Crevice sucker with manual pump

[thesmithy]

IT'S SMEE AGAIN

Here is the ultimate sucker for crevicing. introduced to me by Goldrocs and HereSkip with a major modification.
When using the old version (just 2 clear pipes) some times we are over zealous sucking and get a lung full of creek water.

So by adding a manual bilge pump it increases the volume double.

I have 2 versions one is 16 mm the other is 12 mm both work very well. actually exceptionally well.... misses nothing.

very light so can be carried very long distances.....when packed away.

quite a few mods are needed.
Aluminum adapter for clear hose to bilge pump as the id is tapered on pump. I will make up any if required (lathe Required) fittings for bottle are available from any irrigation shop.....just a hacksaw is required here.

Manual bilge pump is available from BIAS boating for around $35.00 19 mm. Yes you can purchase online cheaper i know.......Bias Boating gives a guarantee.
I don't have any association with Bias Boating what so ever.

Please don't get into flow rates.....it has more than enough to........4 pumps and bottle is overflowing.............so keep an eye on it.

It will set you back about $70.00... there is no cheap way out of this one........The best purchase you will ever make..........Just remember the most gold is always at the bottom of the Crevice / crack / hole in the bedrock the list goes on.

I just love working crevices that have been left by fossickers / weekend prospectors that fail to throughly clean out down to the absolute bottom of the crack.

It certainly saves me heaps of digging and scraping by letting other do the hard work for me.

Footnote
The person that gets the good gold certainly will not tell you about it trust me.
The bottle is a mixed fruit bottle available from most supermarkets

As you can see i have added a piece of clear pipe on to out let end.....just in case it overflows.

inlet out let must be flush with bottom of lid

Aluminum adapter is tapered can not be purchased has to be made on lathe......there are other methods to connect it........this one can be dismantled easily for cleaning or blockages.

Cheers TheSmithy

 

[WalnLiz]

Remind me not to follow you around at Nundle mate.....with all those contraptions an ordinary bloke has very little chance...

Cheers Wal.

 

[HeadsUp]

hey you guys , dont stop for a wee if he is swinging that suction hose around

things could get ugly if you know what i mean

 

[casper]

hey you guys , dont stop for a wee if he is swinging that suction hose around

things could get ugly if you know what i mean

if you are "wee" then no probs

 

[thesmithy]

Here is an example of how good they are........working on a 1.5m long crevice by aroung 30mm deep
Scrapped off the moss covering the crevice. Scrapped the crevice clean then tooth picked it.
heavy brush.......light brush.
panned it out.........around 20 to 30 flecks a good crevice I thought.
HereSkip says use my sucker to give it a real clean.........hey you guessed it another 30 pieces.
The sucker doubled the gold I released from that crack
Now that was not the finish.
I then panned the moss that was sitting on top of the crevice......the biggest piece yet and another 20 flecks.
Every other crevice had been worked in the area but one...... the one I found. "With a little help from my friends"
This crevice was up a solid rock slope running perpendicular to the flow......would have never picked it.....!
As well as where the creek was it get very little flow so this gold had been there for a very long time.

Pics of gold from crevice. sorry about quality taken with phone.
cheers TheSmithy.

 

[TenOunce Tone]

Merry christmas Smithy. Nice work, proves the work on bottom of the crevice is the critical part.

 

[yass00_Au]

Good stuff TheSmithy,

I knocked up an assortment of crevice attachments for my yabby pump a few months ago but that takes me some distance from the the crevice which I can see this would be handy and efficient as an final cleaning tool for the crevice after hitting it up with the yabby pump, up real close and personal with the rock

Have you used it underwater TheSmithy? As most times there are no convenient rocks to put your gear on and not to mention the funny positions you get yourself into trying to gain access :lol:

Is the Bilge pump piston driven and a valve for air to drive suction? I was wondering how the unit would do submerged..


Cheers,

Ross

 

[thesmithy]

Hey Ross,
not under water.....it is a very small unit mainly used to finish crevices on dry river rock bars crevices in drywash gullys......deep dry holes that need water to get to the bottom of a hole.

my article on EMRO yabby pump converter may help you out.
Cheers
TheSmithy

 

[yass00_Au]

Hey Ross,
not under water.....it is a very small unit mainly used to finish crevices on dry river rock bars crevices in drywash gullys......deep dry holes that need water to get to the bottom of a hole.

my article on EMRO yabby pump converter may help you out.
Cheers
TheSmithy

Hi TheSmithy,

Yeah I can see lots of use with this, a little potable water and your off..

I'm going to BIAS in North Parramatta NSW for the EMRO tomorrow so I'm going to have a look at hand bilge pump and have a crack at making this too off your pics, will come in handy for sure..

Could this be used completely submerged?

Good onya mate,

Ross

 

[thesmithy]

Yes I can not see any problems.
on the out let just make a little longer hose to fill a bucket floating beside you.
just find a rubber innertube that fits over a 10/20 litre bucket. Bobs your uncle.
cheers.

 

[gavfromoz]

Just saw this post now Smithy, I finally received my pump from fleabay just before Chrissie, I was thinking of mounting it to a 20L white bucket in a similar fashion to what you have here. I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with

 

[Teemore]

Great set up, especially with water drying up rapidly.
Was out a couple of days ago and started digging a dry area next to a BIG rock midstream, went down far enough to hit water and was wishing I had a decent 'sucker' to clean out the bottom and under the rocks. My 'tools' for want of a better word just moved the important stuff around the bottom .... REALLY needed a good sucking device, will be building one over the coming days.Great pics of what is needed, thanks for sharing.
Tom.

 

[thesmithy]

Guys and Girls the main aim here is, if possible to keep the bilge pump as dry as possible.
hence the plastic bottle. So you stop pumping before the water and gravel enter the BP.
Normally before the bilge pump was inserted in the line I would just suck on the clear plastic tube with my mouth until i would see the clear plastic bottle 3/4 fill with material and water. There is only a certain amount of water and rocks that can enter your lungs before you die.

this is not designed to clean out great crevices in the bed rock.

it is for doing the final wet clean out of the very bottom of your crevice. On dry crevices just fill the bottle 3/4 full tip it in the crevice suck it up so simple.......you know that by doing it this way you will never suck rocks through the bilge pump. They are not designed to remove trash only water.

The biggest rock you want going up the tube is about 4mm otherwise you will fill the plastic bottle in a couple of pumps.

Again this is not a device for doing large scale sniping of the creek bed.

A yabby pump is what you would need to do this with the EMRO yabby pump coverter or your own design.

if you use the design incorrectly it will tell you by clogging up repeatedly.......mine has never been clogged yet.

At Nundle I will demonstrate how to use the tools I make.

there are some fancy new fossicking/ crevicing tools on the way for PA members to see at Nundle.

 

[TracesTreasures]

Hi Smithy, the pump is a great idea. Im wanting to make something like what you have in the pictures and want to use 19mm hose. Ive checked many manual pumps but they all say they are 25mm connectors on the pump. I just wanted some advice before buying the pump whether i need any special adapter to connect the 19mm hose to the 25mm bilge pump. Also , do i need the aluminium adapter. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks heaps. TracesTreasures..