Could it work?

[BennyBacon]

I have a question to ask? Could you use a paint try as a sluice like thing? If not what are some cheap small sluices? Thanks!

 

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[Goldwasher]

you would be better off panning

 

[et1955]

Don't waste your time, check out on the internet " Homemade sluices " your answer is there. Goodluck

 

[roadrunner]

Try looking at these and look for DIY projects.
Small Sluice

 

[goldenmojo]

As Goldwasher says get a pan and learn to pan well. In a lot of situations you can pan out quicker than classifying, bucketing, sluicing then panning the sluice concentrates. It's the skill you will use most. Once you earn enough from your panning buy a Bazooka. Good Luck.

 

[mytimetoshine]

As Goldwasher says get a pan and learn to pan well. In a lot of situations you can pan out quicker than classifying, bucketing, sluicing then panning the sluice concentrates. It's the skill you will use most. Once you earn enough from your panning buy a Bazooka. Good Luck.

I'm starting to realize that if you just speed pan down to black sand and dump In a bucket you can actually move quite a bit and in some spots is more practical. Only down side is the endless sea of sands to pan out! Just ordered a miller table to deal with them.

 

[Gold Cube]

I have a question to ask? Could you use a paint try as a sluice like thing? If not what are some cheap small sluices? Thanks!

Have a look at the Banjo Pan it is part sluice and part pan. Mike

 

[Gelmac]

Try looking at these and look for DIY projects.
Small Sluice

That thing really looks like a mini-sluice, as roadrunner said you can transform it into a stream-sluice easily by looking at some of the videos of DIY projects by people on online sources and/or posts on forums. Good luck !

 

[et1955]

Panning is for testing, learning and cleanup only. The skill you will use most is the knowledge you learned from your experiences mining, once you learn how to read a river you will always see where the gold is. It is a rare situation where panning can out do a sluice, it all depends on the river you are mining or the location on it, like canyons or gravel bar. But still I would rather walk 200ft. carrying my classified to 1/2 inch gold bearing material in a 5 gal. bucket to my A52 sluice than sit and pan the equivalent of unclassified material,3 to 4 full buckets. Dig, classify and sluice run 20 min. vs. at least 2 1/2hrs and that also depends on depends on the material you are running, black sand little or a lot will make it even longer when panning. If you are new to mining don't get the Bazooka, It is a area specific sluice needing a lot of flow to run properly, the A52 and other sluices are more forgiving in there setup location and with a few mods you will see instantly see if you are finding gold, great for learning. Remember it is your experiences and knowledge that determines how much gold you find not the equipment.

 

[Gelmac]

Agree Ed, a lot depends on your experience/know-how and the geology/place and the type of material being processed , a 2k equipment won't be of much help if you don't know where,how and when to use it !
Heavy yellow pans to you !

 

[Goldwasher]

Panning is for testing, learning and cleanup only. The skill you will use most is the knowledge you learned from your experiences mining, once you learn how to read a river you will always see where the gold is. It is a rare situation where panning can out do a sluice, it all depends on the river you are mining or the location on it, like canyons or gravel bar. But still I would rather walk 200ft. carrying my classified to 1/2 inch gold bearing material in a 5 gal. bucket to my A52 sluice than sit and pan the equivalent of unclassified material,3 to 4 full buckets. Dig, classify and sluice run 20 min. vs. at least 2 1/2hrs and that also depends on depends on the material you are running, black sand little or a lot will make it even longer when panning. If you are new to mining don't get the Bazooka, It is a area specific sluice needing a lot of flow to run properly, the A52 and other sluices are more forgiving in there setup location and with a few mods you will see instantly see if you are finding gold, great for learning. Remember it is your experiences and knowledge that determines how much gold you find not the equipment.

Kinda......There are definitely places where I can out produce someone with a pan, a pry bar, a screw driver and a plastic scoop.....vs. running a classifier and a sluice.
also it is rare to find a place that you can run an a52 and not a bazooka. I ditched my proline for a 36 prospector and have never ever wished I had it back.

The original question was can I use a painters tray for a sluice? My answer was basically that you will get more panning vs. using a painters tray as a sluice.

Not will you get more panning vs. sluicing.

madmarshall out produces sluicing with 3/4 of a gold pan on a consistent basis. I figured out a long time ago he keeps his broken pan and shows it in his videos to rub it in everybody face and considering his success rate I can't blame him.
sluices don't find gold prospectors do.
and on the other hand we sluice and hi bank on our claim until because it is what is required to produce from the overburden before we uncover the cracks in the bedrock. if the overburden wasn't there I would just poke along with a bar and a pan.

pans are not only for testing learning and clean up.

Sniping with basic gear minus a sluice can be very productive.

 

[Goldwasher]

I went to a new spot and sampled the other day. Found a picker with a screwdriver in the first crack...colors in every pan. But I was breaking cracks. Figured I would bring my drop riffle next time




When I came back I set up my sluice in an are that sampling showed good color....unfortunately it was a weak flood deposit. I went back to my pan and crack tools and pulled a gram within 20 minutes..minus the weight of the mercury but with the other fines I panned and some thick flakes I kept in non mercury snuffer I still ended up wit a dwt!

 

[Goldwasher]

Sorry still trying to figure out phone app

 

[mytimetoshine]

I think i could pan 3-4 buckets in way less than 2-3hrs. Not panning all the way down and snuffering all the fine gold no. But speed panning down to black sand and then going through it at home yes. What usually consumes most of my prospecting time is the digging of the 3-4 buckets!...and of course hiking to your dig site.. anybody figures out a faster way to this and there on to something. And don't say dredge...lol.:sly::banghead::thumbdown:

Also depends how close to the water your digging. If digging far from the water then I would rather put it in a sluice. Sluice setup time can be a killer too.. assuming you can even set it up close to the dig site.

 

[Asmbandits]

I agree with goldwasher, once you have fiddled around enough you will start to see what works best. Ive found more gold with a pan and hand tools than any of my other equipment combined. I only run the bazooka on the overburden about one foot to bedrock or if I want to push gravel all day. Otherwise it's crevasing with a few basic tools. Get yourself a nice 1/2" classifier and pan and get good at panning and trust yourself to do it fast but accurate. Some will pan down to just black sand but I only bring it down to enough to fan back to see what I have. Once I get a peek I dump it into another pan to clean up carefully the next day. The more time you spend prospecting or mining the more that you realize that time and quality of ground are the two major factors to consider, even with a day trip. Some get a kick out of gadgets and equipment but I'm only interested in that stuff if it's a necessity for the ground I'm working.

 

[Goldwasher]

Without mercury

 

[goldenmojo]

I am saving what little back that I have left so I am not hauling buckets any farther than i have to. Because of this I have learned to clear a full unclassified pan and snuff all the stubborn gold out of the black sands in less than three minutes. If I can dig right into my Bazooka all the better. As for a paint tray I use that for painting. Good Luck to all in your pursuits. Very nice take Goldwasher!

 

[Eastforklocal]

Agreed w all posts ,.cracks and just maybe a spoon can produce very well .. I've been the guy w the sluice mindset right next to then not catching pickers .. Lol

 

[CApicker]

Another to agree with GoldWasher...
So my neighbor who taught me panning is Mr. bring everything to the river and he always brings his folding sluice box...
I'm already 2 pans in by the time he is all set up to run some pay...
At the end of the day I have more Gold with a pan, garden shovel, clasifier and sucker bottle than he does with 45 pounds of overhead...!
Not trying to be a smart a** but realy I learned quick not to bring a sluice until I find a pay streak that will take days to finish... still looking for that.
Bottom line for the Mother Load is travel light and be able to move around quickly and the day is almost never a bust. be light and fluid. stay healthy and watch for snakes!
Set up a camp and you have a chance at busting... just saying...
Oh and ya I looked at paint pans a couple times and almost tried it... your asking good questions.

 

[Bonaro]

Skillful hand panning is the critical final step in any type of mining. No matter if you sluice dredge or feed a trommel, at the end of the day you are panning. It is also the most efficient method of gold recovery. Other methods like sluicing will raise your production rate but are all lower in efficiency.
Learn to pan and learn it well. After that you can use a screen, sluice or mini HB to concentrate prior to panning and you will always walk away with the biggest poke.