A co-worker used to spend the summer dredging in southern Oregon and would go into town once a week for supplies and such. he had a water wheel setup on an automotive alternator to charge his batteries in his van/coach. Says it worked well. Sounds like an idea, but now you put it into a public forum, it will be added to the banned procedures.

Posted By ARTHUR WAUGH on 04 Jul 2016 08:43 AM
A co-worker used to spend the summer dredging in southern Oregon and would go into town once a week for supplies and such. he had a water wheel setup on an automotive alternator to charge his batteries in his van/coach. Says it worked well. Sounds like an idea, but now you put it into a public forum, it will be added to the banned procedures.

It is considered as a mechanical device .And can not be use for gold recovery.Yes you could still use it as a power source.

No Motorized parts to a Water Wheel. Should be legal. no Pollution, no noise. i may just build a Steam powered dredge.

In this case I belive that the problem in this case is the electrical generation to run any item. If you used the direct force of the water to move the parts without any secondary item you might be ok but then that would be a real bear to set up a dredge to operate that way.

I believe Tim was talking about using a geared or belt driven setup to run the pump/compressor shaft, rather than a gas or electric setup.  The bite is the pump.  The whole system would be regarded as a "mechanical device" .  Bicycles are a mechanical device and are banned from designated Wilderness Areas, the same as motorized devices, be it vehicles, chain saws, snowmobiles, etc.  Same theory at work here in some places.

I just brought up the wheel/alternator as an example that it would be possible to make it work with the right gearing to drive the pump.

Question

I thought "Motorized" meant "Combustible engines" only. Water wheels are not in that category.

Motorized = motor
Can not use battery power motor is some places

Just to help with clarifying the issue.

 SEC. 3. Section 13172.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
13172.5. (a) For purposes of this section, the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment, also known as
suction dredging, is the use of a mechanized or motorized system for removing or assisting in the removal of,
or the processing of, material from the bed, bank, or channel of a river, stream, or lake in order to recover
minerals. This section does not apply to, prohibit, or otherwise restrict nonmotorized recreational mining
activities, including panning for gold.

 Do not get this mixed up with other types of mining, this only pertains to dredging, not motorized sluicing known as high-banking.  Motorized Sluicing in California is controlled within other regulations when it is above casual use within a jurisdiction. In California this would be controlled mainly through a 1600 stream alteration permit within the CFW when it goes beyond casual disturbance. This statement with regard to California SB 637 and the regulation based on it can be defended as not relating to Motorized sluicing (high banking) without question in my opinion.

Thanks to all for their input and shared knowledge. I guess I will vacation in another state that is more Dredge friendly. California's loss, some other states gain.