Gold Cube

kikinit247

Jr. Member
Dec 20, 2013
33
50
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Upvote 0

yotaboy86

Full Member
Jul 14, 2014
201
213
Nor Cal
Detector(s) used
Bgt prospector/miner, Ggt nugget, gold cube, goldnsand hand pump Black magic miller table, blue bowl, garret pan
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I just bought one and mine is the three stack i believe it is 12"x12"x12" and its less than ten pounds
 

KevinInColorado

Gold Member
Jan 9, 2012
7,037
11,369
Summit County, Colorado
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Grizzly Goldtrap Explorer & Motherlode, Gold Cube with trommel or Banker on top, Angus Mackirk Expedition, Gold-n-Sand Xtream Hand pump
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Each tray is about 4 inches tall so he's referring to the whole stack.
 

mike(swWash)

Hero Member
Feb 6, 2008
755
1,433
Grays Harbor in Washington state
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Whites Spectrum XLT with about 1/4" of dust on it and can't even remember how t turn it on?!?!?
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Prospecting
That's about right, a 3 stack would be 12" high x 12 x 12. Don't forget the weight of the pump, battery and a stand of some sort. Backpacking would be pretty tough in one load.
 

yotaboy86

Full Member
Jul 14, 2014
201
213
Nor Cal
Detector(s) used
Bgt prospector/miner, Ggt nugget, gold cube, goldnsand hand pump Black magic miller table, blue bowl, garret pan
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Yes for all three stacked and i sure wouldn't be doing any hiking with it unless it were really close... enough to make more than one trip
 

OP
OP
K

kikinit247

Jr. Member
Dec 20, 2013
33
50
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Thanks for the info guys, its about a mile as a crow flies to the spot. Its part trail and part bushwhack. I really need two pieces of equipment as I am dealing with black sand/fine gold deposits at one location and river run material at another. I was hoping I could get the cube up the river a ways. 12"x12" almost sounds doable. Pump will fit in the buckets, hose in buckets, stand and cube strapped to pack. I might look like a turtle, but there is very little elevation change on the hike. The over under fallen trees might be an issue though. Any suggestions on the lightest battery for this type of application? I am thinking something like a motorcycle battery. I should add I have a partner to help split the load.

Thanks in advance,

K/247
 

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Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,417
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
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Tesoro Vaquero, Whites MXT, Vsat, GMT, 5900Di Pro, Minelab GPX 5000, GPXtreme, 2200SD, Excalibur 1000!
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Does your sluice box not work? Still the Gold Cube is great but unless you have very low water flow a small sluice would be better for packing overland. After packing buckets and screens in for a Gold Cube along with a battery, you may be better off bringing the sluice concentrates back home to the cube. If you have only fine gold then the Cube or a Gold Well will work great but a good sluice can be just a couple pounds.
 

yotaboy86

Full Member
Jul 14, 2014
201
213
Nor Cal
Detector(s) used
Bgt prospector/miner, Ggt nugget, gold cube, goldnsand hand pump Black magic miller table, blue bowl, garret pan
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Does your sluice box not work? Still the Gold Cube is great but unless you have very low water flow a small sluice would be better for packing overland. After packing buckets and screens in for a Gold Cube along with a battery, you may be better off bringing the sluice concentrates back home to the cube. If you have only fine gold then the Cube or a Gold Well will work great but a good sluice can be just a couple pounds.

Well if you are dead set on hiking in with a cube i have seen gel batteries for atv's that hold up very well might run you about a hundred bucks though
 

yotaboy86

Full Member
Jul 14, 2014
201
213
Nor Cal
Detector(s) used
Bgt prospector/miner, Ggt nugget, gold cube, goldnsand hand pump Black magic miller table, blue bowl, garret pan
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Oops didnt mean to quote your post reed
 

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K

kikinit247

Jr. Member
Dec 20, 2013
33
50
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I have a Keene a51 it does the job ok, but no matter how I set it up I am always finding flakes in my tailings. I almost want the cube out there more to see just how much is going out the back. I have a stand, use a level and have tried many different flow rates and box depths. Low flow is not a problem. I am relatively new to sluicing, but have used the sluice regularly for a year now and have had a lot of opportunity to mess with the configurations. I am not knocking the a51 either it is catching plenty of fines. When I pan tailings I find fine flakes, and when I test pan my holes I find lots of fines and flakes in every pan. There seems to be a discrepancy between what I pan and what I sluice. I have another location and use for the Gold Cube that is drive-up ready, but it is all fines with very little +20 gold. When the river level is down, however, I hike in to a different spot with bigger flakes. I am in WA, and I am primarily in areas with small gold.
 

DizzyDigger

Gold Member
Dec 9, 2012
5,787
11,446
Concrete, WA
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Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I have a Keene a51 it does the job ok, but no matter how I set it up I am always finding flakes in my tailings. I almost want the cube out there more to see just how much is going out the back. I have a stand, use a level and have tried many different flow rates and box depths. Low flow is not a problem. I am relatively new to sluicing, but have used the sluice regularly for a year now and have had a lot of opportunity to mess with the configurations. I am not knocking the a51 either it is catching plenty of fines. When I pan tailings I find fine flakes, and when I test pan my holes I find lots of fines and flakes in every pan. There seems to be a discrepancy between what I pan and what I sluice. I have another location and use for the Gold Cube that is drive-up ready, but it is all fines with very little +20 gold. When the river level is down, however, I hike in to a different spot with bigger flakes. I am in WA, and I am primarily in areas with small gold.

Not sure where you are in W. Wa., but if you're in my area
you're more than welcome to stop by and check out my Gold
Cube. I have a 4-stack, as that is said to be the best set-up
for the very small glacial gold we get here.

I use this battery:

12V 18Ah Replacement Battery for Jump N Carry JNC660 Jncair JNC 660 JNC4000 18A | eBay

I highly recommend the seller, as well (no relation).

A Gold Cube is bulky, so packing it in would be the last
resort for me. I store mine in a 36 gal. tote, and have been
able to float it down the river ahead of me.

As suggested, IMO you'd be far better off tuning up that
A52 (I can help there also) and then just packing the cons
home, then run them through the GC. For the drive-to spot,
it would be excellent.
 

Big Red

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Feb 4, 2012
102
14
Klamath Falls, Oregon
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Garrett: Grand Master Hunter CX III, CX Plus, GTI 2500, GTI 1500, GTA 1000 Ultra, Tesoro Lobo Super track, Sorex Pro, Discovery Electronics: Treasure Baron GoldTrax, Treasure Baron CoinTrax. Minelab:
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Or, you can use your imagination and buy a wheeled Deer Carrier, like I did and find a heavy duty tub and bolt it down, load her up and do it all in one trip? Mine comes apart easily, (bolts/wing nuts) for transport and is put together onsight, in 5 minutes or less.....Even added wheelbarrow handles and holders on the sides for all my hand dredges/pumps. Works awesome! Big Red
 

Oregon Viking

Gold Member
Jan 6, 2014
12,140
37,215
Brookings-Harbor Oregon
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White's prizm IV
Keene A52 with Gold Hog mats
Gold-N-Sand hand dredge
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delnorter

Hero Member
Oct 28, 2008
906
2,292
Northern California
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Good post O V, a little nostalgia looking at the old GPAA forum. I really enjoyed their forum/format. It's a shame they jumped the fence from their loyal followers.

Mike
 

Big Red

Full Member
Feb 4, 2012
102
14
Klamath Falls, Oregon
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Garrett: Grand Master Hunter CX III, CX Plus, GTI 2500, GTI 1500, GTA 1000 Ultra, Tesoro Lobo Super track, Sorex Pro, Discovery Electronics: Treasure Baron GoldTrax, Treasure Baron CoinTrax. Minelab:
Primary Interest:
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Great Post DizzyDigger, I just bought one of those batteries off your link, sealed lead-acid 12V 18 Amp Hour for $35.00 w/free shipping! Should run the pump for my Gold Cube, just fine! Awesome man, thanks, Big Red
 

jvan

Full Member
Sep 30, 2014
149
201
Placerville, CA
Detector(s) used
Gold Hog Raptor Highbanker, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Fisher F70, Bazooka 36" Sniper, Gold Cube, Gold Vac Pac, Pans & Pans
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I had the Gold Cube and packed it down to my claim a few times, I had 4 trays and I tell you it was a pain in the butt! Gold Cube is good for cleaning up cons IMO, After I got the cube I got the Gold Hog Raptor, that was the best money spent.. So I would save your money and buy a gold hog highbanker or at min just get a sluice with some hog mats providing you have the water flow needed...
 

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kikinit247

Jr. Member
Dec 20, 2013
33
50
Western Washington
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Thanks for all the replies, sorry for delayed response. I spent the last two days digging. I am now trying classifying down to 8 mesh before sluicing. Day one I found gold in the last riffle, not a good sign. Day two I cleaned out halfway through and did not find any gold in the last riffle. There is a lot of black sand in what I am working. On a good day I might run just shy of 20 gallons 8 mesh. Has anyone ever found that using something other than the green mat provided under the expanded metal is superior for catching fine/flake gold? After doing the hike twice in two days I am think that the Gold Cube may be to much of a burden to pack down the trail.

Dizzy
Thanks for the link and the advice. We might have to meet up sometime, I am interested in seeing the Gold Cube in action. Have you used or do you know anyone who has used a Bazooka Gold trap in Washington? If so, how does it compare with a well running Keene A51 or A52 for glacial gold?

Big Red
I'll look into the deer carrier it sounds interesting.

Oregon Viking
That is a good link. I am tempted to try that.

Jvan
I will look into the Raptor. How heavy is that set up? Is back packable?



K/247
 

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Reed Lukens

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2013
2,653
5,417
Congres, AZ/ former California Outlawed Gold Miner
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Whites MXT, Vsat, GMT, 5900Di Pro, Minelab GPX 5000, GPXtreme, 2200SD, Excalibur 1000!
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All Treasure Hunting
If you have a lot of magnetite then get an orange magnet The Big Orange Gold Magnet: Keene Engineering Online
More than once I have mined in a place that will plug up a sluice in less than an hour. Separate out the magnetite and see if your sluice runs better. If you can shovel in and hold the magnet, you can check the amount going in quickly.
 

jvan

Full Member
Sep 30, 2014
149
201
Placerville, CA
Detector(s) used
Gold Hog Raptor Highbanker, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Fisher F70, Bazooka 36" Sniper, Gold Cube, Gold Vac Pac, Pans & Pans
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
It is not easy to per se, put in a backpack, but it does not weigh much about 40 pounds... but you would need a dc pump I got one for $49 on amazon does a good job, you just need good power source auto battery or what not, or you could get a 20 pound gas 4 stroke water pump they cost about $140........ check out doc's site, if it seams to big for you to carry out to sites then I would go with the mini high banker he sells.... And if all fails and you only get some keene sluice or something then I would advise you to order hog mats they do wonders!

I carried the cube down to my claim a few days by my self and it was only half mile hike but was a pain in the butt even with a cart... Cube is a good stay at home cleanup system... Others may disagree, unless your in a super super super rich ground it won't be worth it... When I used mine down on my claim I could only do about 10 buckets of unclassified down to about 4 1/8 mesh buckets and the amount of gold was disappointing... Ran the same exact dirt and same tailings with hog mat and got bigger pcs and good recovery...

I am not putting the Cube down at all, but I think it has a place for fine gold to run cons through at home to catch the fines...
 

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