Gold Cube Trommel or Banker?

[lat 59]

Im posting in hopes that someone may have some experience with either the Gold Cube Trommel or Banker. Im hoping to preserve what little of my back remains, and am contimplating those options. Im involved with mostly black beach sands here in Alaska. Any input would be appreciated.

 

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[KevinInColorado]

I've used both (prototypes of both actually). The trommel works much better, I love it. The banker is ok,it works, but it's much slower going and takes more effort.

 

[jair]

I have the gold cube , and trammel , along with other equipment , it will depend on the size of gold you are trying to recover . In my case , the cube has done better for me then any thing els ,

 

[mu50stang]

I have the trammel and its great.

 

[lat 59]

Thanks for the quick replys, and insights. It sounds like the trommel might make sense. The flour gold is mixed in small gravel and sands, both black and blond, requiring bucket classifing in all but a few instances. Ill continue to try and justify it.

 

[Jimmydolittle]

You are asking about a trommel that goes on a cube?

 

[Hoser John]

Your state you live in mandates what you can use, when, how, where-Invest time for knowledge prior to doing any spending.John

 

[lat 59]

Thanks for that Hoser John, there are definately times and and restrictions that need to be complied with. Hopefully Im mostly up to speed on those. It is definately a valid consideration and quite limiting in most areas.

 

[Hamfist]

The banker looks like it would work infinitely better with the upper 1/3 or so of the punch plate removed and replaced with a slick plate, and the spray bar moved 1/3 of the way down and aimed towards the top.

It just looks so painfully slow to use in every video I've seen. You literally have to paw every ounce of dirt into the path of the jets and then manually push it all off of the punch plate with a tool or your hands. The Gold Cube is brilliantly designed and is one of my favorite pieces of equipment, but the Banker addition looks slow and frustrating to use, especially considering its $275-$320 price tag.

I've never used it, so I could be missing something, (and, if so, feel free to enlighten me) but after looking at any of the hoppers Gold Hog uses for their high bankers, I don't know why anyone would be happy with the Gold Banker addition. You can buy a whole Gold Hog Multi-Sluice for another $65... or $19 if you opt for the stainless Banker.

The Trommel looks awesome!

 

[bobw53]

The banker looks like it would work infinitely better with the upper 1/3 or so of the punch plate removed and replaced with a slick plate, and the spray bar moved 1/3 of the way down and aimed towards the top.

I had the same thoughts, it seems the videos I've seen people struggle with it. Saw one guy holding his shovel up there as a slick plate...

So I decided to play around... And slapped one together with some scrap I had laying around. Turns out at the fairly low flow of a
gold cube pump, it didn't help... My next thing is to bend the classifier so that the punch plate is on a steeper angle than the
slick plate... Something to play with...

I wonder if you went to a narrower classifier and got more flow per inch of width...

For the record, the Gold Cube is awesome... Though I'm not sure why I bought the tall stack, it seems to catch it all right at the top, and
the furthest I've seen visible gold on the mat was 7 riffles down in the first tray.

 

[Hamfist]

So I decided to play around... And slapped one together with some scrap I had laying around. Turns out at the fairly low flow of a
gold cube pump, it didn't help... My next thing is to bend the classifier so that the punch plate is on a steeper angle than the
slick plate... Something to play with...

I wonder if you went to a narrower classifier and got more flow per inch of width...

Good to know. The black part of the Banker, with the nugget traps, looks nearly identical to a hopper made by California Sluice Box. I ordered one in December and am looking forward to building something similar to what you're building when it arrives.

My wife got me the 4-stack for Christmas and I never find more than a spec or two in the bottom tray, but it makes me feel like I'm capturing close to 100%. In the field, I just use the 3-stack. I think I'm going to clean #4 out once at the end of each season, lol.

 

[aescal]

Question for anyone that has the GQ Trommel.... Is that thing sturdy with the extra weight on it? Thinking about getting one...

 

[KevinInColorado]

Question for anyone that has the GQ Trommel.... Is that thing sturdy with the extra weight on it? Thinking about getting one...

If you mean is the cube and cube stand sturdy with the trommel sitting on top? Yes. It's fine. The setup works great. Easy to run and produces gold without classifying (always a goal of mine!)

 

[aescal]

If you mean is the cube and cube stand sturdy with the trommel sitting on top? Yes. It's fine. The setup works great. Easy to run and produces gold without classifying (always a goal of mine!)

Thanks Kevin!

Now just gotta wait till end of the month to get paid and Im gonna get me one...

 

[lat 59]

Thanks again for all the input. As usual this is one of the best prospecting information sites going. A credit to all those who have and are making it what it is, an incredible source of information.

 

[PurpleGold]

The gold cube and trommel looks like a kick ass combo. I'd love to see pics of this in action and the results. I wish I could quit my job and prospect full time.

 

[Jakal]

I have the Gold cube and Banker. It is slow and you do have to work the dirt but if you are tossing sand, it is really fast. Most the dirt I run is rocky gravel bottom with this blue-gray clay mixed in. If you take the time to actually work the clay, you significantly increase your gold collection.

The trommel would be a great addition, but you may need to weld some fins in the barrel to really bust up heavier dirt.

 

[KevinInColorado]

The gold cube and trommel looks like a kick ass combo. I'd love to see pics of this in action and the results. I wish I could quit my job and prospect full time.

There's a pic of my using one in Clear Creek Canyon a couple weeks ago on my blog: www.findinggoldincolorado.wordpress.com

PS you may want to "follow" my blog to learn more about open spots in Colorado!

 

[aescal]

Nice blog Kevin....

I did see a pic of your GC setup, and if ya dont mind, can I pick your brain? How long does the battery run with both the pump and trommel feeding off it? What would you say is the feed rate on the GC trommel, as in shoveful? And lastly, do you remember the dims of the box it came in? (shipping it overseas and they calculate by volumetric weight)?

Im gonna have to visit them spots on Clear Creek on my next trip thru Colorado...

 

[KevinInColorado]

Nice blog Kevin....

I did see a pic of your GC setup, and if ya dont mind, can I pick your brain? How long does the battery run with both the pump and trommel feeding off it? What would you say is the feed rate on the GC trommel, as in shoveful? And lastly, do you remember the dims of the box it came in? (shipping it overseas and they calculate by volumetric weight)?

Im gonna have to visit them spots on Clear Creek on my next trip thru Colorado...

The battery runs for about 4 hours I'd say but your results will vary based on the battery you buy and how old it is too. One tip, we turn off the trommel when we take breaks but always leave the water running. This avoids having the vortex mat dry out which leads to loss of gold.

You can dump a #2 shovel of material right into the hopper of the trommel and by the time you are ready to feed the next shovelful, the trommel is hungry for more

As to shipping, I never saw it in a box since the one I use is a prototype owned by my friend Don. He does a lot of prototype testing for the Gold Cube guys. I'm sure you can get shipping costs via the web site where they are sold though. I hope it's not toooo much!