DIY Fluid bed/Traditional Sluice combo?

[Johnnybravo300]

Losing a little fine gold doesn't bother me and i haven't seen enough in my catch pan to worry about. I'm sure I throw back some small specks when I toss my cons back in the creek anyway haha.
I've tried days of classifying with my bazooka and days where we scooped in with no 1/2" class.
We can run quite a few more buckets without a doubt, maybe 3:1 or 2:1, but the gold take is still the same. It's because the same amount is processed but a higher grade material is run through vs a bunch of low grade.
I guess it comes down to whether a fella wants to sit and classify for a richer grade bucket full, or sit at the sluice for longer periods and feed buckets of lower grade.
Sitting at the sluice is easy but it takes time that you could be digging. Running an extra 10 buckets of low grade is hardly worth it unless you have a highbanker or a machine to do the hand work for ya.
You could have concentrated that easily into a few smaller buckets and spent more time concentrating your pay and been sitting at the sluice for less time...which leaves more time for digging.
I do appreciate having the option to not classify and to shovel directly in but it's usually not the most productive or efficient way. Mining is all about moving material and you need to be in your hole to do that. Nothing eats into your time as much as sluicing low grade. Not to mention the wasted energy.

 

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[KevinInColorado]

I think both of your posts are right, in context. As with everything in gold prospecting...it depends on the paydirt you are digging. Lot of big rocks? Clay? Overburden? Speed of stream near the good gold? Etc. Etc. Always need the right tool for the job which is why many of us end up with a variety of gear

 

[Johnnybravo300]

True that. I have an Angus sluice and it's perfect for where the bazooka struggles and the same for other tools. Seems like everywhere ive dug has been different and sometimes it's anyone's guess what you'll need haha.

 

[SRP_KBell]

I think we can all agree on the importantance of having a “go to” sluice we use most of the time. The bulk of my gear is used for specific tasks or shoulder month conditions.

Fortunately the iron horse doesn’t care how much crap we pack!!

 

[RTR]

True that. I have an Angus sluice and it's perfect for where the bazooka struggles and the same for other tools. Seems like everywhere ive dug has been different and sometimes it's anyone's guess what you'll need haha.

Ditto on the Angus

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I may sell my little bazooka and get a bigger production grade Angus. I get all nice and warm filling buckets then cold again sitting at the sluice hehe. The grub stake is a great back pack sluice but on the slower side. I staked a claim this last spring so I need to think about more production.

 

[SRP_KBell]

Nice gold JB - dump the whole Angus idea and go for one of our 16” sliding highbankers!!
33” when collapsed and about 48” when fully open. Moves a ton per hour!
Bigger, badder, better.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I don't think I've seen that but I'll check into it, thanks. I'm at the point where I need to step up production and I've been looking at different equipment. Not sure which way to go but leaning towards a highbanker dredge combo of some type.

 

[utah mason]

I've been really enjoying my piglet. Great recovery, can handle all I can shovel. Can also be run as a 2" dredge

 

[Johnnybravo300]

The gold hog piglet yep. It's small and compact and might fit in my Subaru too hehe. I've been looking at those but I didn't know it had a dredge attachment too. That could be a bonus when you need it.

 

[utah mason]

I'm sure there's a few videos of it running in dredge mode. Plus one person can dredge while the other continues to shovel.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Johnnybravo300]

The piglet looks good but slow. I need something I can dump buckets into. I need much faster hehe.
I wonder why these machines don't have molded sluices and drop riffles to do away with the pesky mats. Other companies seem to have figured it out.

 

[utah mason]

I think the mats are great, you can change them around to match what suits your gold and water flow.

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[SRP_KBell]

JB -

An 8" width is not near enough surface area to get any real volume processed.
We just sent a customer a custom 24" x 5 foot highbanker - two tons an hour - By the bucket, no problem.

 

[utah mason]

I'm usually by myself. I set up were I'm shoveling from. And it can process the material as fast as I can dig it. But if your looking to process buckets as fast as you can. Then look at the larger units they have I.E. raptor or superhog.

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[Johnnybravo300]

I'll have to find a happy medium and I'll be by myself at times too. I doubt I'll be dumping buckets most of the time in reality.
I'm like this when it comes to spending the money. I want to do it right the first time and I still have to answer to the wifey bear. Don't mind me haha.