WATER SCOOP/SHOVEL QUESTION

[af647]

WHAT IS THE BEST LONG HANDLE SCOOP OR SHOVEL EITHER COMMERCIALLY OR HOME MADE OUT THERE?
ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN ONE I CAN GET WITHIN 100 MILES OF TORONTO BUT OPEN TO SOMETHING SPECIAL EVEN FAR AWAY
HAVE SOMETHING BUT TOO HEAVY AND TOO SHORT
SAW AUSTRALIANS USING PLASTIC SHOVELS BUT CAN YOU GET THEM HERE AND WILL THEY HOLD UP OR BREAK?
ONE WITH HANDLE THAT EXTENDED WOULD BE GREAT
HATE THOSE LONG S SHAPED THINGS ANY IDEAS?

 

[hershey1]

Check out the detector acessories there were a few nice scoops for sale and the price was nice also. HH

 

[scubadetector]

Sunspot made in Detroit. The best for this area.

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

I vote Sunspot for scoop and Predator Tools (owned by Pamela Lesche) for shovel.

 

[bob.oz]

Ive been using this 6" SS scoop for 5 months,it is heavy,so i drag it behind me in my right hand...I think it came from Kco,I borrowed it from a friend and its the only one Ive ever used....I too would like a new scoop...this one works fine on a soft sand bottom,but tends to go to the sides when encountering a shell/harder bottom on that first dig.....would a better lip with more a tip be better,or a more square one like the stealth?Something bigger than 6"...8"?

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

I like the bigger scoops (8") to dig as much sand as possible on the first scoop to avoid having to dig and dig when the sand fills the hole back in again. The rounded tips tend to do better in rocky areas and you can use either tip for the sand. Of course of the larger scoops weigh more, specially when they fill up with sand while you're dragging them down the beach.

 

[ROBOCOP]

Mine's one of a kind.
6" x 6" bucket 15 inches long aluminum with a SS lip
Long bent aluminum handle (welded to bucket) with hoop for support when standing on the back of the bucket (digging vertically)
Assist handle for carrying tilted bucket to the surf to drain it.
I can use this one-handed and never have to lay my detector down or even have to bend my back (big plus)
Whole thing weighs about 5 pounds and I use a rope with golf grip as a shoulder carry and it balances perfect on my shoulder.
I put the SS lip on the aluminum bucket with marine-tex epoxy and rivets

I use a 11 inch coil and I can pinpoint good enough that the 6 inch square bucket is big enough.
No sense lifting more wet sand than you have to. My bucket full of wet sand is about 20 pounds. That's all I feel like carrying to the surf one-handed to drain it.

This setup has evolved over time and suits me.

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

Mine's one of a kind.
6" x 6" bucket 15 inches long aluminum with a SS lip
Long bent aluminum handle (welded to bucket) with hoop for support when standing on the back of the bucket (digging vertically)
Assist handle for carrying tilted bucket to the surf to drain it.
I can use this one-handed and never have to lay my detector down or even have to bend my back (big plus)
Whole thing weighs about 5 pounds and I use a rope with golf grip as a shoulder carry and it balances perfect on my shoulder.
I put the SS lip on the aluminum bucket with marine-tex epoxy and rivets

I use a 11 inch coil and I can pinpoint good enough that the 6 inch square bucket is big enough.
No sense lifting more wet sand than you have to. My bucket full of wet sand is about 20 pounds. That's all I feel like carrying to the surf one-handed to drain it.

This setup has evolved over time and suits me.

Very interesting design. Looks very functional. Assuming you made it yourself.

 

[ROBOCOP]

A local guy is a certified marine welder who built the basic long handle scoop.
I added a lot more holes to the bucket to maximize the drainage.
Over time I added the assist handle and the SS lip and then I went back to him to have the hoop section added so I could balance on the back of the bucket.
I added the rope shoulder strap just to give my left hand grip a rest.

 

[Tom Slick]

ROBOCOP- I use and like my SunSpot but you're scoop has got to be the best design I've ever seen. I think I steal your design (if you don't mind) and have a handle made for my sunspot along the same idea.

 

[ROBOCOP]

Yeah sure I don't think you can patent a scoop design.
Someone else will always build a better mousetrap.
It is a interesting combination of tradeoffs to design and build one.
It is amazing how much torque you can put on the full bucket of sand while digging and then rotating the bucket from vertical to horizontal while in the ground and then breaking free from the ground suction. I use all my body weight to bury the bucket and to leverage the handle to break the bucket free.
Sometimes I have to touch up some cracks in the epoxy between the SS lip and the aluminum bucket but it's a good digger.

 

[ROBOCOP]

I think the Sunspot is stainless steel so the joint of the bucket to handle would need to be similar material welded together.
The torque on this joint is a lot!
A full stainless steel handle would add a lot of weight (one of the tradeoffs to be considered).
Maybe a stainless steel sleeve could be welded to the bucket and then it could receive a bent aluminum handle (to save weight).
Bolt the aluminum handle to the stainless steel sleeve or epoxy it in permanent.
The balance of a SS bucket and aluminum handle would determine the location of the assist handle to carry the full bucket of wet sand easily.
Again it's a balance of tradeoffs to think about.
Good luck.

 

[Tom Slick]

My SunSpot has a wooden handle held in place with U bolts. I was thinking of using the same diameter aluminum handle and making a wooden plug that would fit inside the bottom 6" of the handle. This would keep the aluminum "pipe" from collapsing under the pressure of the U bolts.

 

[ROBOCOP]

I'm not sure if the U-bolts connection will be strong enough.
Rotating the buried bucket from vertical to horizontal and breaking the ground suction is like a 4 to 5 times multiplier of the weight of the full bucket.
If the bucket weighs 20 pounds with the wet sand you need a twisting force of 80 to 100 pounds to break the bucket free.
That's easy to do with a 4 foot long handle and applying 20 to 25 pounds ( leverage is great) but the bucket joint takes that 80 to 100 pounds of twisting force.
Try it but I think you need a welded joint between the bucket and the handle if you're going to dig vertically and twist the bucket out of the ground.

 

[dewcon4414]

Starvr makes a very good scoop as well out of the Ukraine. Nice design wide SS buckets. VA MAX uses them. Im a ProScoop guy which i have modified. BUT...... Chuck at Sun Spot does make a heavy duty scoop.

Dew

 

[jyt2017]

I had this special made from RTG. Its 10 inches in diameter. I need to sharpen point for where I am. It has a SS tip. Its aluminum.

HH an GL -Joe

 

[Sven]

Dump that miserable shovel your using.
Finally do it right, now that you found gold you can afford a decent scoop.
There's a lot of terrible designs out there.
To make sure you get the small stuff get a scoop like I own. You want it to drain fast........small holes as well.
Order a Sunspot or a Proscoop and be done with it, you only have a short time to hunt the water, snow and ice are knocking
at our back door.
Get the larger one, you'll need it for the Pulse.
By the way there is a local dealer who has them is stock.

PS Put a magnet on the back so all the bobby pins, tacks, pins will not fall out, making you dig again. Besides it holds onto our coins.

 

[ROBOCOP]

Will those SS scoops take 2 feet standing on the back (180 pounds body weight) and dig vertically till the bucket is buried in wet sand and shell and then rotate horizontally and come out without deforming the bucket ? If the bucket holds up will the handle to bucket connection be OK ?
This renourished sand on Florida east coast beaches is tough at the low tide line.

I have 2 gussets welded to my bucket and handle and it feels like I need need all that strength to dig deep with the bucket.

Thanks.

 

[eek]

Go to Golddiggers out of N.J.and talk to Ron....he is having some built at this time and I have ordered one....he has a youtube video up that shows how it works and what it looks like...It is SS and the size is 9 1/2 inches wide, 11 1/2 inches deep and 5 inches tall.

It takes a wood shovel handle and has a ton of 1/4 inch square holes in it....I hope it works as good as it looks. Go to youtube and search the "gold digger proto type beach scoop" and see what it looks like.

Good Luck,

Elton