Home Panning Set Up

[Millz90]

Hey guys....I was just out panning in my garage and dealing with dirty water and carrying the panned dirt out of the garage when I’m done and draining the water and thought there has to be a better set up.

So I thought it would be a good idea to post on here and see what everyone else’s set up looks like and if they have a way to recirculate or clean the water easily some how.

Here is what I’m dealing with. After about 3/4 or a 5 gallon bucket, the water is destroyed and I can see anything really. But it does work and I can do it in my garage.

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[Toecutter]

Hook up a pool filter maybe? Or use less water so its easier to change, I use a cement mixing tub its alot more shallow then the tubs you have...

 

[No gold in NY]

Yeah, I'm with Toecutter. You are making a lot of work for yourself with those huge tubs. I use a baby bath tub. Small and has a drain plug. Better than a mixing tub. Too bad you have that clay paydirt. You don't really have to see what you are doing when panning down. When I get down to the black sand, I drain the water out of the pan and add small amount of clear water as needed to separate out the gold. I keep a jug at my feet. Here in cold country, I save this operation for when I can't get out. During the season, I bring home 10-12 pails of concentrate.

 

[Millz90]

Yeah my though on the wash tubs is that it has a hose drain at the bottom so I just lower that down and drain the am water when needed but the larger rocks clog the hose so it doesn’t work the best and I end up scraping most of the dirt out with a bucket.

How do you pan in such a small space?!? This wash tub is filled with dirt when I’m done. Do you just keep emptying the baby bath when it gets full?

 

[Underburden]

When you get home, dump your 5 gal of paydirt into a wheel barrow outside. Fill with water then use a potato rake or similar to work your stew back and forth. Decant the muddy water and repeat the process several times. Soon you will have clean paydirt to pan and your panning water will stay clean much longer.

 

[RTR]

I just pre-wash the material good outside with a hose,gets rid of most of the mud .

 

[No gold in NY]

Yeah my though on the wash tubs is that it has a hose drain at the bottom so I just lower that down and drain the am water when needed but the larger rocks clog the hose so it doesn’t work the best and I end up scraping most of the dirt out with a bucket.

How do you pan in such a small space?!? This wash tub is filled with dirt when I’m done. Do you just keep emptying the baby bath when it gets full?

I scoop the dirt out occasionally with a coffee can into a pail. The tub size works well for me. Even with the 14 inch pan. All we have here is fine gold. I classify to 1/4" at the stream. Can't see hauling rocks home.

 

[whistler84]

Why not just use a red ryder wagon? You could just silicone the bolt holes, then you have an easy way of dumping

 

[Goldwasher]

Hey guys....I was just out panning in my garage and dealing with dirty water and carrying the panned dirt out of the garage when I’m done and draining the water and thought there has to be a better set up.

So I thought it would be a good idea to post on here and see what everyone else’s set up looks like and if they have a way to recirculate or clean the water easily some how.

Here is what I’m dealing with. After about 3/4 or a 5 gallon bucket, the water is destroyed and I can see anything really. But it does work and I can do it in my garage.

View attachment 1773662 View attachment 1773660 View attachment 1773661

Number one reason why panning anything other than samples and cons back at home.

Just isn't all that fun.

In containers wetting dirt to pan it for its first time is always gonna be a muddy cluster.

Best bet is to concentrate with a recirc sluice outside. Then pan your relatively clean cons in water that you can actually see through.

If you have access to water in the field even for just panning to concentrate . Do it there.

Bringing buckets home to run. just isn't productive.

Prior to recirc sluice Classify down to say at least 1/4 inch If you feel like you have muddy clay dry lumps. Break those down in a bucket with water then classify the wetted washed material

Your just trying to introduce as little sediment and organics as possible.

This is a nice set up for recirc and dealing with muddy water. i set one up for a customer a few years back and it worked great. ran a BIG 110v waterfall pump in the third tub.

 

[arizau]

One thing you can do is to submerge a container or even another gold pan in your tub and pan over it/into it. Drain and empty the solids from the container periodically. As long as you are panning dug dirt or unwashed concentrates you are going to have to deal with dirty water so if you can, bring home to pan only prewashed material or concentrates.

Good luck.

 

[N-Lionberger]

I also do the safety pan method, I submerge a pan and pan over it to catch my dirt.

 

[firebird]

I just do it in the backyard and dump the water in the lawn afterwards for the plants. Be sure to cover your paydirt when you're not panning it, my dumb cats have actually pooped in it once when I wasn't looking!

 

[Bodfish Mike]

I just do it in the backyard and dump the water in the lawn afterwards for the plants. Be sure to cover your paydirt when you're not panning it, my dumb cats have actually pooped in it once when I wasn't looking!

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Dumb Cats --- no such thing --- Mine has done the same thing and knocked over gold pans drying gold in the sun.
She's very mischievous a trouble maker and a ***** but not dumb.
Mike