Clay Clump Killer

[ZombieKnot]

Had a problem with clay clumps clogging up a sluice box and built a motorized feed out of a post hole digger from Harbor Freight. Wrapped by a section of 8 inch ventilation duct and leaned at a 45 degree angle to spill onto slick plate of sluice. Was speed controllable by throttle and worked a whole summer no problems. We had to hammer the digger blades back at bottom to fit in duct but seamed to chew up clay better with them. The motor handles were used to hang it in front of box and it sat in a feed trough not touching the bottom with tip and bent digger blades. Make sure about 3 inches of blade pokes out bottom of duct to pickup pay dirt that was just poured in from 5 gallon buckets. Hope it helps. Happy Trails.

 

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[Assembler]

Had a problem with clay clumps clogging up a sluice box and built a motorized feed out of a post hole digger from Harbor Freight. Wrapped by a section of 8 inch ventilation duct and leaned at a 45 degree angle to spill onto slick plate of sluice. Was speed controllable by throttle and worked a whole summer no problems. We had to hammer the digger blades back at bottom to fit in duct but seamed to chew up clay better with them. The motor handles were used to hang it in front of box and it sat in a feed trough not touching the bottom with tip and bent digger blades. Make sure about 3 inches of blade pokes out bottom of duct to pickup pay dirt that was just poured in from 5 gallon buckets. Hope it helps. Happy Trails.

Wonder if this could also scrub black sands some as well to help loosen values?

 

[southfork]

Had a problem with clay clumps clogging up a sluice box and built a motorized feed out of a post hole digger from Harbor Freight. Wrapped by a section of 8 inch ventilation duct and leaned at a 45 degree angle to spill onto slick plate of sluice. Was speed controllable by throttle and worked a whole summer no problems. We had to hammer the digger blades back at bottom to fit in duct but seamed to chew up clay better with them. The motor handles were used to hang it in front of box and it sat in a feed trough not touching the bottom with tip and bent digger blades. Make sure about 3 inches of blade pokes out bottom of duct to pickup pay dirt that was just poured in from 5 gallon buckets. Hope it helps. Happy Trails.

Ok I'll bite how will an auger break clay up. And ventilation duct seems awful thin to handle rocks and dirt. Show me a picture of this setup! I run clay in a cement mixer barrel for long periods to liquefy.

 

[Reed Lukens]

A trommel works best...

 

[ZombieKnot]

Ok I'll bite how will an auger break clay up. And ventilation duct seems awful thin to handle rocks and dirt. Show me a picture of this setup! I run clay in a cement mixer barrel for long periods to liquefy.

You are right, i was wrong- the tube was from an old fire place so "stove pipe" which was pretty thick. There is a gap on the sides that let material recirculate and the pipe extended about 20 inches above the blades so the weight of material kept pushing down, grinding and crushing. The horse trough had angle iron bars in front of blade intake that only let 1 inch ball like clay and aggregate through. the churning blades did the rest. we had to stop loading about every ton and shovel chop in front of those "finger bars" cause big stuff needed coaxing. My first trough was an old toilet bowl found near diggings- failure! The slick plate had screen deck above it for about a foot and two wide, was boxed by 2x2's to lift off and sort through. Not much clay on that half inch wire weave that I can remember.
Lost 60 years of pictures, tools, clothes, boat gear, etc. when storage unit broke into and burgled. Built a '70 LaFrance fire engine portable sluice box, had it on VCR tape operating-all gone, no life to revisit, sux.
You ever build a FRANKENSTEIN for recovery? love to hear about it.
Just remebered Fred Dodge used an auger 15 foot long and 3 foot round on one of his "Mine Rescue " episodes for to solve a clay problem. Think it was in an accident on way to mine site. Fairbanks?
It's late, rambling, Night.

 

[Assembler]

You are right, i was wrong- the tube was from an old fire place so "stove pipe" which was pretty thick. There is a gap on the sides that let material recirculate and the pipe extended about 20 inches above the blades so the weight of material kept pushing down, grinding and crushing. The horse trough had angle iron bars in front of blade intake that only let 1 inch ball like clay and aggregate through. the churning blades did the rest. we had to stop loading about every ton and shovel chop in front of those "finger bars" cause big stuff needed coaxing. My first trough was an old toilet bowl found near diggings- failure! The slick plate had screen deck above it for about a foot and two wide, was boxed by 2x2's to lift off and sort through. Not much clay on that half inch wire weave that I can remember.
Lost 60 years of pictures, tools, clothes, boat gear, etc. when storage unit broke into and burgled. Built a '70 LaFrance fire engine portable sluice box, had it on VCR tape operating-all gone, no life to revisit, sux.
You ever build a FRANKENSTEIN for recovery? love to hear about it.
Just remebered Fred Dodge used an auger 15 foot long and 3 foot round on one of his "Mine Rescue " episodes for to solve a clay problem. Think it was in an accident on way to mine site. Fairbanks?
It's late, rambling, Night.

I was thinking that you referred to dry clay going through a auger?

Ball mill or trammel will give the best results on damp / wet clay.

Any breaking down of the clay is better then not doing so.

 

[Assembler]

Some people will set clay out to dry in the sun before breaking up and screening dry before any kind of process is used to get the heavies. Dry climate is often needed or a dryer for any kind of volume of clay to be processed.

 

[N-Lionberger]

My ECV chapter has a LeFrance fire truck, having trouble picturing it as a sluice box.

 

[Assembler]

My ECV chapter has a LeFrance fire truck, having trouble picturing it as a sluice box.

This may sound silly however I have seen some older pictures of a wide wooden sluice with expanded metal and there was a truck traveling over part of it with a good size spray nozzle washing out that part of the sluice box. I think it was a way of speeding up the clean out.

I think they where looking for courser values.

 

[N-Lionberger]

It does has a built in high pressure pump and handles off road decently hmmmm…

 

[Assembler]

It does has a built in high pressure pump and handles off road decently hmmmm…

If the dirty water is contained in a settling pond you can reprocess the material through a different process if you like.

The high pressure pump is hard to beet for some types of cleanup. Way more power then a lawn mower size set up. Just saying.

 

[pepperj]

My ECV chapter has a LeFrance fire truck, having trouble picturing it as a sluice box.

I can picture the ladder part.
Good for a 100ft up the slope.😁

 

[Assembler]

I can picture the ladder part.
Good for a 100ft up the slope.😁
View attachment 2070689

Water that goes up that high must have a lot of force coming down. Something to think about. Cutting into a steep cut is not a problem.

 

[Assembler]

People have been killed by the miss use of a water hose off of a ladder truck. Not to be played with. Safety calls for everyone to be removed from the working area first. There is no restriction for using this for mining use. The way the water is handled is the factor that must be controlled.

The water can not travel into another drainage system and sediment issues are the main factors.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Ours is much smaller than that it’s from the 30ies

 

[Assembler]

Ours is much smaller than that it’s from the 30ies

I would use what you have first as it will run circles around a lawn mower size water pump any day of the week as far as moving water / working materials goes.

Your fire pump will do a lot of work in just a day or two. The fuel cost may not be as bad as you may think as it will give you some real answers in the same time frame.

 

[Assembler]

View attachment 2070708

That water nozzle in picture # 3 would clean out a sluice in short order.
Your fire truck could run enough water to make it work even if it is at a lower pressure.

 

[Assembler]

View attachment 2070718

Put an add out in your local Craigs listing for fire hose and see what happens.

 

[ZombieKnot]

My ECV chapter has a LeFrance fire truck, having trouble picturing it as a sluice box.

Think of a double PTO powering pumps from a tank of water. Way simple description. From cab in front down to hose bins in back; a 2 foot wide clarkson style expanded riffle sluice with slick plate in front that dropped into horse trough on hinges. Water pumped into mix box on cab fed by 1 yard bucket; then over sluice into trough with aggregate runoff. Big tube top of trough flows back into silt tank on tailgate then to water tank. Cut some holes, wink. Trough filled with tailings tipped over silt tank onto ground every hour or so. While running. Fed by back hoe tractor and bucket that took out front windshield first day. Small testing operation for portability. Proof of concept for gravel pit. Needed Truck with built in pumps and reservoir and FLOW CONTROLS. Ate a gallon of oil per day, old engine. Yes was water loss but could drive to water supply for dust prevention tankers and top off at lunch. Think the tank was 500 gallons. Used JB weld to keep it working; 20 packets. Did not come with ladders. About a 1,000ounces in 130 days. Spot $380/ounce back then. Just cleaned mats into empty silt trough end of day. Picked up by site foreman into front end loader. South of Denver. Cost $7,000 to buy and build. OIl and gas and 2 tires about $3,000. 50% commission for 4 months work.
Have a design to build 20 foot flat bed TOW TRUCK into large portable sluice if an investor is reading! Gives adjustable sluice angles due to parking under gravel pit shaker decks. Silt tanks on stinger in back. EPA yaknow.

 

[ZombieKnot]

Some people will set clay out to dry in the sun before breaking up and screening dry before any kind of process is used to get the heavies. Dry climate is often needed or a dryer for any kind of volume of clay to be processed.

Ever see a clay trap after grizzly on a high banker has steel rods in front of outlet to sluice? Keeps clay in water stream until beat up enough to pass through "fingers".