Folding sluice box?

[b.jmining530]

What is the best folding sluice box for going out on little scouting trips and as dependable grab and go backpack setup ?

 

[AzViper]

What is the best folding sluice box for going out on little scouting trips and as dependable grab and go backpack setup ?

No brainer... Welcome to T Net, Royal Products.

 

[Goodyguy]

Another good backpacking sluice that doesn't require folding is a small Bazooka Gold Trap sluice.
The Snipers - Bazooka Gold Company

GG~

 

[425jesse]

I just got a 30" sniper. Excellent choice for a backpacker. All you need is a shovel, and a pan or small tub to clean it out.

 

[Gold Rover]

I have the Royal sluice in the video. It's handy, light and well made. I've had a lot of fun with it in the season that I've used it, but in hindsight I would go with a 36 in. or smaller fluid bed sluice. The gold in my neck of the woods is very small and I'm not convinced it catches the small stuff very well. Also I can already see wear at the corners of each section from opening and closing it repeatedly. Plus, I worry about it dribbling fine gold out of the leaks at each section. This year I'm going to tape the seams in an effort to minimize any loss.

I'm now in the process of making a fluid bed sluice.

 

[AzViper]

I have the Royal sluice in the video. It's handy, light and well made. I've had a lot of fun with it in the season that I've used it, but in hindsight I would go with a 36 in. or smaller fluid bed sluice. The gold in my neck of the woods is very small and I'm not convinced it catches the small stuff very well. Also I can already see wear at the corners of each section from opening and closing it repeatedly. Plus, I worry about it dribbling fine gold out of the leaks at each section. This year I'm going to tape the seams in an effort to minimize any loss.

I'm now in the process of making a fluid bed sluice.

That's my biggest concern in the folding design. BJ asked for a folding sluice and the Royal products are second to none, but if BJ can handle any of the Bazooka's that's a much better choice. We as readers do not know his intentions on the uses of any sluices.

 

[b.jmining530]

I want to get a "scout" pack together so I could go out and explore new areas with out bringing the entire setup that my buddy and I use. It also would be nice to just be able to grab a bag of prospecting stuff and just go ....

 

[b.jmining530]

I want a folding sluice that I can throw into my backpack and just go explore with and not bring the whole setup my buddy and I use

 

[b.jmining530]

Mainly I want portability and small size

 

[Gold Rover]

Mainly I want portability and small size

The Royal folding sluice is 14 1/2 inches long and 5 1/2 inches wide and weighs 7 1/2 pounds, so it fits the bill, but you will need a bucket or two (it fits inside a 5 gallon bucket when folded) to run it and it definitely likes to have the material classified down to at least 1/4 in. My first classifier was larger and it would not run out the bigger gravel. So you'll need to carry a suitable classifier as well. I've found that I spend a lot of time screening stuff in order to get the most out of the sluice.

With a small fluid bed sluice you can ditch the classifiers and one of the buckets, so it is appealing to the grab and go prospector. Last night I patterned my home made FB sluice. It's 30 in. long and 12 in wide at the water intake and 8 in. wide at the out flow. While it is not as compact as the folder, it will still carry very easily on the outside of my pack, which is a rather large Lowe.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Take a look at the new Bazooka Sniper. I just got the 30" unit. If it fits in your pack (or strapped to it), it means you don't need a classifier at all nor a bucket if you can dig where you set the sluice up...imagine going out prospecting with no buckets at all! The sluice cleans out easily direct into a 14" pan.

If you want something even smaller there's the Bazooka Mini but realistically that does require classifying which in turn basically requires a bucket...

 

[b.jmining530]

Is the bazooka sluices as good as a lot of people are saying ? How often do you have to clean out and what not ? How much can you run and how fast

 

[KevinInColorado]

Is the bazooka sluices as good as a lot of people are saying ? Yes!

How often do you have to clean out and what not ? You can generally run for many hours between clean outs. Since a clean out takes literally one minute or less, I generally do a clean out every couple hours to see if I'm still on the gold but that's just me.

How much can you run and how fast? Depends which size sluice you buy of course. With my 30" Prospector, in a creek with decent current/flow the sluice will eat paydirt about as fast as I can shovel it at a steady rate. If feeding by bucket, such as when you have to carry unclassified material to the sluice, it takes less than a minute per bucket to run the material.

If you do a search on this site, you'll see more on this topic. It can also help to watch the videos on the Bazooka website as well as on YouTube. I have noticed that most people on YouTube run the sluice more flat than is shown on the company website. Running a bit steeper as demonstrated on the company website, is less work since the grizzly will clear on its own. Set it up so the Grizzly is flat and this thing is just sooo easy to use! My gold production per hour is over double what it was with a drop riffle sluice or well run riffle sluice (a riffle sluice run by a newbie will catch even less).

Clean out is demonstrated in the videos, for here it's enough to say it's really quick/ instant...and produces just under one full 14" pan of material in the case of my Prospector model.

 

[b.jmining530]

Ok thanks I think i am going to get one after talking to a few people about them. Thanks for the input .

 

[goldenmojo]

Bazooka is the way to go. I have the Super Mini and I shovel directly into and it cleans out in a pan or a sampling pan. No need to carry a fiver. Sometimes I just carry a spoon a pan and my Bazooka if i'm going to do a quick hit on a place. BGT fits easily in a pack weighs less than 5 pounds. My next purchase is going to be the 36" sniper.

 

[b.jmining530]

I think the 30 or 36 sniper I want to bring my pack to the local prospecting shop to see how they fit

 

[bazookagoldtrap]

I think the 30 or 36 sniper I want to bring my pack to the local prospecting shop to see how they fit

I noticed the 530.. where are you located and what shop are you going to?

Chris

 

[b.jmining530]

Oroville ca, the name of the shop is adventure in prospecting I think is the name. But it's located on Montgomery street in oroville

 

[b.jmining530]

I am also on of those people that has to look at something in person before ordering on line or purchasing it in a place

 

[bazookagoldtrap]

Oroville ca, the name of the shop is adventure in prospecting I think is the name. But it's located on Montgomery street in oroville

That's Joey Wilson's shop.. He's a great guy. I don't believe he has the Sniper's in stock, but if you'd like I can send you the dimensions of the Sniper line - they are also on our website in the product descriptions.