Easy Homemade Gold Sucker

Other tube id 1 1/2″ type 125 PVC

Inner tube is 1 1/4″ Type 40 PVC
Length is about 3-4 feet.

The handle is made from 1/2″ PVC end caps and a 1/2″ tee with a couple of short pieces of 1/2″ PVC pipes to connect. The handle is bolted thru handle to the end cap.

Use 1/8″ file for O-ring grooves. Depth of O-ring grooves must be about 1/2 of the dia of the O-ring cross section. Note: I have excluded part numbers as this design is from 1994 and part numbers chance. Because of this you may need to have a poke around your local hardware providers to find an O-ring that gives the best seal.

With the crevice sucker attached, the plunger may be pumped several times until the material reaches the top of the 1/2″ pipe. Another possible attachment would be a 1 1/2″, 45 or 90 degree tool instead of the normal crevice sucker.

Since the gold sucker is normally used with the bottom open, you may be asking “how do you keep the stuff from falling out the bottom?” The short answer is ya gotta be quick. Try to keep your bucket or pan as close to the spot you are working ans almost submerged so you don't have to move the sucker very high or very far. It also helps if you can get into a rhythm where you are still pulling on the plunger while transferring the material. Clean up any material that falls out every now and then.

Credits for the design go to William F Westcott (1994)

Gold what is it, Where is it and How to Spot it.

Yes that's it, it doesn't look like much but it's been making people weak in the knees for thousands of years. The value of gold continues to grow because of its use in the electronics industry as a semi conductor.

The Properties of Gold

Gold is a very heavy yellow metal. It has a specific gravity of 19.3 this means that if you were to fill a test tube with gold it would weigh 19.3 times more times the weight of that test tube if it was filled with water. as a comparison lead (which we all know is heavy) has a specific gravity of 11 so gold is almost twice as heavy as lead. Gold is resistant to most naturally occurring chemicals so it doesn't tarnish and is never destroyed. Gold is also very malleable and ductile. It can hammered so thin that 250,000 sheets would make a stack just one inch high. One ounce can be drawn into a wire thirty five miles long. gold is never found pure in nature. It is usually found in a alloy along with copper, silver or platinum.

How do i know that the stuff in my pan is gold?

By its weight! - If you're panning technique is correct, the gold will be found at the bottom of the pan. As you gently swirl water around in your pan, gold acts differently than other material. It won't move as easily as the other material .
By its appearance - Because gold does not have much of a crystalline structure, it doesn't really sparkle or glitter - it shines. It also looks the same under in sunlight or the shade.
If in doubt, whack it with a hammer - extreme?. yes but, If it flattens, its gold. Now if it shatters, it isn't gold. This approach is not recommended.
You can drop it into some nitric acid. if it doesn't react it is probably gold. if it dose, it isn't. Nitric acid is pretty dangerous stuff so do not get it on you of breath the fumes. Be sure to follow proper handling procedures.

Once you see gold in your pan a few times you won't have any problems spotting it again.

Tips for Gold Panning

Here are some tips for gold panning.
With Gold at well over $1000 an ounce, not only is panning for gold a good way to have fun it can also be a profitable hobby. Gold panning is an easy hobby to get started as the only equipment that is absolutely needed is a gold pan and a container to hold all the gold that you find. Not just a hobby for those in Alaska or California, gold is well distributed across the United States and chances are that gold can be found in the streams near you.

A great tip for finding more gold when panning is to practice at home. Small lead shot used for loading shotgun shells or lead shaved off of fishing sinkers and other lead items can be used to practice cheaply at home. Mix the lead with sand and small gravel and practice until you can reliably pan out the lead.

As gold is even denser than lead, if you can catch the lead you will almost certainly catch the gold in your pan. When tossing out larger rocks from your pan, turn them over in your hands and give them a quick look. You don't want to be throwing away gold that is stuck to the rock. Quartz rock is especially likely to contain gold. Shake the rocks in the water as well to knock off any loose material that also may contain gold.

Another great tip for gold panning is to use a drop or two of dishwashing liquid in your pan. This is especially useful when panning extremely fine gold. The soap will help to keep the small flakes of gold from floating on the surface of the water. While gold is denser than water, the very small flakes will sometimes float due to surface tension.

A magnet is a useful piece of equipment to add to your gold panning kit. When you are trying to separate gold from black sand, the magnet can be used to attract and remove the black sand so that you can get to the gold. Special magnetic tools are available for this purpose, but regular magnets will also work. Another useful tip for panning for gold is to pan in places that are difficult to reach and that are uncomfortable to work. Most areas that are easy to access and easy to work probably have been worked over numerous times, but the less easy places might harbor a lot of gold for you to find. These are just a few tips that can be used to make gold panning more successful. T

he best tip for gold panning is to simply spend more time panning for gold.

Published by J. Motes Motes has been published in a variety of national and regional publications on subjects ranging from frugal living to rabbit hunting.