Good day everyone,
I'm a long time prospector and metal fabricator (Drywashers, wet recirculators, metal detecting, etc) currently own a fabrication shop and small engine repair business in Yuma, Az. I believe prospecting is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, but looking around the last few years equipment prices have skyrocketed. I have always built my own equipment and every time I'm out using it people want to buy it, so I figured I'd start manufacturing some to sell at a price people could actually afford. Please have a look at our website and let me know what you think, we have a line of production equipment and we do custom fabrication also. We have been open about 3 years and do a lot of custom work for folks making hoppers, sluices, etc wider, narrower, longer, shorter make it fit on an ATV, in an RV compartment, or if you just have a new idea and need some metal work done. We also run a small engine repair facility and I'm always open to answering engine or pump questions at anytime. My advice is ALWAYS free, so don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks, Chris
www.fabspecialists.com

Hi Chris,
I looked at your products. Nothing revolutionary but definitely price-competitive and why reinvent the wheel!
I think the pricing for the hand sluices is particularly attractive and the designs look great.
Have you ever considered a Clarkson riffle system?

Good day all,

No nothing revolutionary I'm afraid. Basically I was recently retired due to an injury and I have all this time on my hands now. My basic business plan is to get folks prospecting and back outdoors. The recent generation of kids is so intent on playing video games, staying in their room and has no desire to go outside and get dirty! I know prospecting is a great way to get people outdoors and having fun and sometimes make a little money too! I started when I was maybe 2 years old (I have pics on my Facebook business profile! Visit My Facebook) and have loved every minute of it. I cater to the new prospectors who need advice, ideas and quality equipment for an affordable price, but my shop also does a fair amount of custom work for the seasoned folks who need custom sized equipment for their operation. I strive for high quality, affordability and great customer service at all times. My advice is always free from engine and pumps to equipment ideas or suggestions, just shoot me an email.

Thanks all, Chris

Good day all,

I had this information on another forum and figured I'd put it here also for you folks to read and hopefully it helps out. We are a small engine repair facility as well as a prospecting equipment manufacturer and an authorized dealer for Briggs & Stratton, Tanaka, Kohler, and Troy-bilt.

Those Chinese pumps work ok but here are a few tips for extending the engine life. Our shop fabs prospecting equipment and we're also a Briggs & Stratton dealer/warranty center, Kohler, Tanaka, Troy Bilt, etc. The absolute biggest thing you can do for those engines is oil changes and a clean air filter. Obviously this is good for any engine, but you need to be religious on the cheaper engines. Also most of the time the air filter is a simple piece of foam pressed between 2 pieces of plastic and doesn't make the best seal. I have retrofitted a few engines with aftermarket air filters that filter much better and the round adapters that go on the carb and seal better than the plastic stock assembly. Luckily these engines are used extensively in the go kart world so aftermarket parts are plentiful. Here is the link to the aftermarket air filters and adapters, also the 6.5 hp is what they call a Honda GX200 "clone".

affordablegokarts: AIR FILTERS & CARBURETORS

I've had good success going to a round clamp on filter and adapter for the Chinese engines. Also with the oil use regular old conventional 20w50, 30 weight etc, on the first 10 hours or so. This will ensure a proper break in and check the oil often while breaking in the engine as it will use some. After about 10 hours you can switch to a synthetic oil if you like, but not during break in as the synthetics won't allow the rings to wear in and seat properly.

I forgot to mention a few more key items when dealing with the Chinese engines. First thing when you unpack that bad boy grab your metric wrench set and give it a good once over making sure all fasteners are tight. I've seen more than one brand new Harbor Freight engine/pump, etc with loose bolts or random bolts that fell out during shipment in the bottom of the box. Again this is good for any new engine you get but I've never unpacked a Briggs or Honda and had loose fasteners. The next important thing is once you get through the break in period remove the extremely poor quality Chinese spark plug and throw it as far you can. These spark plug are complete crap (I think they called a "Torch" spark plug). Since during the break in process you'll be burning oil might as well burn it on that poor quality plug, after break in put in a good one. I personally like NGK, but you'll do fine with an NGK, Denso or a Champion. Go out and buy yourself 2 new plugs of whatever brand you like. Change the first one after break in and put the other in your tool box. With the new overhead valve engines and better emission standards on the engines they run cooler and cleaner than the old "L" head engines (the older Briggs types with the valves right next to the piston in the block) and you'll rarely foul a plug but if you do it's good to have one and a wrench to change it or your trip could be over real quick. I'll put the spark plug cross reference numbers below to save you the aggravation of trying to find them since my Briggs dealer manuals have them readily accessible.

Here are the plug numbers and these will work with the Honda or clone engines both GX160 and GX200

NGK = BPR6ES or BP6ES (the "R" is just a resistor for radio interference so either plug will work equally well. If you have an older engine that uses oil you can go to a hotter plug such as a BPR5ES or BR5ES to reduce fouling. With the higher temps the engines run on dredges, I always suggest the cooler plug to start with.

Denso = W20EPR-U
Champion = RN9YC (may be a little harder to find than the NGK or Denso)

With that you should be in good shape. Trust me that Chinese "Torch" spark plug will leave you high and dry at the worst possible time so do some preventative maintenance now and throw it out.

If you ever have a no start situation the first thing to check is the gas then check the oil. These engines have a low oil shut down and I can't tell you haw many engines I've had in the shop with the no start or no spark complaint that was simply low on oil. If the engine oil level is low it kills the spark to the engine to prevent damage and it won't start or run. If you keep the air filter clean and the oil changed religiously it will last a while, they just can't be abused.

Ok now for the crankshaft, if your replacing a Briggs or Honda engine with a "clone" engine. The pump side of the crankshaft has a 5/8 threaded shaft. Some of the clone engines I have seen aren't an actual 5/8" they're actually 16mm (5/8" in .625" inches and the 16 mm is .629" inches). That doesn't seem like much, but the impeller WON'T fit without machining. Definitely be cautious when ordering clone engines as this little mix up could cost more in machining fees then ordering another Briggs or Honda engine.
Now on the shade tree mechanic side I have heard of people turning on their engines and with the crank turning put a flat file and/or sandpaper to the crank to "turn it down" but I don't endorse or recommend this procedure as it is not accurate a misfitting or mis-aligned impeller will destroy the pump housing.

One last thing after your done running your pump for the day pull the drain plug and flush it out thoroughly. What tends to happen is small bits of sand, dirt, gravel will settle to the bottom of the pump housing. After a while the sand and dirt will dry up and form a concrete like substance. The next time you fire up your pump that "concrete" will start grinding away at your impeller and you'll begin to notice pressure losses due to the impeller getting smaller and/or the housing getting bigger and the increased tolerances will create a loss of pressure. Take an extra minute and flush the pump out good!

If anyone has any questions please feel free to email me at chris@fabspecialists.com anytime, advice is free and just may save you some money and headaches!


I hope this helps folks out,

Chris R

Bump

Good day prospecting brothers and sisters,

I have compiled a list of common issues and questions I frequently get from folks about equipment. Some of the common problems I help folks with is,

Pump size being too small, A 500 gph pump is ONLY good for small clean up sluices, or sluices about 4 inches in width or less running carpet and expanded metal. If you're running special matting (Gold Hog matting, Keene Miracle Mat, etc) your best bet is a 750 gph to 1200 gph. For sluices wider than that (6" to 10") you'll need atleast a 1200 gph if you're running expanded/riffles with carpeting (if you're over 6" in width seriously consider a larger pump for the best possible operation). If you're using special matting (Gold Hog matting, Keene Miracle Mat) you will need higher gph for proper matting operation (1600,1800, 2200 gph). This ensures the matting is working to it's full potential and the lighter materials are being exchanged and moved out making room for the GOLD! Remember the pump WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SET UP! This is one area where a little more money spent will pay for itself ten-fold in the long run (this goes for gas engine pumps too). Also another often overlooked area is the pump outlet and hose size. It does no good to buy a 2200gph pump and run 1 1/8" hose on it as the hose will restrict it down to about 1600 gph. On my 1600 gph pump units I run 1 1/4" hose and for the 2200 gph I run the 1 1/2" hose and fittings to get the max water volume the pump can produce.

You need a solid sluice box angle adjustment/mount Make or buy a good solid mount. You need to be able to easily adjust the sluice angle and you want it sturdy enough your sluice box assembly doesn't fall over. Don't forget a sluice stand can be very useful in a river or stream also, as it gives you an easy way to hold it at the proper angle securely and you don't need to balance your sluice on rocks, between rocks, etc.

Plumbing/hose issues For example, 1 1/8" hose needs the proper adapter, don't just hose clamp it over a piece of pvc as the pvc OD is not 1 1/8" and you'll get leaks and the hose blowing totally off in extreme situations (3/4"pvc OD is close to the 1 1/8" ID, but it won't seal properly without the right fitting. Also I get a lot of questions about how many holes to put in a spraybar and how far apart. First off don't glue your fittings in your hopper assembly. This makes on the spot adjustments easy and while you're building it you can custom tailor holes to your pump. Don't drill a bunch of holes, start with a couple small holes and see how it flows. You can always drill more holes or make existing holes bigger if need be. The bottom line is you need a little pressure so the water flow cleans off the rocks and breaks up dirt balls. You don't want 15 holes and the first 10 have water trickling out and the back 5 have no water at all. For a quick starting point I tell folks to figure it out like this, If you have 3/4" hose and plumbing coming into your hopper, you can drill a little under 3/4" worth of holes. That's 6 - 1/8" holes, 3 - 1/4" holes, etc. That's a good starting point but you will need to drill the spraybar to your pump flow, go slow, don't glue your fittings and you'll be fine. I can't give a solid answer as all pumps are different (even the same gph can be different between different manufacturers).

If you need hose fittings, Jamestown Distributors has great prices on 3/4", 1 1/8", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" hose barb to pipe thread adapters that are made for bilge hose and work great (this is where I get my fittings from also) here is the link to fittings,

Shields Sanitation Hose Fittings

or these, which are the one I use for all my 12 volt bilge pump recirculators and highbankers,

Forespar Marelon Male Tailpipe Hose Connectors

This place has the best prices on these fittings.
I hope this helps, Chris