heat systems

[RWH]

Mar 2, 2014 7:30:55 GMT -5 cabarrusgold said:

Here's the filter system I went with. It will attach straight to pump on dredge. 11.00 Amazon.
Powerfit AP31076 Sediment Filter Attachment for Garden Hoses and Pressure Washers






Nice! I like the clear container.

[akaudiver]

Dredging in Nome is not like in the rivers, there is not really much logic to where the gold is or where to go next. In the summer we are moving very often, a few feet, tens of feet, hundreds of feet. In the winter we cannot do that moving without hours of extra work.

If the operation is not running 24-hours a day, well if it's not kept above freezing 24 hours a day, might not need to be running, but there needs to either be a heater running or all the equipment needs to be winterized after each use, and de-winterized before each use. This adds time and fatigue.

Everything is so much harder in the winter, camping is a full time job on it's own, so there is the added expense of having a nice place to live with automatically regulated heat, and running water for showers etc.

We can mine in the same areas in the winter as in the summer, but technically the limit is 6" with 23hp or less due to Red King Crab protection rules (misguided yes, but that doesn't stop bureaucrats). Seems they have not been enforcing this, so maybe they have changed the rules. It is very hard not to starve trying to make money with a 6" in the summer, in the winter I do not know of anyone that has done it.

Besides, after running an 18" suction dredging ROV all summer, a 6" that is 1/9th the size is no longer recreation. Like when I worked at a DoD supercomputer center, my hobby of writing programs on my home computer didn't seem as fun.

I do like those strainers, we tried to use similar ones, but with seawater and lack of daily maintenance to keep them clear they would grow algae. Still, probably an excellent solution for a river.

In the winter, the diver can stay down just as long as summer, I would typically do 2 or 3 hours, come up for a 15 min break, dive for 3 hours, 15 min break, dive for 3 more, then be done. But having to move the setup and cut ice really messes up that routine.

[cabarrusgold]

Makes since Andrew.
Wes, yep... I forgot about all that in my hasty response. With my operation it is all included. But yes... you are correct. Must charge for setup and takedown. I must say, most of the idiots I have to bid against, they give all that work away to get the job!!!!! What we do does not take that long to setup or takedown but waiting and cancelation of trucks due to non delivery pending PDI I will charge extra. Time is money no doubt.