Got Gold? - Hints & Tips

Common info From other people on the web.

Gas Burn

When dredging in deep water and you can't quite reach when re-filling your gas tank - DON'T allow the gas to come out of the breather hole in your gas can and run down into the arm of your wetsuit. You will notice the burning sensation right away as it continues to get worse - Get your wetsuit off and wash the gas off!

Run Away Dredge

I was dredging with my partner on the river once near some fast water and my mistake was having only one anchor on a small dredge. Can you guess the rest? That's right. I came up to do something and while I wasn't looking the hose of my 3" Proline caught the current and pulled the dredge into the fast water and rocks. It was kinda sinking for a minute or two. It was very difficult to say the least but I pulled the dredge back up river to where we were. I was standing there trying to catch my breath after all that when my partner came up from dredging. I was grateful that he missed the whole thing. Unfortunately it was the day when they were shooting a video about prospecting and they told me they got the whole thing on tape. Now I can't even lie about it! Always use two anchors when dredging near fast water.

Engine Oil

We had been dredging in some fast water and I had 80 pounds of weight on and I stepped off of a ledge at a new spot and down I went 14' and my feet got entangled in in some tree limbs. I had the hose of my 3" Proline in my hand so I climbed up it to my dredge. I was a little panicked and was breathing heavy. I knew that if I dropped my weight belt that I might never get it back (at least that day) . I climbed up and as I reached up to grab on to the back of my dredge my weight lifted the front of the dredge out of the water. Well, I had a Honda 5.5 with the Low Oil safety feature on it. I must have been low on oil and when I tilted the engine it quit. So there I was struggling to hang on to the dredge, under water and quickly running out of air. I made it around to the front of the dredge. I was in a back water area and there I was going around in circles. I finally made it out. Quite a sight I am sure. The hole I stepped in was 18' deep at its lowest and I have since found good gold in that spot. I bought a 4" shortly after that. Always make sure you have full oil.

Diving Gloves
Put a thin layer of wetsuit repair glue on the areas that will get worn from dredging and you can make your gloves last for years instead of weeks.

Don't let the end of your nozzle suck air or you will lose gold. (applies to jet flares)
Do use two pans when testing on the river. You get the visible gold into your sniffer and pour both pans back into your dredge to catch any gold. You may be surprised at what gets away from you. Drill a hole in each pan and connect them by rope. You can clip them onto your dredge.
Classifying your cons will result in better gold recovery. Classify them down to 20 mesh to get the larger flakes and 100 to get the fines. I run the 20 mesh thru the gravity bowl, then run the 100 mesh thru. It seems to recover gold good. Classification is the key to good gold recovery.
Save all your black dirt even after you think you have got all the gold out. You will wish you had. I'm not exactly sure why cause I got enough dirt at my house already that dump trucks stop and ask for directions but that is what everybody says.
Put a thin layer of wetsuit repair glue on your gloves to make them last.
Get a bottle of swimmers ear to protect your ears. An earache will keep you out of the water for sure. You can make your own if you want with 10% Rubbing Alcohol and 90% Hydrogen Peroxide.
Have two anchors when dredging in fast water.
Bring along an extra air compressor drive belt. This can ruin a good day if it breaks and you don't have a spare.
Bring a good sized rope. You can use it to climb in and out of the river, pull your dredge out of the water, make a clothesline, etc...
Get a blower that you use to fill up your air mattress and use it to get your fire going. Works good on damp wood. Complements of Rockwasher
When you are getting ready to start your engine have a short piece of rope tied to your dredge and tie the nozzle to it so it will be sucking clear water. You really don't want plug your hose with sand, believe me. Do you know how much a 4" hose filled with sand weights? Even under water it is exhausting to clear it.
Do use automobile transmission line for your connections to your heater. The hoses that come with the heater can't take the heat and melt, split and pop off easily. You will notice when they pop off right away by the rush of cold water into your wetsuit. Brrrrr...