Keene 140 Dry Washer

[KeeponDiggin]

Has anyone got a 140?
your opinions on them are sought.
i have one now, and its amazing for what it can hang onto.
i am going to be in Bendigo this weekend giving a Demo and ill try to share tips n hints to make ya life easier should
you at any stage wish to get one.

i wouldnt go as far as saying its as good as detecting but if you want to step back in time and dig like the old boys but using modern equiptment then one of these babies
is a sure fire way of doing it!

i must go, i have a creek to go pan in.
and just so you know, its 15 metres from my back door making me a lucky boy.
its like a dope smoker living in a field of weed

KoD

 

[Goldtarget]

Hey KoD I'm guessing you mean this weekend coming the 24th and 25th, if so shot me a pm id love to see it in action, been a while since i saw a dry washer and Keene would be awesome.

 

[G0lddigg@]

I like the 140 but I like my homemade better I can move heaps more material with mine. Upside of the keene drywasher is plastic structure and alluminum riffles. With mine I have to pack up in the wet or the wood will get waterlogged.

Drywashing is a game changer no matter what brand or make. Means you can test any dry soil anywhere anytime

 

[Outback]

I like the 140 but I like my homemade better I can move heaps more material with mine. Upside of the keene drywasher is plastic structure and alluminum riffles. With mine I have to pack up in the wet or the wood will get waterlogged.

Drywashing is a game changer no matter what brand or make. Meams yiu can test any dry soul anywhere anytime

Hi Golddigg ,

Have you ever tested your DW for efficiency ? like put through 50 little bits of lead , different shapes & sizes to see how many you get back .

Cheers
Outback.

 

[G0lddigg@]

Hey outback yeh ive dont extensive testing mate the finished product is far from what I first made. My original tests where buckets of dry fine dirt with 100 + leadshot run onto a tarp then panned out. I also added a half bucket of blacksand amd some ironstone. First tests presented some issues with the original riffles being too low to hold enough material. So I built larger riffles. Then once the riffles got higher the flow was actually better but I lost some wobble so had to build a better counterbalance and upgrade the leaf blower. There were too many small adjustments to bore everyone here but after changing the cloth several times and testing everyday in the field a few hours per day over a month I am very confident in the capture rate. The fine flower gold is the only proof I need. However I still test pan my tailings and rerun material twice which I find increases fine gold recovery mainly due to moisture in the soil.

Me and keepondiggin dig together quite a bit after putting his 140 together amd running them side by side I still love mine. (Massive bias)
Do you do a bit of drywashing outback?

 

[BrisJoe]

Hey gold,do you have the plans for your dry blower?
I'm really wanting 1 to process the dry dirt up my way, but I'm not forking out for a keene unless I can get a 2nd handy cheaply

 

[G0lddigg@]

Haven't drawn up plans yet mate I did post a thread whilst building it thought. Give me some time and ill get something drawn up for everyone mate.

 

[Outback]

Thanks Golddigg for the good info & photo , seems you have a good handle on how to operate yours well , I have seen them working but not owned one myself , being in far west NSW they are not allowed under this states laws ( powered equipment ) unless on private property .

I have been working on a muscle powered dry washer for the last couple of years , almost done

Cheers
Outback

 

[Mr Boring]

Far West NSW...lol ! Add 90 JH ... I own a 140, I payed $2100, noticed they sell for $1600 now... I feel ripped :| I hate eBay trolls.. must be jealousy?

 

[G0lddigg@]

Ouch mr boring think you may be talking about 150 keene? The 140 is $850 new from reeds

 

[KeeponDiggin]

Keep in mind you can get a hand crank version, i dont know its work rate but gives you grounds to argue the mech laws as its your muscle not a ump, besides the NSW laws are just ridiculous.
Hey golddiggs, got good crunchy stuff so game on man

 

[G0lddigg@]

Keep in mind you can get a hand crank version, i dont know its work rate but gives you grounds to argue the mech laws as its your muscle not a ump, besides the NSW laws are just ridiculous.
Hey golddiggs, got good crunchy stuff so game on man

yeh true thos hand crank/12v versions would be the go

Crunchy bits ehh maybe a trip to avoca is on the cards to borrow the old mans mixer