Opinions on the bazooka sluice

[yodi]

I have been reading up on the bazooka sluice I know many of you use them how do they stand up to boxes like the keene mod 51 and 52

 

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[Hamfist]

Just a note on the recirculating Sniper I posted earlier - don't run it as steeply as I have it set up in the photos. I ran it like that, and found about a dozen specks of gold in the tailings bucket after running only 2 gallons of concentrates. It was less than .01g of a .67g cleanup, but that's still too much. It was angled that way so water didn't splash out of the back, which it did at lesser inclines due to the height of the nozzle. A solution would be to get the nozzle closer to the deck, or to fab a removable panel for the head of the box. At such a steep angle, the fluid bed doesn't work properly.

Run it like you would in a stream and you should be good. Also, the length of the tube going from the pump to the plumbing makes a huge difference in GPH. I was in such a hurry to use this thing the first time that I didn't cut it to length. After shortening it from 4ft to 1ft, the 1,000 GPH pump is sending much more water through the system.

 

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[Gelmac]

Sure!

I built this last weekend in about an hour because I was tired of panning and wanted to speed things up. There are things I will change... next time I'm near a hardware store.

The fluid bed tubes appear to be made from 1/2" PVC on the Sniper so I used a slip-on coupler to attach a length of 1/2" PCV pipe to each. They stay permanently attached to the assembly of pipes that turns the whole thing into a highbanker. I connected the assembly to the fluid bed tubes loosely so it comes apart easily.

The rest of it is a very simplified version of other setups I've seen around the internet, using mostly stuff I already had in my garage. It could be done more efficiently than this, but it accomplishes the task of sending what seems to be ample water through the fluid bed tubes and over the deck.

The valve is unnecessary as it seems to flow enough water to the right places with a 1,000 GPH pump on the Sniper with it wide open. Larger would be better but this does work. Some people use two valves for more adjustability - one for the fluid bed and one for the deck.

The T fitting at the bottom is there because it's all I had, and my tubing fits into it snugly enough. Water flows in through the bottom.

You could build a spray bar for this. I planned to until I used it and found that it works fine as-is for the drywasher concentrates I was running. I plan to add a 45° elbow to the nozzle for the deck, but really, this accomplishes the goal.

Hopefully these photos help. My BGT is a 30" Sniper and it works comically well as a little highbanker, considering there might be $10-15 in PVC stuck to it.

Seems your setup is good for those who don't get enough flow or want to run their Bazooka units as a recir/highbanker. Good build !

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Just wondering, is there one or two fluid beds in the Bazookas?

Thanks

One, down where the tubes are under the grizzly area. Water flowing in the bottom chamber (below the slick plate) provides pressure for those tubes which keep the bed of material "fluidized" and that works the lighter material out the back and retains the heavies, including the gold.

 

[Hamfist]

Another update on the recirculating 30" Sniper for those who are interested.

I ran concentrates from 40 buckets of desert material and didn't use the valve this time, but made a few other very minor modifications. Decided to test pan my tailings bucket and was horrified/elated to find a .14 g picker/nugget. (!) Oddly, almost zero fines made it through.

This nugget is the cleanest/shiniest bit of gold I've found so far. It stands out in the vial of coarse pieces from the same location so I wonder if it may have just been locked up in a piece of clay or something. Another possibility is that gold in this particular location is coarse with crystalline structure and no round edges, so it may also be trapping air bubbles. I just thought I should let anyone who might be building a similar setup know that it may not be perfect.

Test pan your tailings bucket until you get it dialed if you're doing this. I'm putting the valve back on an boosting the pressure to the fluid bed next time. There was more than enough water flowing down the deck so it can definitely be redirected down the tubes. The sluice angle was 5.2° (2.75" rise for a 30" sluice).

 

[Frank D.]

Hamfist, Nice! Ive been working on something similar to that and I'll post some mock up picks in the sluice section if you want to see it.

 

[Frank D.]

Get a bazooka. I catch tiny gold with my Bazooka prospector that can only be verified under a jeweler's loupe. So it works real good.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Another update on the recirculating 30" Sniper for those who are interested.

I ran concentrates from 40 buckets of desert material and didn't use the valve this time, but made a few other very minor modifications. Decided to test pan my tailings bucket and was horrified/elated to find a .14 g picker/nugget. (!) Oddly, almost zero fines made it through.

This nugget is the cleanest/shiniest bit of gold I've found so far. It stands out in the vial of coarse pieces from the same location so I wonder if it may have just been locked up in a piece of clay or something. Another possibility is that gold in this particular location is coarse with crystalline structure and no round edges, so it may also be trapping air bubbles. I just thought I should let anyone who might be building a similar setup know that it may not be perfect.

Test pan your tailings bucket until you get it dialed if you're doing this. I'm putting the valve back on an boosting the pressure to the fluid bed next time. There was more than enough water flowing down the deck so it can definitely be redirected down the tubes. The sluice angle was 5.2° (2.75" rise for a 30" sluice).

Considering how different the picker is from the rest of the gold from that site, is it possible it was already in the tailings bucket when you started running? Nothing like having your gear contaminated with that nasty gold junk to mess up a good test!

PS Freddy Dodge told me about a time a friend brought him a sample (in a 7-11 slurpee cup!) of interesting material to pan out. Freddy classified and panned, got all excited, drove 500ish miles each way and found no gold at the site. Turns out there was gold stuck in his classifier that confused his test results. Now he uses a brand new set of screens each time he is sampling a potential commercial property. Live and learn. Wonder if I can get some of his hand me down classifiers? LoL!

 

[Hamfist]

Totally possible, Kevin! I'm running everything twice now just to be sure. It hasn't happened again. Kinda wish it would, haha.

Gold stuck in your classifier would be a nice problem to have!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Totally possible, Kevin! I'm running everything twice now just to be sure. It hasn't happened again. Kinda wish it would, haha.

Gold stuck in your classifier would be a nice problem to have!

Actually that happens to me all the time. Gold being soft and bendable gets jammed into a hole in the classifier and waits for you to throw the classifier in the back of your truck upside down so it can jump out and ride around in the back of your truck! Seriously you should always treat your gear as if it contains gold, it usually does. I flip my classifiers over once in a while, bang on the table and the rub the back side with a rock. When I wipe up the material released onto the table (Formica btw, not bare wood!) I always find some gold flakes.

 

[Goldhock]

Thanks Hamfist for sharing your ideas!

 

[SpaceJunk]

Got a 36" Prospector on order and should be able to get out in a couple weekends to try it out. I am soooo looking forward to stop expending so much energy classifying!

 

[goldenmojo]

SpaceJunk You will still be classifying but it will be with your new Bazooka. You will process more material which means more Gold. Good Luck in your pursuits.

 

[Goldhock]

Hook up for the mini...we'll see!

 

[CA Gold Hunter]

Hook up for the mini...we'll see!
View attachment 1171361 View attachment 1171362 View attachment 1171363 View attachment 1171364

I've been wanting to do this for my prospector. Let us know how it goes!

 

[KevinInColorado]

With the Prospector you will need quite a pump!

 

[CA Gold Hunter]

I think I read in another thread that a guy was usin a 1000 gph electric pump.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I think I read in another thread that a guy was usin a 1000 gph electric pump.

Yes but that guy is running a Sniper not a Prospector. I'm using a 1200 goh with a Sniper and I wish I had more water on the top deck. For a Prospector you'd need a LOT more!

 

[CA Gold Hunter]

Yes but that guy is running a Sniper not a Prospector. I'm using a 1200 goh with a Sniper and I wish I had more water on the top deck. For a Prospector you'd need a LOT more!

Well dang, guess I'll have to get a sniper , hard part will be convincing the wife i need another sluice lol. Just curious what type of battery do you use? I was thinking of getting a smaller motorcycle battery since it would be lighter to hike out to places but not sure how long it would last.

 

[Goldhock]

Well dang, guess I'll have to get a sniper , hard part will be convincing the wife i need another sluice lol. Just curious what type of battery do you use? I was thinking of getting a smaller motorcycle battery since it would be lighter to hike out to places but not sure how long it would last.

Hey Gold Hunter, I use a Duracell Ultra 35Ah Deep Cycle Battery with a Johnson 2200 gpm pump. It draws 7.5Ah. Look for wheelchair batterys. You'll probably want a deep cycle so you can discharge and recharge repeatedly without ruining your battery...just a thought! Ive ran my pump over two hours and the battery is still over 12 volts!

 

[KevinInColorado]

I got a deep cycle battery in a self rescue jump start thingy. Solves several problems for me: self rescue when out in the wilds 4 wheeling, runs my pump and is in a nice case so if I drop it I (probably) won't break the actual battery's case.