This hand dredge worked excellent and allowed us to work areas we wouldn't normally be able to get to! It works extremely well once you get to know it. I really love the suction release feature, ( a hole near the top) that allows the material/suction to release without pushing the plunger all the way back out. I will say it took some getting used to to be able to use it well. The plunger can be tightened with a wing nut from the suction release hole in order to adjust the suction. The only thing that was a slight hassle was getting the nozzle off and back on. I had to use my rock hammer to tap the end off and really push it back on or it would pop off. It was easy enough to get off when everything is dry but in the thick of dredging and prospecting it definitely became tough, although once I got it figured out it worked excellent. One additional consideration is that miners moss may be used inside the nozzle to aid In catching any gold, although we did well without it. One last thing, when using the Dredge, if you orient the nozzle in the correct orientation the suction release hole will be easily visible. This will help to not lose material, due to the fact that if you pull the plunger up too high all of thr suction will release. Thanks High Plains and thanks Keene Engineering!
