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Post by rayzer13 on Dec 24, 2013 4:24:33 GMT 12
Hi everyone I'm new to the hunt for gold! heck I only started panning a year and 3 months ago but about 3 weeks ago I stumbled across this dredge and the prize was right . I've wrote a letter to Keene but they no longer have any info but told me that it was built in the very early 80's almost all the pieces are there I've already cut and replaced all the bolts then I powdercoated the sluice trays now it is time to rebuild the metal frame work , Now just so you guys know I'm planning on using Gold Hog mats --Really like that stuff -- and most of the time I think that this is going to be used in the salt water in and around the Juneau Alaska area here is stupid question #1 why cant the jet tube be placed anywhere along that 5 inch hos ? |
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Post by rayzer13 on Dec 24, 2013 13:49:09 GMT 12
I also have this 3 inch trash pump so people have said that it will work fine and others say no Attachments:
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Post by RKC on Dec 24, 2013 14:50:19 GMT 12
G'day rayzer13, You have managed to stumble across a nice dredge! The small Keene triple sluice dredge was a popular dredge in the 80s that was used in rivers all over the world. The design you have was the very first model sold in the early 80s. Later models had some design changes ... most significantly, the one motor was replaced by two small 5hp motors. The header box looks in good condition, so that is a big plus. They can get bent out of shape with a lot of use, but yours looks like it has not had much work in the river. While this dredge was a popular workhorse dredge it did have some faults. The floatation was woefully inadequate. I used to put an inflated truck tube under the header box to help keep it above water when running. And because of the design of the header box not enough of the fines were diverted into the side box's, and much of the fine gold would shoot down the centre box and back into the river. The way to maximise fine gold recovery with this particular dredge is to make sure the nozzle man does not over feed the suction hose when working underwater. The type of frame you have was a poor design because bungee cords were used to hold the frame to the floats. When dragging the dredge over rocks the bungee would catch on the rocks and be a general nuisance. Also, as the frame was in one piece it was bulky to transport. Later frames could be broken down into small parts for transporting. The work you will have to do is probably mostly cosmetic ... cleaning rust and replacing small parts, etc. I would not do too much except to clean it up. If you replaced the frame with a more heavy duty frame then there could be problems with the overall weight of the dredge. The current floats could not carry any additional weight, therefore if you had to use larger floats you would then have a completely different dredge. It would be possible for " the jet tube (to) be placed anywhere along that 5 inch hose". The only reason I can imagine for doing so would be to increase suction. But I doubt this would increase the suction enough for it to be worthwhile. And doing this would make it more difficult to move rock jams from the suction hose. And, believe me, with the old type Keene suction hose that came with this dredge, you will get blockages in it. Its a great dredge for small waterways, and can even be used to prospect larger rivers when its not necessary to go deep. We used this dredge in New Zealand's second largest river - the Buller River near Berlins. A trash pump will not be suitable. Information on pumps can be found in this thread.Regards, Rob (RKC) |
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Post by RKC on Dec 24, 2013 15:01:40 GMT 12
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Post by rayzer13 on Dec 25, 2013 3:11:28 GMT 12
WOW Thank you so much for the pictures the second one from the bottom really helps me see some of what I might be facing when it comes to floatation issues . I was sure hopeing that the trash pump would work
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2013 6:41:04 GMT 12
Hi Rayzer,
Careful with the flotation when there is no water going thru the dredge.
I used to have a 5 like yours and it would sit like that when not working but would go stern down with the weight of the water going over the boxes.
Cheers
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