Anyone Have This Highbanker In Use?

[AzViper]

Anyone have this highbanker in use? What are your thoughts of this highbanker? $300.00 delivered... I found it on eBay but I also found their website, http://www.royalmfgind.com

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[tridge800]

Been thinking about one of these myself, curious to know as well!!

[AzViper]

Looks very well made in the craftsmanship. With all the steel parts being Cad plated is a plus. Here is the info. on the HB.

This machine is big enough to accept full shovel loads of material, yet is small enough to be easily transported to your prospecting site. With its low 3 amp draw motor, it can be operated by a small wheelchair battery all day. With its 100% welded frame work and additional bends supporting the grizzly classifier, this rugged unit can withstand heavy uses and even a 180 lb person standing on top of it. The four adjustable legs can be easily leveled on any terrain making this an exceptional item for all around prospecting.

Highbanker / Recirculating Sluice with four 24" independent leveling legs.

All corners are rounded and deburred, hardware is permanently pressed in.

Works directly in any water source (Creeks, Ponds, Rivers, Etc.) or even from a reservoir container.

* With the addition of your 30 gallon reservoir and tailing buckets (not included), you can turn this highbanker unit into a recirculator.



.063" Aluminum
24" Long X 8" Wide
5 Zinc Plated Riffles (Gold Coloring)
18 ga. Zinc Plated Steel Riffles (Gold Coloring)
13 ga. Expanded Metal
Outdoor Matting
Tsunami 800 GPH Pump uses a low 3 amp draw 12VDC motor
All four leg thumb srews made of Stainless Steel
14.8 Lbs.
Supplied with a 38 min how to use DVD

[TerryC]

I have a Jobe Highbanker set up to recurculate.... And a 270 gallon tank for the truck to take in if need be. TTC

[TerryC]

AZV, does the top-spraying water knock off ALL the sand? Nice unit. Maybe a couple spraybars just above the expanded steel if it doesn't. TTC

[Terry Soloman]

Looks just like a "Gold Buddy" recirculator. Great little desert machine when it gets too wet to drywash.

[AzViper]

Here is a few additional photos,

[AzViper]

Looks just like a "Gold Buddy" recirculator. Great little desert machine when it gets too wet to drywash.

Hi Terry, the same company also make this drywasher. I am totally new to prospecting but not new to the outdoors in Arizona. I have been all over Arizona on my hunting trips. In southern Arizona about 25 years ago I found an iron meteorite that had a weight of 3000 grams. It was laying exposed on the surface of a dry wash in the Santa Rita Mountains. Granted our dry washes are not dry in the winter time or during Monsoon season so these dry washes do get the soil turned over. From my understanding this area in the late 1800s had a meteor shower. In fact when watching a show on TV last year of these two guys that collect meteors they were very careful not to mention where they were located in southern Arizona but their camera crew exposed some of the surroundings mountains of which was in the area that I recovered the meteorite.

[Canuck]

Hey Azviper, I don't have that exact setup, But I have one that's very similar. It uses the same 800 gpm pump and is basically the same length and width. The biggest problem I have with mine is that there doesn't seem to be enough water volume to put a full shovel of dirt in at once. I can get away with a quater to a half a shovel and it works out not to bad. If you put to much dirt in you get a lot of pulsing in the sluice causing it to lose gold. To start out with its not a bad setup, it just doesn't alow me to process enough dirt. I'm looking to upgrade already. I hope that helps.

[Terry Soloman]

Hi Terry, the same company also make this drywasher. I am totally new to prospecting but not new to the outdoors in Arizona. I have been all over Arizona on my hunting trips. In southern Arizona about 25 years ago I found an iron meteorite that had a weight of 3000 grams. It was laying exposed on the surface of a dry wash in the Santa Rita Mountains. Granted our dry washes are not dry in the winter time or during Monsoon season so these dry washes do get the soil turned over. From my understanding this area in the late 1800s had a meteor shower. In fact when watching a show on TV last year of these two guys that collect meteors they were very careful not to mention where they were located in southern Arizona but their camera crew exposed some of the surroundings mountains of which was in the area that I recovered the meteorite.

Check out my buddy Bret Chilcott, out of Chandler, AZ. He makes all of our drywashers for the school, and does a lot of custom work for gold prospectors and miners all over the world. AZ Desert Gold

[Lanny in AB]

Great little thread on highbankers and drywashers--very interesting information.

All the best,

Lanny

[AzViper]

In looking at Highbankers and Drywashers I am about to jump in and buy both designs so I can use both at different times of the year. So many choices though and all built on the same basic concept. For me it’s going to come down to Quality, Less Moving Parts, Versatility, Easy to use, Recovering GOLD. In looking at all three the one that stands out is the Jobe due to the size of the Hopper and obvious amount of water that can be put into the Hopper to wash the rocks and dirt.

[Terry Soloman]

Just remember that that big old beast requires a lot of water, and the more material you move through it, the more times you will have to change that water. Muddy, silt filled water will float gold out of the sluice and screw up your pump. The little gold buddy uses less water and is just about right for a one man operation.

[lost]

I have a Gold Buddy. Run it with a 1200 gp and a 12V Walmart battery. I shovel directly into in 90% of the time. Half shovel full, stir it around with my hand until it's cleared and replete. Battery will last all day long...daylite 'till dark. I've only used it in the creeks, never in a tub at home. Haven't had a seconds trouble with it. If it loses gold, I haven't noticed. It's gotten me some good size pickers and lots of fines and a little flour. I carry it around in a wide plastic bucket and the battery in a regular 5 gallon bucket. The rest of my needs go into my backpack. Makes for a nice easy one way trip to the creeks. Sets up in minutes. Highly recommend the Gold Buddy.

[AzViper]

Terry and Lost thank you for your input. The Royal Highbanker and the early version of Gold Buddy was basicly of the same size and design. The newer Gold Buddy is slightly wider (1") over the Royal Highbanker but the Royal is $100.00 cheaper. In weight and length they are the same. The Gold Buddy has a 1250 GPH pump while the Royal Highbanker has an 800 GPH pump. One item that stands out between the Gold Buddy 1250 and the Royal High Banker is the Royal has a rolled edge along the top of the Sluice this adding strength to the Sluice and this is where you make your quick adjustments to the angle of the hopper.

Bottom line its really comes down to user preference. Being a builder of high quality poker tables I am leaning towards the Royal Highbanker as I have an eye on quality and I am a gambling guy. Hell going to southern Arizona backcountry is a gamble in itself due to all the drug traffic in the mountains. This is why my Dan Wesson 8" barrel 44 cal. is always strapped to my chest.

[RifRaff]

I have the gold buddy 1250 set up as a recirculated system. It works good but slow IMO.

I feed it with a plastic scoop and just bs with my buddy till the next scoop full. A 5 gallon bucket takes about a half hour or so for me then I clean up.

Depends on the amount of build up I have in the sluice. Kicking around the idea of adding a longer sluice at the end.

Have not used it at a river or creek yet but like the idea of not having to change the water every week. I have been in a lot of silt and clay lately.

[RifRaff]

Here's a pic so you get a idea. It's in my garage. I have a 2-1/2 gl bucket to catch the material at the end and dump in my back yard.

[AzViper]

Here's a pic so you get a idea. It's in my garage. I have a 2-1/2 gl bucket to catch the material at the end and dump in my back yard.

I like the idea of the sluice being longer. I contacted Royal yesterday to see if there was an option or if they could make the sluice longer. Just makes more sense to have it longer.

[TerryC]

AZViper, it is my opinion that the sluice box is long enough. Most of the gold will be found in the first two riffles. Or so it seems to me and others I have gleaned info from. TTC

[AzViper]

Was out in the shed getting my portable hot water heater I built for an Elk hunt and found my little U-Dig-It hand shovel I had bought 25 years ago, may come in use. Having hot water for a shower in the morning makes long stays outdoors much easier. This is a FloJet 12v pump and output is 60 psi. I used a stainless steel pot and cut the bottom out and welded it to the bottom of the keg. Next I mounted a burner to the bottom. I circulate the water from the bottom (near the heat source) to the top while the burner is on. Once the temps reach 110 degrees the hot water is ready to be used.