Reg Wilson

I have contacted many wreckers and dealers with no luck so far, but a few people are running down leads and possibilities for me. If anything comes up I shall let you know.

Oh no, not another bulldust 'reality' show. Simon, if you enjoy this nonsense then you need psychiatric help. No doubt it will boost detector sales. The bush is already full of open detector holes and discarded McDonalds and KFC wrappers without this mind numbing tripe increasing the problem.

I don't like the idea of ride on lawn mowers because they are not designed for the various terrain encountered when searching for gold, plus they may not handle towing a heavy sled being mainly belt driven. Maybe any early Polarus Magnum might fit the bill for a diesel conversion as they are cheaper and simpler than a Sportsman. Come Monday I will check with a large ATV wrecker here in Victoria and see what I can learn.

Wild Bill, the Tarnagulla pluton is far larger than just a few Kms, more like 25Kms, and the Bendigo, Castlemaine, Maldon Pluton is far larger, maybe 100 Kms at its widest point. The Tarnagulla pluton is almost circular whereas the other is a large C shape. The area not exposed does have prolific dyke swarms formed most likely by the deeper unexposed granite beneath, and does have auriferous reef reef systems in association. Although there are many batholiths in Victoria of various granite types, a great number have not been producers of gold, due to a number of factors in their evolution. Only a limited number are the 'perfect cake', where heat, time, pressure, rate of cooling and other factors have been just right to produce gold around their edges. Some have produced gold in just some areas, like a cake not cooked to perfection, however the Tarnagulla pluton has produced gold almost all the way around its circumference making it quite unique. Swegin, when I have 'cleaned out' a patch I usually move on in the search for the next one, unless I believe that there is the depth and history of success to suggest there may be more gold to be had. Pegging a claim or lease may or not pay off. It's a gamble, and it can be an expensive gamble not worth pursuing. Use logic and not 'gold fever'.

Here in central Victoria Australia granite plutons play an important part in the deposition of large nuggets, leads and patches of gold, with the Tarnagulla pluton and its associated metamorphism being the creator of many of the largest nuggets in the world, including the Welcome Stranger, the world's largest recorded nugget of over 2200 ozs. Starting at the southern extent of the pluton and circling it clockwise is a list of famous large nugget bearing fields. Dunolly, Goldsborough, Inkerman, Moliagul, Macintyre's, Rheola (Berlin), Kingower, Tarnagulla, Warnyarra. There are other plutons in the famous central Victorian goldfields that have been the source of big gold, but the Tarnagulla pluton is the undisputed king.

You will have a Hi or Low ratio choice. I use Hi and detect at 5KPH. This should give you a good recovery response and cover the maximum ground with accuracy. You will need to isolate your alternator when detecting and there are three wires that you need to be able to switch on and off as required. Rather than use three switches it is easier to use a three way plug and just unplug when needed. Plug it back in when not detecting to keep your batteries charged. You may find your Polaris has a duel battery setup. The Polaris drive system is a constant variable ratio drive which works on a centrifugal duel clutch arrangement. This works quite well but you need to make sure that the centrifugal 'plumb bobs' are not too worn or it will be a problem. If they are worn you can 'cheat' by reversing them. These are hard to get and are different from the petrol version. You are on the right track to build a great sled system. Keep at it.

This poor old planet is over exploited and overpopulated, (Too many rats in the box) not to mention ruled by lunatics. Humans are the only animal that picks the worst to lead the pack. Nature will fight back and we will be the losers, and gold won't save us.

If gold becomes worthless, the only things with value will be food, water, and shelter. (Wiping your bum will be the least of your problems). Cities will be death traps.

Bedrock Bob, an ATV might not have been the best solution for your purposes, but I can assure you that the situation in Australia is quite different with very large pastural paddocks and leases. To cover the vast areas here a hand dragged sled or other apparatus is just not on. We are not chasing gold up and down mountains and through bush. That is obviously a job for hand held detectors. Different horses for different courses.

The point that you have missed is that the article is about using a 40"Coiltek anti interference coil, which is most likely correct, however the coil that you intend to use is a Woody flexible mono coil, which will not work with a four stroke engine. The mono coil should give very strong signal response and great depth, however it will react badly to a four stroke engine. If you wish to use a four stroke ATV then you will need to match that to an anti interference coil which will give reasonable response on shallow targets but will not have the same depth as a mono.

Well by now you should realize that some things that you've been told are just BS. If you think that building a functional, practical detecting sled and tow vehicle is going to be cheap and simple, then forget it. If there was such a solution I would have already done it. It takes money to make money, and if you are not financial enough, and lack the knowledge and commitment , then you are just wasting your time. Dreams are cheap, but a feasible detector tow system is not. I have outlined a system that works, is very durable, and has proven itself over and over again. If this is beyond your budget then I fear you are in for a hard road, not to mention wasted time and money already spent. Over the years I have seen all sorts of hairbrained ideas of 'drag coils', from wheeled contraptions pulled by a man (or donkey as in one African operator), and a boom operated abomination on the front of a four wheel drive, but they have all had their limitations and failures. I constructed a number of prototypes myself before I built a system that works all day, day after day without breakdown and repairs costing me precious time. I would say that you would need to spend up to ten grand at least (includes detector) to have a workable system.

Stationary engines are used on firefighting applications where the vehicle is moving . No problem. It seems that you are intent on making problems for yourself. Good luck. PS I have seen stationary engines used on home made go carts and other mobile applications. All you need is a bit of ingenuity. https://thornado.com.au/product/thornado-7hp-go-kart-engine-for-sale/

https://www.edisons.com.au/baumr-ag-7hp-diesel-stationary-engine-4-stroke-ohv-horizontal-shaft-motor?queryID=96c8030a083f90a7523769dd6b968610&objectID=8071&indexName=Production_Edisons_edisons_store Perhaps an old Sportsman with an engine like this may do the trick. Should not be too costly or difficult to do a transplant. You don't need a lot of power as you only need to achieve 5 KPH. That Chinese monstrosity looks like overkill to me.

George, forget about the muffler, it is not the source of the noise problem. The knock, knock sound of the diesel is from the injector, not the muffler. I suggest that you try to get hold of a used Polaris diesel ATV. If you try the various ATV wreckers you might find one worth rebuilding. The diesel model is the same chassis as the Sportsman 500 only it runs a Fuji Heavy Industries diesel engine. This model is rare, but there must be some still floating about somewhere. Maybe a 'wanted to buy' add in 'Marketplace' or ATV magazines could yield results. A used ATV large enough to pull a sled should not set you back more than $AU 500 (less than an oz of gold). Do some research on mounting a small diesel engine in in a petrol ATV chassis. A good engineer or backyarder handy with a welder may solve your problem.

Only once. Even an 18" coil was not enough. Had to crisscross the area with the sled until the centre of the signal was marked. Scraped off about 6" and the signal came up with the 20"coil. Some digging later a brass tap was recovered at nearly a meter.