Recirculating System

[lchavezmisc]

I was hoping to see what everyone has done for recirculating. Ive been drywashing, but I am adding a sluice to the mix for those damp weekends. I've searched and seen the some post, but most focus on the sluice itself. I've also seen what's on google and YouTube, but they mostly show testing at home and not in the field.

How much water does it take per day?

Smaller double tubs or one big one?

How much material do you run per day?

I'm going to be running gold hog matting and from what I've read they require a greater flow.

Educate me........pics would be greatly appreciated.

 

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[lchavezmisc]

I thought this was interesting instead of adding pipes between tubs.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

there are lots of threads here talking about recirculating systems. Look around a bit; here is one: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/sluicing/487299-la-trap-w-header-box.html

 

[Rockwerx]

I thought this was interesting instead of adding pipes between tubs.

I like that idea for a few reasons. Large enough pipe for good flow, easy to take down the bins for transport and easy to prime. This is my next project to make a better decant system.

 

[utah mason]

The only thing I don't like about that system is it pulls water off bottom of tank where water is dirtiest. Instead of top where water is cleanest.

 

[SpecJet]

I was gonna say the same thing.

You could put some CoroPlast gates in the tubs to force the water to travel in a zig-zag pattern around the tub before exiting.
Over and under gates, and moving the transfer pipes to opposite ends of the tub could also help to increase the waters dwell time in each tub.

I like the idea though. very simple to construct and no holes in the tubs.

 

[SpecJet]

I wonder if you could put another 180 fitting on one side of the transfer pipe and bring the end of it up near the surface.
That way you're only skimming off the cleanest water.

Not sure if the hydraulic differential would still work though.......Hmmm, may have to test that.

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

Just use hose that's looped over the lids




Add dividers to control water flow, run it along the outside of the tub to start, gradually increasing the gap between the tub and divider slowing the water as it goes around to enter the larger body of water in the center.

 

[Rockwerx]

I use some dividers in our tubs to help the decant process. They made a big difference helping the fines to fall out of suspension.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

The only thing I don't like about that system is it pulls water off bottom of tank where water is dirtiest. Instead of top where water is cleanest.

I think shorter pieces of pipe might fix that. My first thought after deciding I liked the approach was exactly the same thing. I also think goldenIrishman does a similar thing without the 90 degree bends on the bottom; keeps it shorter and less likely to suck up dirt and stuff from the bottom. He uses his hands to cover the ends instead of the bends. I linked a thread above where he shows his system.

 

[QNCrazy]

I recently posted a video of my basic setup. I have tested with several different screening methods on my system. The filter system i was using that day failed miserably. I designed the filter system to run with bilge pumps and was trying to screen down as much as possible to not plug up the pumps. The concept was good but practical application sucked. Plus, I was using a new pump, HF 1 hp trash pump, the problem was the screens kept clogging. Once I removed the smaller screens, it ran better but not optimal, partly because the opening in my spraybar was 1/8" and would get plugged up as well.

The solution to my problem was in one of my previous filter designs where I made four wood frames that fit snugly into my tubs. Two of them had 1/8" mesh and two with window screen mesh. I placed both of the 1/8" in the tub between the discharge of the sluice and the 2" pvc outlet. The window screen ones went in the tub between the inlet of the second tub and the pump. When they plugged up, I pulled the one closest to the outlet/inlet, clean, and replace it. Then do the same for the other. As my new pump can handle 1/2" material, my plan is to use only the 1/8" screens and add a third tub.

I'll try to post a video up later of the screens in action.

Edit:
This was my first test run using the screens with 1000 gph HF bilge.

https://youtu.be/eWeKm9uKkwA

This was my second attempt with the filters on my high banker adding a 750 gph pump.

https://youtu.be/wQKeeokJzVU

 

[lchavezmisc]

The following worked on the same principal and I'm going to give it a field test this weekend.

 

[Rockwerx]

The following worked on the same principal and I'm going to give it a field test this weekend.

I like that idea because it is more portable than other siphon tube methods. Your idea should work well. Let us know how you make out please. Good luck!

 

[motohed]

I just bought a Gold Hog multi sluice consentrator , I'm waiting for it to arive , it can be run with a small amount of water maybe ten gallons . I will be recirculating the water . I'm sure it could be run with less .

 

[goldenIrishman]

I was hoping to see what everyone has done for recirculating. Ive been drywashing, but I am adding a sluice to the mix for those damp weekends. I've searched and seen the some post, but most focus on the sluice itself. I've also seen what's on google and YouTube, but they mostly show testing at home and not in the field.

How much water does it take per day?

Smaller double tubs or one big one?

How much material do you run per day?

I'm going to be running gold hog matting and from what I've read they require a greater flow.

Educate me........pics would be greatly appreciated.

Ok... I'll give it a shot here since I'm in the desert and if I'm sluicing it's GOT to be a re-circ system. I'm running a Le'Trap with a headerbox as shown below....



Dual barrels that take about 45 gallons to fill when setting it up. 1500 GPH pump on main box and 1250 GPH pump on spray bars. I've run others and have seen other boxes used but I really like my Le' Trap system. Clean outs take me 2-1/2 minutes from start to ready to run more materials. Sure, I want to do some more mods to it like larger pumps, more barrels/tubs etc, but it's working well so far.

1. After my initial setup, water usage depends on how much materials I run a day. Needless to say you have to dump tailings and every time you do that you're going to be loosing water that's stuck in the tailing materials. On a 5 gallon bucket I'd estimate that there's about a gallons worth of water trapped in them. I will usually go 5-7 buckets between top offs. Depending on the materials I'm running through the system I can go about 4 days before I have to clear the muck out of the bottom of the barrels. I take 165 gallons of system water out with me and that USUALLY lasts me about 2 weeks. (The majority of my weight when heading out is from water)

2. The more tubs/barrels you can get into the flow system the better! I'm planning on adding two more to my system soon. Tractor Supply Co. have horse water tubs that hold about 60 gallons each and will stack for transport. The more stages you can get, the more crud will drop out by the time the water gets back to your pump(s).

3. That depends on a lot of different things. How hard is the digging? How far am I hauling it to get it to the sluice? How much energy (or lack of) do I have that day. If I'm in a good area, I'll dig and stockpile about a yards worth of materials (40 buckets) before I start running then through the Le' Trap. One thing I like about the way I have my Le' Trap set up is that you don't have to classify below 1/2 inch. The grizzly screen in the headerbox takes everything down to 1/4 inch.



4. Docs mats DO take a lot of water so my suggestion would be to get the largest pump you can get. If it proves to be too much, you can throttle it back with a valve. They also are designed to be run at steeper angles. Doc has tons of videos on his site and I'd recommend that you study them before you buy the mats! It's a fantastic product, but like any gold recovery equipment it takes time to get it dialed in. Docs videos will greatly cut down the amount of time it takes if you really listen to what he says. One thing to keep in mind here. How much water you need to pump is going to depend on how wide your box is. It's going to take more water to get a wider box to the same depth as one that is narrower in width. I could run my first sluice (6in wide "Long Tom" style) off of a 750GPH pump. The Le' Trap would laugh at that little amount......

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me. I don't check this section all that often.

G.I.

 

[lchavezmisc]

Had a successful run this weekend with the recirculating system. We arrived at our location sat at sunup. Visited with our neighbor and fellow prospector for a little bit then got to work.

First thing we did was practice on some tailings from the dry Washer. Ran about six buckets of this stuff and found a little color.

Next was a comparison with the dry washer with fresh material that we had stockpiled to dry out. We ran about 10 buckets though dry washer and about 6 in the sluice. This was wall material that had collapsed into our digging spot from a previous storm. We never see much from this stuff but you never know so we always run it. Even after two weeks of drying time, material was still damp so dry washer clean out had none, but the sluice had a little color.

Now we are confident it's working so we run good material. It's staring to get late by this point so we only run 4 buckets. Very nice color.

End of day sat, good food, great company and a warm fire.

Sunday morning we mine and break camp as we go. Storm coming in so we plan on leaving by 4:00.

First run was 6 buckets and color was good. Second run got to six and had to shut down as the battery was loosing juice. I suspect the battery is not in the best condition as it sat for a 1.5 years without being charged. Think I'm going to need a fresh one if we are to get two full days.

Turned out to be one of our better clean out weekends. We had dbl the color and ran only half of what we typically run in the DW.

Used 100 gallons water. Being our first time recirculating water usage was a little sloppy.

Need to use gloves. Had them, did not use them, hands where a dry cracked mess by Sunday afternoon. And it seemed like the reddish soil was stained into my skin.

Spray bars plugged up. Need to think about this a little bit. A little wire got them going, but there must be a better way.

Going to switch to the top fed tubs. The siphon method worked, but pulled the muck up from the bottom as everyone suspected.

It's supposed to be a wet season for us so I have a feeling we will be using the sluice heavily for the remainder.

 

[motohed]

I like to set my pump in a seperate container that is with in .5 to 1 inch from the top water level this will help with less sludge and a cleaner water supply . It should also be as far away from the reciculation point as possible .

 

[lchavezmisc]

Modified the spray bars so that there are no dead ends. Tested on a bucket I brought home and all ran well, no plugged holes. Still need to modify the tubs....tomorrow perhaps.

 

[motohed]

Modified the spray bars so that there are no dead ends. Tested on a bucket I brought home and all ran well, no plugged holes. Still need to modify the tubs....tomorrow perhaps.

I would run your return close to the bottom and use a seperate tub in the bucket , ETC within an .5 Inches to 1 inch for the top of the supply water . It works quite well for a dingy water supply without the silt .

 

[lchavezmisc]

Second trip with recirc and mods. Much less silt with the top feed between tubs. I'll post some setup photos the next time.

I process about 5 buckets of raw material before I have to empty the silt bucket up front.

I process about 15 buckets before I have to clean the silt out of the front tub.

Did not have to clean silt out the back tub this time. Ran 25 buckets total and the back tub only had about 1" of silt.

Used 50 gallons of water on this trip which was almost half what we used the first time.