Hydro Force Suction Nozzle

[libertydave]

Wondering if any of you have used the Hydro-Force suction nozzle? This year it has become a very popular selling mining/dredging accessory.

The principle is simple as is the operation...the H-F nozzle allows an operator to dredge in above-stream locations with a tool that provides its own source of water for processing and recovery. Use it with a blaster nozzle for cleaning out bedrock cracks.

I used a 2-1/2 nozzle with a high=banker last summer on some Umpqua and Illinois River locations that appeared to not have been previously worked and I got some nice fine gold and a few pickers for the effort. Have a larger size nozzle for this summer...a 3 incher...and am looking forward to mining some ancient stream channel bedrock in SW Oregon.

LD

[russau]

no i havent used one personnaly but ive seen Chuck L. use one. it does what he says itll do. and now he has them all the way to 4 inch nozzel.

[Tanqd]

That sounds alot like the Vortex-Rex machine.

[russau]

well sorta but its different! but then most peices of mining equipment are sorta the same but a little diferent in the way they do their thing! i also have one of Dave Franks VORTEXREX PVC venturi systems that i use on my 4 inch dredge.ive been useing it for maybe 10 years now (?) and it still works great! more than i can say for myself!

[Hoser John]

Many MANY variations on the exact same idea over the years. I still much prefer to use a handheld blaster instead of attached and use a double pipe feed to eliminate all the mud,foam and ungodly blowback in your face and all over the place. Just better control of the situation and MUCH less messy as blastn' nuggets willy nilly all over the place at todays prices is indeed a folly-John--

[digman]

The Hydro Force is truly an amazing attachment. I I watched the demo video being made and there were no tricks, it works. As for blow back, it is easy to adjust the flow and eliminate that. (as demonstrated) Used on bedrock as demonstrated in the video below, the Hydro Force sucks like a hunger sow and licks the plate clean. What this noozle does to a dry sand and gravel bar is equally impressive. It moves material almost as fast as a shovel, without the accompanying aching back. That it works with a trash pump, (lower cost) is equally impressive.
No matter the origin of the idea or the technology, it works and is available from a reputable prospector. Calling up visions of blasting nuggets all over or taking a bath in the blow back is kind of unfair because it doesn't happen. I suggest trying one before evaluating it. Here is a link to the demo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAiRV1EpP3Q

[russau]

the ONLY thing i have against the hydrforce nozzel that Chuck makes is that i cant get him to come to Wyoming for some dredgeing time! hes just to busy to be able to take the time off!:)

[libertydave]

Thanks for the replies and thought I'd share what we learned.

Since we started selling the "Hydro Force" suction nozzles we've sold several in sizes from 2 to 4 inches. Last fall we wanted other opinions on how well the nozzle worked and we asked customers (1) if they felt that the nozzle worked effectively and (2) what were the various methods and locations they had used their H-F nozzles. Nearly all said it was worth the investment and the nozzle had opened up new above-stream locations for dredging. These were in places previously worked for years with conventional (in-stream) dredging but new to this method of 'dry' dredging.

Most had checked out the video produced by the manufacturer and all had used the nozzle in different applications including sniping and just cleaning out bedrock cracks in locations near and above current stream flow working the gravels and bedrock with a crevice blaster tool to flush out gold from the cracks. One had used the nozzle for mossing and said it had produced fine gold.

As for my experiences last summer I tried out a H-F nozzle with a custom 2-1/2 inch high-banker using the nozzle in a variety of "dry land dredging" sites. This was on Oregon's SF Umpqua River in a dry location well above the river's summer levels and on some well exposed bedrock about fifty feet back from the river including a site is where many miners park their trucks to unload their gear.

Once I got used to operating the nozzle and finding some effective valve and volume settings (this took some practice) I started finding fine gold producing a little over 3.2 dwt for just a full morning's operation. Not bad for a novice nozzle operator. I guess I was more amazed at just how much fine gold remains in the cracks in locations 'high and dry' and well above where other dredgers were working. Also I should point out that this nozzle drew a lot of interest.

This July I am returning and bringing in a modified Proline 3" high-banker, some crevicing tools and a 3" H-F nozzle. A dredging buddy has converted his Keene Ultra-4 to use the H-F 4 inch nozzle in similar locations. We also plan to check out an ancient tertiary dry river bed located above the Illinois River in SW Oregon and work the cemented gravels on the bedrock that has not been previously mined. More to follow.

LD

[russau]

Dave id be interested in reading about that! goodluck!

[Hoser John]

tons a au 2 u 2-John