Here are some pics of my dredge I been building. Passed the pump test last week, and passed the float test yesterday(on the second attempt). Barrel floats didn't work for me, so I used 6" pvc. Taking her out for a spin this weekend. Included a closeup of the riffle box for all the fine gold folks to see. A large thanks to everyone who has contributed. Your ideas and experience made this possible for me. Wishing everyone a fantastic season and tons of gold to you ALL.

Denny Roark

Denny

Find a job that you really like and you'll never work a day in your life

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In response to Reply # 0

Looks good. But a suggestion. Try to get the sluice box closer to the water level. In between the floats if possible. The less lift you have, the more suction power and the motor won't have to run so hard. That's why I like the spreader box design. Just an idea:-)

In response to Reply # 7

Looks like a highbanker 0n pontoons,, let us know how it works.

In response to Reply # 8

With them little floats and that high a center of gravity your unit is gonna wanna roll over and play submarine.Be cautious ,them engines don't like breathing water!!Tons a au 2 u 2-John

In response to Reply # 9

Real neat, love the home projects, if the height proves to be trouble I am sure a small outrigger made of smaller pvc would fix ya up. Good luck, Chris

In response to Reply # 10

I was just thinking that maybe useing two floats on each side, to improve stability, I dont want to sink my new motor it also seems like it would be easier to hook the frame to.I will be useing a flare and putting my motor at the head of the sluice. thoughts anyone??
john Adams

In response to Reply # 11

To answer a few questions...First to Phil, I probably got as much in this as I would have if I had bought a used 2" combo. Bought a piece here and a piece there. Built the frame from scrap. To Hoser John and Chris and the others, it actually sits in the water pretty good, but I might make up some out riggers for it later. The reason the sluice is offset is to counter balance the motor. Side to side center is right on. Front to back, I had a lot more room to play with. Floats sit in about 2" and discharge is about 8" above the water. Might move the pump to the back later too. BTW Hoser, loved that article on you in the GPAA Mag last month. Is any of that stuff true? LMAO!! To John Adams, figure the weight of your dredge then the volume of your floats in cubic feet. A cubic foot of water weighs around 72 lbs. My dredge weighs about 80 lbs, and my floats displace about 2 cubic feet, but it sits higher in the water than I thought it would. Good luck finding 8" PVC. A plumbing supply house can get it, but you won't find any at Home Depot. Also, VERY expensive. About $4 a foot around here. And using a suction nozzle, I didn't have any problem w/lift, but I did have to run the pump pretty well wide open. Pump is marginal for a 2 but should run a 1 1/2 easily. Might be for sale later, hint...hint. Thanks all, it was a lot of fun and hope to have a few pics in action and a nice pinch of that fine Indiana gold on Monday.

DJR

Denny

Find a job that you really like and you'll never work a day in your life

In response to Reply # 11

Another thing on the pvc pontoons...I drilled a 3/32" hole in each end on top to allow air pressure to equalize. Didn't want to split them in the hot sun when the air got hot and expanded. Pvc/dwv is not rated for pressure and the air expanding can create a lot real fast. Hope I don't forget which side is up!

DJR

Denny

Find a job that you really like and you'll never work a day in your life

In response to Reply # 13

Hoser: I thought the same thing when I saw the first picture. I could just picture the box loading up with rocks and the whole thing flipping over!. Been there!.
Not a good sight raising your head out of the water and seeing your box on its side.
I tried the same idea(PVC) with my first dredge. I had four 10 foot long 6 inch pipes. Not enough floatation even with those. And a bear to move.
May work ok for you. Hope it does.

In response to Reply # 11

john adams....try using drain,waste,vent tubes(dwv) instead of pvc pipes. they are thinner and lighter than the pvc.

russau