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Crevice Sucker Designs

gavin		Posted : Monday, 22 February 2010 2:21:41 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Administrators, Registered Joined: 20/02/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,326 Location: Christchurch Thanks: 736 times Was thanked: 535 time(s) in 287 post(s)		Someone sent me some plans for building a crevice sucker (also known as a gold sucker or a gravel pump), so I figured I'd share them in case anyone finds them useful. Enjoy! Files attached. Update: Just found the source of these images - http://www.iowagold.net/HOWTOPAGES/gold_sucker_attachments.htm Edited by user Tuesday, 23 February 2010 1:00:29 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified gavin attached the following image(s):
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Lammerlaw		Posted : Thursday, 2 June 2011 7:52:45 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		The proper name for these is 'Snifters' - ie FT in the middle not ff as some seem to think. Best snifters are made out of brass tube or PVC piping - both have advantages and both have disadvantages - Brass can dint so really needs to be quite thick and PVC gets brittle with age and also does not take much of an effort to break. The PVC ones are good but do take a couple of spare tubes with you into the field so that if the one in use gets broken then the components just need to be put onto another tube - a job that can be done instantly.

1864hatter		Posted : Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:52:19 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,007 Location: Auckland.... Thanks: 49 times Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)		Hey Lammerlaw thanks for all your knowledgable input and amazing tales. Secondly you seem to take the matter of snifters quite seriously, is it perhaps possible that such a tool/construction can have several names? The name sni-FF-ers seems silly as sniffing to me means something usually to do with noses. Crevice suckers seems like a reasonable name to me perhaps giant gold bearing gravel syringe would be the best name? As long as we all know what we are talking about then i think the names we use are less important. On the PVC pipes i found that its easy to get sand stuck between the chamber and the attachment on the end (when pulling the contraption apart and putting it together) making it almost impossible to get the two seperated. so take care with that. Alternatively leave the suction end on and drain the contents out the plunger end.
		And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!

madsonicboating		Posted : Thursday, 2 June 2011 1:24:11 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 21/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 674 Thanks: 187 times Was thanked: 157 time(s) in 127 post(s)		Awesome stuff thanks Gavin!! I have been viewing videos on youtube on how to do but these plans are always great in any form :) Cheers Dan
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petetsw		Posted : Thursday, 2 June 2011 2:19:58 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 7/06/2010(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: nelson Thanks: 3 times Was thanked: 2 time(s) in 2 post(s)		i used the henderson pump for over 10 years now and it works perfect you just need to get the hang of it. i got mine in sweden when i was living there at www.guldstoms,se . but mine is getting a bit worn out now.

Lammerlaw		Posted : Friday, 3 June 2011 4:29:45 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		1864hatter wrote: Hey Lammerlaw thanks for all your knowledgable input and amazing tales. Secondly you seem to take the matter of snifters quite seriously, is it perhaps possible that such a tool/construction can have several names? The name sni-FF-ers seems silly as sniffing to me means something usually to do with noses. Crevice suckers seems like a reasonable name to me perhaps giant gold bearing gravel syringe would be the best name? As long as we all know what we are talking about then i think the names we use are less important. On the PVC pipes i found that its easy to get sand stuck between the chamber and the attachment on the end (when pulling the contraption apart and putting it together) making it almost impossible to get the two seperated. so take care with that. Alternatively leave the suction end on and drain the contents out the plunger end. Crevice suckers is indeed a good name Matt - I cant argue with that. Fifty years ago however when I was first introduced to them I thought the name they had been given - snifters - seemed rather silly but over the last fifty and more years you get used to the name. I do not know if the name was coined here in Dunedin by my Uncle and others of the time but I doubt it. The passing of time is a strange thing - we tend to forget things but I am nearly 100% certain that when I questioned my uncle fifty or so years ago he told me that the idea came from California as did their ideas for other gold mining aids. I think my uncle also got a great deal of encouragement from another fellows ideas here in Dunedin as the other chap certainly beat my uncle off the mark with the first dredge. I just googled for the first time in my life 'Goldmining snifter' and it seems to back me up! You are so right about the sand making it hard to pull the end off but thems the breaks! The car tyre pump ones I have all have screw on ends so its easier. Generally the top end screws out and the bottom stays put. The one I lost in my hut paddock was the best one I ever had and if I remember correctly both ends did screw out. Lost within 300 m of the house and still cant find it fifteen years later! Gavin - your detailed plan of how to make one is invaluable to all who wish to go crevicing as they are the handiest tools around. The plan is easy to follow and also they can be varied for personal preference, bigger, smaller etc as well as constructed out of a wide variety of material. I do NOT recommend copper pipe for the nozzle however - stainless steel or brass is beast I have found. Edited by user Friday, 3 June 2011 4:35:48 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

1864hatter		Posted : Friday, 3 June 2011 6:09:51 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,007 Location: Auckland.... Thanks: 49 times Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)		You should get out there with your detector and have a look for it, however it may be a bit corroded?
		And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!

kiwijw		Posted : Saturday, 4 June 2011 8:05:53 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Hi guys, Yes the silt & fine grit can act as a grinding paste & over time loosen the socket joint of the PVC pipe when slipping the nosey parker gravel/gold retention chamber on & off. The result being that when you go to squirt water into a crevice, unless you are holding both the bottom end of the pump body & the top edge of the retention chamber with your lower hand then the end can just blow off. I sort of fixed this by a turn of electrical tape wraped around the end to build it up again. This pic is just using the main pump body to get the bigger material out of the crevice before slipping the retention chamber on. Notice the yellow electrical tape on the end. Gold from this crevice I then made a cunning little twist/lock fitting similar to in the below pic. I now though just make sure that I have well & truely rinsed all the silt & grit off before slipping the nosey parker retention chamber back on & I have had no more problems with a loose fit. . I have never had any problem with using copper pipe in the nosey parker retention chamber & this little crevice sucker was 18 years old when one day when I went up to a spot of mine I found all my gear had been flogged from where I had it stached in the bush. Some of you will remember that when I posted on it. One year later when I had worked my way quite a bit further up this creek I "stumbled" on to my flogged gear. The only thing missing was the little crevice suckers main pump body. Funny how the nosey parker retention chamber was still with the rest of my gear. Sluice box, crevicing tools, shovel, view finder although the glass was smashed. I thought the body may have just been dropped, but I couldnt find it. The crevice sucker is truely an invaluable prospecting tool. As is the little snuffer bottle for gathering up the gold from your pan Or box Happy hunting JW :)