bazooka filling up too fast?

[INDEAD]

Thanks Arizau, far better explanation then I could give.
I know how it is but not why.

 

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[arizau]

Thanks Arizau, far better explanation then I could give.
I know how it is but not why.

May your future lockups be caused only by the build up of gold!!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Note that INDEAD stated that at least a 1/4 of the feed was heavy black sand and that is what I meant when I said "a heavy dose". The total weight representation of the black sands may be well over 25 percent of the total that enters the box with each shovel full. Much of that will immediately drop some or a lot before it is much influenced by the up currents generated by the influx of water through the tubes. There are many dead zones between the numerous up currents through which material drops then may be raised up and out when they drift into or are stirred by nearby currents. Other material simply settles with little to no extra influence other than stirring. I don't doubt that you encounter a lot of black sand but, in that proportion of feed material? And, is it mostly minus 50 mesh as is the basis of my theory? It is easy to imagine that your final con proportions may come close to that though.

By the way, gold that cannot penetrate should be retained on top of the bed if one forms as long as the bed is lower than the exit.

I have done trial runs of 90%+ black sand (thanks to Doug Watson who sells some amazing beach sluices for black sand beaches) and the Bazooka spits it out. A bed of black sand does not form. You have the opposite problem of NO bed forming. However, as long as there's a base bed of regular gravel, it will spit out the excess black sand and keep all the +100 gold. It will only hold "some" of the -100 under these or other conditions.

 

[INDEAD]

Kevin, I bow down to your knowledge and expertise. But the variables are to many, temp of the creek, ambient temp, make-up of the material, my own lack of experience.
The last 2 outings I made have ended up being frustrating with the constant lock up, that causes a back up onto the fluid bed that will not clear.

I do enjoy any input any member has, one can learn a great deal from the members on this forum!
Thank you.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Kevin, I bow down to your knowledge and expertise. But the variables are to many, temp of the creek, ambient temp, make-up of the material, my own lack of experience.
The last 2 outings I made have ended up being frustrating with the constant lock up, that causes a back up onto the fluid bed that will not clear.

I do enjoy any input any member has, one can learn a great deal from the members on this forum!
Thank you.

You sure have my sympathy. What I'm telling you is the main factors are not % of black sand or air/water temperature. It's all about current speed and sluice angle and alignment of sluice to water flow direction. Sometimes it IS hard to get it right...for me too! Especially in a situation where the bottom of the sluice is under the water...just like with a riffle sluice.

 

[arizau]

I have done trial runs of 90%+ black sand (thanks to Doug Watson who sells some amazing beach sluices for black sand beaches) and the Bazooka spits it out. A bed of black sand does not form. You have the opposite problem of NO bed forming. However, as long as there's a base bed of regular gravel, it will spit out the excess black sand and keep all the +100 gold. It will only hold "some" of the -100 under these or other conditions.

I agree with you in principle concerning black sands from ocean beaches. I mine ocean beaches every summer in Oregon and only once did I use my homemade zook and the results were much as you describe. That said my results from my other sluices are not much better. That is probably a function of the gold available being much less than 100 mesh and is just plain hard to retain. I had great stream flow and the excess black sand does spew out as there is no room in the box so that is all it can do. I too did not detect bedded material where I could reach. Virtually everything retained in the box was minus 100 mesh and was 90 to 95 percent black sand. With poorer stream flow I can envision the box loading with mostly black sand and locking up as has been previously described and may be INDEAD's main problem.

I was going to try the preloaded zook method while I was there earlier this year but there was not near enough stream depth or flow so I set up my regular sluice in less than ideal conditions. Same results....lots of black sand, very little gold.

 

[Goldwasher]

Kevin, I bow down to your knowledge and expertise. But the variables are to many, temp of the creek, ambient temp, make-up of the material, my own lack of experience.
The last 2 outings I made have ended up being frustrating with the constant lock up, that causes a back up onto the fluid bed that will not clear.

I do enjoy any input any member has, one can learn a great deal from the members on this forum!
Thank you.

If your going to the creek for trout then bring a thermometer...for a sluice not so much You realize how cold it is in the Yukon right...

I agree totally with Kevin A bazooka's recovery ability is affected FIRST by flow then angle......if you are lucky enough to have super fast flow run fast if the gravel clears shovel faster!!!

With slower flow you will need to create more drop and maybe flick or scrape rocks...especially flat ones.

With all set ups the most important thing to watch for in preventing loss is over feeding, clogging the grizzlies and creating a ramp and preventing some pay from getting to the trap. If you see muddy material going over the top deck it could have spit some color. Smaller boxes have this issue easier. We dump shovel loads in fast running prospectors....and buckets on a Miner...then turn around and get more dirt. With full confidence we are getting GREAT recovery of the gold in that material.

If you check your tailings you may find a kitey flake...or wirey...funky yet LIGHT ..I wouldn't worry that's the same type of gold that's hard to hold onto in any sluice. But, the fact is when you look at the size of gold you do recover, you'll fully understand how hard it can be for other sluices to catch and hold as much as a bazooka and with less work!!

THE TRAP TRAPS YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!!!!!!!!

Lock up can happen but, it's rare and due to flow that is too low to pressurize the trap. You need more flow into the trap. Do the normal sluice dance....rock weir....run it in a riffle...but, it is what it is when the waters too low time for a pan and screwdriver..

 

[Goldwasher]

You sure have my sympathy. What I'm telling you is the main factors are not % of black sand or air/water temperature. It's all about current speed and sluice angle and alignment of sluice to water flow direction. Sometimes it IS hard to get it right...for me too! Especially in a situation where the bottom of the sluice is under the water...just like with a riffle sluice.

I agree about the out put end hitting low pressure. I LOVE IT when I get to see the bottom of any sluice over hanging some thing...YAY FOR HI BANKERS!!!!!! Stream sluices hitting slack water can mess with you .

About flow alignment I've ran them pretty off kilter (but level side to side) like off the side of a bar or bed rock pool and had the V off quite a bit and everythin seemed ok. You can try to strategically place a rock on the side that's getting the faster flow and straighten it out a bit....Keep in mind that THE TRAP DOESNT CARE so it might just be cosmetic

 

[KevinInColorado]

I agree about the out put end hitting low pressure. I LOVE IT when I get to see the bottom of any sluice over hanging some thing...YAY FOR HI BANKERS!!!!!! Stream sluices hitting slack water can mess with you .

About flow alignment I've ran them pretty off kilter (but level side to side) like off the side of a bar or bed rock pool and had the V off quite a bit and everythin seemed ok. You can try to strategically place a rock on the side that's getting the faster flow and straighten it out a bit....Keep in mind that THE TRAP DOESNT CARE so it might just be cosmetic

Right about the trap not caring what the water looks like on the top deck. However, in marginal conditions you can maintain fluidization by exploiting 100% of the energy in the water flow...by being well aligned with the direction of flow where you set up.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I would agree with Kevin and Goldwasher here. If you have sufficient water going through the Bazooka, it is easy to get it set up so that it clears the grizzly, flushes the trap properly, etc. It is the slow water/low water problems that make you have to clear the grizzly with your shovel and be careful of trap locking up.

However, don't forget taking a tarp with you. Added to a small wing dam, it can dramatically increase your water flow through the Bazooka. If you don't take a tarp, large black garbage bags work, too. And yes, if you still need help, don't forget Kevin's suggestion to align with the natural flow of the water. Again, if you have plenty of water, no problems with the trap and the grizzly.

I did not address angle since sometimes there is nothing you can do about it, though a small rock wing dam with tarp may make angle OBE.

 

[Goldwasher]

Don't bother with a tarp....you would be surprised at what a little moss...mud and dry grass will do to hold water.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Don't bother with a tarp....you would be surprised at what a little moss...mud and dry grass will do to hold water.

Yes, but very little moss here and sometimes it is hard to get dry grass (like at Big Bend on the South Platte; just rocks). The black plastic garbage bags are lightweight and also work afterwards to haul out trash as well as to get more water through the sluice.

I would love to work areas with moss; it catches gold and I could work the moss.

 

[Goldwasher]

Yes, but very little moss here and sometimes it is hard to get dry grass (like at Big Bend on the South Platte; just rocks). The black plastic garbage bags are lightweight and also work afterwards to haul out trash as well as to get more water through the sluice.

I would love to work areas with moss; it catches gold and I could work the moss.

I'm just careful about having loose plastic in the water way....heaven forbid you pull your sluice over night and have some one come across it and they just see trash in the water.....I understand if theres very little to use for damming...I like heavy duty clear plastic...it looks more like a tool less like trash...trash bags =trash...I don't want to get caught digging with a bunch of trash even nearby..it then could be labled as my trash...another thing to use if your not going to far is 8'x 3 to 4 foot pieces of light wood...pine board or clear coated thin plywood. Its easier to build a weir that you can pull your sluice in and out of...you can hike it in once and cache it near your workings for later use.....and its wood easy to hide and doesn't look like trash...I also hate wrestling with plastic sheeting/tarp in moving water...though using it normally only comes up with lower slower flows.....But, please guys don't do like they do on the East Fork of the San Gabriel and leave the crap all over the place.

 

[goldog]

If you need the increased flow, some kind of barrier can work great. Mine at least doesn't look like litter. I can't see where picking it up and using it for trash on the way out looks bad either.

 

[INDEAD]

Nothing pisses me off more then some weekender trashing my claim!

 

[goldenmojo]

Originally Posted by Goldwasher
"With slower flow you will need to create more drop and maybe flick or scrape rocks...especially flat ones."

As Goldwasher says low flow and you will be continuously scraping material over the edge, If you are on really good gold then it just becomes part of the process. I have found the key to beating lockups in low flow is to get the nose out of the water so you don't get any back pressure and be on some sort of elevation drop if possible to get your flow. Sometimes the gold is there but the flow isn't. That's where being a panner instead of a sluicer becomes the reality. Also if you are running material that has a lot of lightweight 3/16" size and in low flow you are going to lock up. Good luck. Your own Experimentation will be the best teacher.

 

[Duckwalk]

some things i would like to add as i use a 30" sniper in VERY low flow as seen on my youtube videos. The key is to keep the leaves and pine straw (and sands...) out of the under scoop of the sluice. As Kevin saw here in GA the pipes easily get clogged with leaves and you wont even know it until you start to clean up. he lifted the sluice out of the water, tipped it down to empty into a pan and there was NO drainage at all from the scoop. who knows how much gold we were blowing out of the back without the bed active. Also, an easy way to flick the rocks off is to get a small janitors broom. most times i can shovel about 2 shovels worth and then while holding my shovel in one hand and a small 3' broom in the other, then i just sweep off the rocks and continue on my way. Here is a link to the flow i have here in GA.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAyu1wqIWMGlHP6IZJceORg

 

[Medina Joe]

Anyone ever have any problems getting the flow right on there trap. I had a hell of a time on saturday. I made a dam, and still could not get the water to clear the rocks off, hell even the sand.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Anyone ever have any problems getting the flow right on there trap. I had a hell of a time on saturday. I made a dam, and still could not get the water to clear the rocks off, hell even the sand.

Yes. It can be tricky in certain flows. In your case, using a dam, I'd add a bit more slope and see if that helps. Of course too much slope will lead to losing fine gold as you'd imagine so don't overdo it.

 

[goldog]

I'm going to try a low flow experiment since we're back to that here locally. I'll post.