Highbanker options and power

[alberg99]

Hi all. I'm looking at getting my first high banker and have narrowed down the field to this Royal 30"
and the royal 50"

My concerns with the 30" are that the hopper seems to drop the material and water directly on to the rubber matting, leaving little matting left before material would get to the riffles and water and material seems like it would just be pummeling the rubber matting, washing away any fines out of the box where the 50" has a nice strip of grooved rubber after the hopper. I'd like to know your thoughts on how you think there would be any impact in this regard.

Also and perhaps more importantly, the 30" comes with a 2060 GPH 12v 7.5amp pump where the 50" comes with 2 1200 GPH, 12v, 4amp pumps.

I'm new to this whole battery/pump thing so please excuse my ignorance here and I have searched across the forums and found a lot of good info but nothing that has reassured me that I know what I'm dealing with here yet. If I went the two pump route, could I run them both off of one battery? From the info I've gathered, the answer is yes. Are there any battery recommendations out there? This all feels weird/dangerous bringing batteries down to the water. But maybe that's just me. (Before you say it, I'm not really interested in a gas pump).

All thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

 

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[rivets]

I would get the bigger one as well .... all the best

 

[winners58]

I would find one with a better hopper, one that you could rest a full size shovel filled with dirt that you could dribble in or let the spray wash off the dirt.
these look like you could break those spray bars real quick, best would be 3000gph bilge pump with a full size hopper with the spray bars protected, 10" wide sluice.
a good example would be south yuba mining's hopper with the spray bars on the outside SYuba exclusive products
then there's this one from gold hog that they recommend a 3700gph 12v pump; Mini Gold Highbanker | Mini Gold Highbanker

 

[Hoser John]

Run don't walk to Proline website and look at REAL mining equipment as the best dredge/hibankers with REAL dredge setup not on insipid grizzly bars for a 1 man show. Mini Tinker toys cost about the same and fall apart at the least provocation and run less than 10%. Your money but getting the most bang for the buck is extremely important and weight not that big a difference on the total needed to run either. John

 

[rivets]

I agree with Hoser John ... if I was to buy I would go with Proline ... their stuff just looks of a superior engineering and quality than all the others ... and I am also going to copy one of their dredge sluices to join with my combo ...

 

[alberg99]

Went to the proline website. As you say, their stuff looks great, but 2 things:
1. I wanted to stay with battery powered pumps. I have a few reasons for this but first and foremost is that my fiance regularly comes with me and reads a book on the river bank... She's not gonna like the sound/smell of it.

2. Proline is quiet a bit out of my price range. I wanted to stay shy of $500 if possible minus batteries.

 

[rivets]

Get her some ear and nose plugs ... that is till she sees the gold ... then she will want her own spade

 

[winners58]

a lot of people first starting out buy the cheep mini highbankers and immediately regret it
but keep using them just to try to get there moneys worth out of em'
I have a recirculating 10" sluice with a 2000gph pump its not enough flow to make it work right
I have to screen the material down with a kitchen strainer or it just blows the gold right out.
buy parts and put together your own, a river sluice is 110, legs are 50, hopper is 300, 3000gph bilge pump is 60.
or like the one from GoldHog I was looking at is 490 without the pump, just going a little bit bigger
will mean the difference between coming home with a few flakes to getting grams each trip.

(I just use mine for dredge clean up's looking at getting a gold cube)
might look at the Gold Cube with a topper or trommel.

if you would want to screen your material first you could just get a Gold Cube for $390
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Gold-Cu...5f815e8&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=200780226486

 

[alberg99]

Yeah. I know people who have the gold cube just rave about them. I just hate screening. It's the worst part and is not only time consuming, but labor intensive as well. Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

 

[Bill_saf]

Yeah. I know I just hate screening. It's the worst part and is not only time consuming, but labor intensive as well. Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

Well I hate to burst your bubble! But your going to screen you material that you get from the your matting when your done so like it or not its just part of the show. wait till you start pulling black sands with a magnet just get a big one.

 

[Hoser John]

In 60 years of mining NEVER used a magnet EXCEPT to prove to folks they turn your black sands and fines into a golden OREO cookie, holding your gold between 2 blacks with a costly golden center. Keep your exotic magnets completely away from detectors as much damage can easily ensue plus magnetized tools really causes troubles. -John

 

[Hard Prospector]

A few years back I was looking for a highbanker system that could move lots of material, run on gasoline or 12v pumps yet still be haulable by pack frame in pieces deep into the back country. I ended up buying a Mini Gold Grabber highbanker, powered Honda GX25 2200GPH 4 stroke and Rule 2000GPH 12v pumps. Since buying this equipment, I have for the most part become a desert prospector and its never been used. I'll let it all go for a good price, interested let me know.

 

[restless spirit]

gold buzzard!!

 

[motohed]

I would go with a Gold Hog unit , I have 3 of them now . I feel they are by far above the rest as they collect 98 % of the gold , even down to 400 mesh .

 

[alberg99]

Just an update. I did go with the royal 50" folding sluice with the hopper and 2 pumps. I tested it with some pay dirt. First I panned out everything that the box didn't catch. There wasn't a speck of gold there. Before even testing the box I could see most of the gold was caught in the upper matting and then panned it all out. So unless my panning technique is off, it caught everything I fed it, so I'm happy. Also the box folds up nicely to fit in a 5 gallon bucket. I bought a large backpack that can fit most of it as well.

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[restless spirit]

gold buzzard all the way.. tap plates for shovel hidden water bar plus a water rinse hose .I love mine