact dredge like the 3 incher below. But I have to use it on private property. Florida will lock you up if they catch you in public water. When the water flies off the end of the trough the heavy stuff drops out of the flow and lands in the basket. It will suck about 2-3 yards of sand per hour if it does not have much organic matter, snakes, or sticks mixed w/it. The little 2.5HP Honda engine is driving a hard to prime but high pressure pump to drive the venturi and 3 inch suction hose. The engine/pump can be removed an fits in my tiny kayak for other stuff. Sorry to interfere w/the high banker. But this type of activity is too fun. Love that machine  |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 18, 2013 11:45:37 GMT -5
Great songs, can I be "Red Neck Friend" ?
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 18, 2013 15:50:43 GMT -5
Great songs, can I be "Red Neck Friend" ? James, I thought you'd never ask! You can most certainly be my red neck friend! The recirculating pump is a 1HP 110 volt sump pump. It is rated at 2910 GPH maximum discharge flow. It has plenty of volume, we have to restrict it a little. The plan is to run 110v when home (or plug into trailer when generator is running, or run another generator), and to get the 12volt pump from West Marine (that Geoff was talking about recently) and run it on jumper battery box. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2013 16:05:13 GMT -5
I love that machine you made. But it seems to have a small leak. Just kiddin'. I really do like it. Have you recovered any gold yet?
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 18, 2013 17:58:41 GMT -5
3000 gph is 50 gallons per minute or almost one gallon per second. That is a lot of water. I could see the speed going to fast to drop the heavy goodies in the catcher slots and carpet. That looks like so much fun. I guess you go shopping for gold with it. I wonder if you can catch garnets and denser gems. Looks like you guys built a lot of that one by hand.
With that dredge I can lift solids off bedrock with 4-5 feet of sand laying on it in a creek.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 18, 2013 20:07:23 GMT -5
@shotgunner - just a few teeny tiny specks so for. But we've only actually ran it the one time to get it dialed in. Will be picking up some different stuff for carpeting in it next week. jamesp - yes it pumps a LOT of water! That's why it needed to have a ball valve put on it to control the flow. Should not have that problem with excess water with the 12v pump. James, I think the use of dredges has been outlawed in the entire state. They claim the discharged dirt is mucking up the streams, ruining breeding gravels for trout, etc. I can see where that dredge could come in handy. |
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 18, 2013 20:30:16 GMT -5
They do stir up a mess. In and around Dahlonega Ga where the gold is they are allowed in rocky creeks (at least a few years ago anyway).
Looks like a lot of fun. I was surprised to see that flow in your banker. I have a high performance(glass plate technology) 12volt sealed battery that is 1/2 car battery sized that I use as a snorkeling anchor in flowing water. The rope that I hold to is actually a 10 gauge extension cord. It powers a submersible like that one so I can move sand off solids like coral and arrowheads and bottles. Or I hook a airplane light if trees are blocking sun and it is dark. Sometimes I swim up under the bank like 6-8 feet where tree roots are hanging down and it is dark. That gives me full blown goose bumps but I do it anyway. That is the scariest place I go. I am not bragging about being brave. I just have a strong desire to find stuff. I have about quit doing that crap.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 18, 2013 20:53:44 GMT -5
James, you are much braver than me! Going under a bank overgrown with roots and such would give me the willies. It freaks me out when I see those people on TV noodling catfish.
I like to investigate and find things, but I have a strong sense of self-preservation that comes first!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Aug 18, 2013 21:16:10 GMT -5
I am jelly ous of your open ground w/great exposure. Gotta be creative out here.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 18, 2013 22:47:24 GMT -5
The grass is always greener, James. All those woods could make a person claustrophobic. Definitely love my open spaces!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723
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Post by Fossilman on Aug 19, 2013 10:50:05 GMT -5
After trying four different video editing programs, I finally found one I could work with with. This video is just under six minutes long. Watch some of it, or all of it, it's up to you. (Sorry for the quick movements in some sections, I'll do better the next time . See what I mean fossilman? I do it, too!) This is the first test run of the home-made highbanker. @wampidy, it uses a "dirty water" sump pump from Harbor Freight. The material we were runnning was collected at one of our prospecting club's claims, which is about 50 miles east of us. We brought home about five or six buckets worth. I've seen a couple of pans from others working this area, and there is some gold to be found here. Unfortunately, it's mostly flour. bushmanbilly , I tried dropped some shot in the pan, no problem at all recovering them. There's just no bits of gold that size to be found here. I am getting more proficient at panning. There are several variables that can be changed, depending on conditions. In the first part of the video, the lower sluice box was at a steeper angle. After turning off the pump partway through the run, we lowered the angle of it. Compare the flow over the riffles. The volume of the sump pump can also be adjusted. All in all, I think it worked pretty good! Here's a link to the video: Highbanker videoThanks for looking! Now thats "Down town" cool girl!!!! Looks like an easy setup and making of a cool piece of equipment....I like it! Now the question,did you and your husband do any good on the gravel run? Great music by the way.... |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723
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Post by Fossilman on Aug 19, 2013 10:54:39 GMT -5
The grass is always greener, James. All those woods could make a person claustrophobic. Definitely love my open spaces! I guess I like em both,spent half my life living on the prairies in North Dakota,and the other half in Montana in the mountains....My choice now,is in the mountains,trees and all...LOL |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 19, 2013 18:00:51 GMT -5
Thanks , Mike. It came out a lot better than I had thought it was going to. It does seem to get the job done. And a word of warning to anyone with a weak bladder, or who drinks excessive amounts of coffee - use the bathroom first, LOL! The sound of the flowing water is almost hypnotic. Your own personal rushing stream right in your backyard.
No, we have yet to recover more than just a half dozen tiny grains of gold. Certainly not worth the amount of effort put into looking for it, so far. But, like they say, if gold were easy to find, everybody would find it (or something like that)!
Thanks for the comment on the music. Just pretty much classic rock on my iTunes collection.
If I had my druthers, I'd prefer to be out "in the desert tonight, With a billion stars all around" Peaceful Easy Feeling (The Eagles or Jackson Browne, like them both.) Love the wide open sky thing...
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. See what I mean fossilman? I do it, too!)
I guess so. Must bring auto batteries w/ya.
