DESERDOG'S
ORIGINAL GOLD SUCKER HAND DREDGE

I went back to Cajon Creek to do a little sluicing again. I used my 3 inch super gold sucker and my slickplate with astro turf followed by a sluice with expanded metal riffles.Here is a picture of the sluices in the creek.

I was working in the same area that I had befroe. Here is a picture of the area before I started working this day.

I concentrated on the area above the big rock in the center of the picture.I was working right above that rock, and didn't get much gold, so I started working toward the bank. And I ran into a layer of hard packed material. Her is a picture of it.

You cannot just suck it up. It has to be broken loose with a digigng bar first. I ran this material through my slickplate, with just the ribbed rubber matting, and got some visible gold on the matting. Here is a picture of the amount of material that was left on the matting.

As usuall, I have to toss rocks that I cannot suck up out of the hole. Me tossing rocks.

Here is a picture of me feeding the sluices with the 3 inch super sucker.

All in all, it was a good trip. I was on the creek about an hour and a half.

I built myself a 3 inch super gold sucker hand dredge and took it out with me to Cajon Creek to give it a trial run. And all I can say is "WOW!!!" The 3 inch super gold sucker hand dredge can really move the material!

I was sluicing again as usual, but using the 3 inch super gold sucker hand dredge instead of the 2 inch super gold sucker hand dredge. The 3 inch super gold sucker hand dredge can move at least 2 times the amount of material that a 2 inch super gold sucker hand dredge can, and it sucks up a lot of the rocks that you have to toss by hand if you are using a 2 inch super gold sucker.

The 3 inch super gold sucker sucks up so much material that it is easy to overload a sluice, so you cannot go too fast.

I was working the top layer of packed rocks. The 3 inch super gold sucker literally took the stream bed apart!

I will be at Cajon Creek on Monday or Tuesday again if anyone wants to come by and see it. Email me at deserdog@aol.com.

What type of gold sucker do you use? And why?

The gold sucker that I use the most now it the 2 inch super sucker. I use it because it is very simple to use, and it can move lots of material. In side by side by side tests, the 2  inch can easily out pace a gold sucker that pumps into a bucket. Every time you fill the bucket, you have to take the top off, and then feed your material through your sluice, or what ever else you using. With the 2 inch super gold sucker, you directly feed  your sluice. No wasted time taking off and putting on a lid. And no wasted time messing with jammed flapper valves. 

Plus rock removal becomes more and more of a problem the smaller your nozzle gets. Every rock that  your gold sucker will not pick up has to be tossed by hand. When I started using the 2 inch super gold sucker about 3 years ago, I soon learned why dredgers who started out with a 2 inch usually move quickly up to a 4 inch or larger. Too many rocks to toss by hand!

Now if I am working a creek with exposed bedrock and crevices, I use my gold sucker with the nozzles. I usually carry a bucket, my pan, some crevicing tools, and a classifier. The gold sucker quickly cleans out crevices, with no bucket lids to mess with, no flapper valves to jam, and no bucket tethered to a hose to restrict your movement. All gold suckers work, just some are easier to use. And Deserdog's Original Gold Sucker is one of the easiest.

I went sluicing the other day again on Cajon Creek. I am just using astro turf in my sluice, as no gold is making it down to the second sluice. As usual, I have the shopping cart grizzly set up at the head end of the sluice. This keeps all of the larger rocks out of the sluice.

I am using my 2 inch super gold sucker to feed the sluice. I have a hole about 2 foot deep so far. The gold is getting bigger, and I am also getting more mercury, so hopefully I am getting close to bedrock. The 2 inch super gold sucker works so well in this application.  I set up my sluice near the hole I am working. I suck up the material that I loosen with my digging bar, and then feed it directly into the sluice. It is easy to overload the sluice if I am not careful. I cannot imagine using a gold sucker attached to a bucket. You would be taking off and putting the lid back on all day long! The only thing that would work by hand better than the 2 inch super gold sucker is a bigger one!

I go sluicing at Cajon Creek with my 2 inch super sucker a couple of times a week, if you are interested in going, email me at deserdog@aol.com