new recirculating sluicebox help....

[mattisdell1983]

Hey guys, its me again lol. Just a question. I built a recirculating sluicebox using my royal 30" sluice box. I bought a 1250 gph bilge pump to power it and have the thing setup at the right angle of 2-1/2" to 3" and with everything at full power the thing just doesnt get the water flowing like it should. I am using a 7 year old marine deep cycle battery that has been used alot but im not sure if thats the problem or if there is something else the matter like hose size, etc..Can anyone take a look and see what might be the reason for the slow water flow? thanks alot, Matt

p.s. I am open to any and all suggestions

here is the youtube link for my sluicebox in action.

 

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[Goodyguy]

Your pump is running fine .......looks like 1250 GPH to me. You just need a pump with higher GPH.
Dont confuse GPH with GPM. A 1250 GPH pump only runs about 20 gallons per minute.

For a concentrate sluice with no riffles 1000 gph would be plenty.
But you are running a river sluice.

If you are just going to be running concentrates take out the riffles, expanded metal and miners moss and run ribbed mat only down the length of the sluice.
Then your pump will be fine. Otherwise you will need a 3000GPH pump.

GG~

 

[mattisdell1983]

thats what i keep hearing too, I will do that, thanks alot. I will classify my material down to 1/8 and run it just through the ribbed matting?

 

[Goodyguy]

thats what i keep hearing too, I will do that, thanks alot. I will classify my material down to 1/8 and run it just through the ribbed matting?

you have to keep an eye on it and adjust the flow and angle as necessary.
Feed it wet concentrates not dry. For best results also add a few drops of jet dry to the water.... you dont want any flour gold floating away due to the water tension.

GG~

 

[WildDigger]

I am just getting into sluicing but I do know pumps. You can hook your pump straight up to your charger if you are concerned about the battery charge. But yes I would reduce your hose size to half what you have to create more pressure.

 

[Goodyguy]

I am just getting into sluicing but I do know pumps. You can hook your pump straight up to your charger if you are concerned about the battery charge. But yes I would reduce your hose size to half what you have to create more pressure.

Less water moving at a faster rate will not create the desired effect. Only a sufficient amount of GPM will correctly wash your material over the riffles and create the proper low pressure area behind each one.

 

[wingmaster]

Yep and trying to reduce the hose size on a bilge pump will reduce the GPM and kill your pump. With the bilge pumps anything over 3ft head is going to reduce your GPM greatly.

 

[WildDigger]

Well like I said I don't know sluicing. Lol. But it won't hurt the pump as far as mechanics.

 

[TerryC]

Your flow appears to be MUCH too low. The black sand needs to collect in the swirl after the riffle, not on top. If that is all you can get for flow, raise the top of the sluice much higher and adjust. TTC

 

[Hard Prospector]

I would have to agree, that does not look like 1250gpm to me(looks more like 500-750) That battery is so old the cells could be bad ,the pump could be struggling to pull the max amps it needs to run at capacity . Plus the holes in the spray bar could be a bit to small to move the amount of water that the pump is trying to accomplish. I do like the idea of straight ribbed rubber mating. Its hard to really trouble shoot a project from viewing a video, just some more things to consider. You did a very clean job on that project and I'm sure with some more fine tuning it will work great. Good luck...Rob