The quality of the build on the Gold Well is superior. It's probably not the sluice you want for inexpensive casual stream prospecting and I couldn't possibly compare it to the highly respected Bazooka design since I've never used a Bazooka.
All that said plastic sluices will never stand up to my miners test. Any equipment we use has to be able to keep on working after I drop a 60 pound rock on it from waist high. The Gold Well passes that test and none of the other sluices mentioned here will do that.
There may be better sluice designs to capture every small piece of gold. I wouldn't know because that's never been my objective in mining. When our crews mine the only objective is to make sure everyone goes home with expenses and wages at the least - hopefully much more. To do that maximum uptime is necessary. Plastic production equipment just doesn't cut it in that scenario.
Most people that post here are looking for the best return for their time spent. So am I but I've found it's more productive for me to spend time finding really good deposits and mining them for the bulk of their potential - not every particle. Our mining philosophy would not prove to be a good model in Colorado or Iowa, that's why we mine where the little stuff doesn't pay as well as the big stuff. Different methods and tools for different situations.
Maybe someday the Gold Well will be available molded in light plastic and we will all know how it compares in price and performance with other plastic molded sluices. I hope if that day ever comes it doesn't mean that the Gold Well will no longer made in it's current miner tough form. There are plenty of plastic sluice designs to choose from but it's a rare manufacturer who produces sluices to withstand the rigors of production mining. That's why you are seeing the Gold Well on so many large mining operations.
It's obvious that many here have chosen their favorite sluice and feel they must "defend" that choice against other options. That's human nature. Comparing apples to oranges and choosing apples is also human nature. The price of the Gold Well really should only be considered in relation to it's value to an individual miner's needs. Comparing the Bazooka, or any other plastic sluice, to the Gold Well based on price and recovery rates alone is unfair. Bring in that 60 pound rock or two years of hard production and the equation has a whole new dimension.
It's understandable that price may make the Gold Well undesirable to some prospectors. It should also be understood that some miners look less at price and more at value over time. The Gold Well works. It's tough light and portable. And it takes the abuse that full time mining is known for. In that realm of tough mining is the Gold Well overpriced? No. It's right in the price range of other tough built mining sluices.
I don't own a Gold Well and I wont even consider buying one until our present equipment is worn out. I don't know the maker and I won't make a penny if you decide to buy one. Even so I do have a dog in this fight. I'd really like to see more robust mining equipment available. It's rare to see new designs made to a quality level that survives hard mining. You may not like the makers attitude or the way he compares your favorite equipment to the equipment he makes. That's cool. Just please don't make him out to be a bad guy or a crook. He makes quality equipment at an honest price. That's priceless these days.
All that said plastic sluices will never stand up to my miners test. Any equipment we use has to be able to keep on working after I drop a 60 pound rock on it from waist high. The Gold Well passes that test and none of the other sluices mentioned here will do that.
There may be better sluice designs to capture every small piece of gold. I wouldn't know because that's never been my objective in mining. When our crews mine the only objective is to make sure everyone goes home with expenses and wages at the least - hopefully much more. To do that maximum uptime is necessary. Plastic production equipment just doesn't cut it in that scenario.
Most people that post here are looking for the best return for their time spent. So am I but I've found it's more productive for me to spend time finding really good deposits and mining them for the bulk of their potential - not every particle. Our mining philosophy would not prove to be a good model in Colorado or Iowa, that's why we mine where the little stuff doesn't pay as well as the big stuff. Different methods and tools for different situations.
Maybe someday the Gold Well will be available molded in light plastic and we will all know how it compares in price and performance with other plastic molded sluices. I hope if that day ever comes it doesn't mean that the Gold Well will no longer made in it's current miner tough form. There are plenty of plastic sluice designs to choose from but it's a rare manufacturer who produces sluices to withstand the rigors of production mining. That's why you are seeing the Gold Well on so many large mining operations.
It's obvious that many here have chosen their favorite sluice and feel they must "defend" that choice against other options. That's human nature. Comparing apples to oranges and choosing apples is also human nature. The price of the Gold Well really should only be considered in relation to it's value to an individual miner's needs. Comparing the Bazooka, or any other plastic sluice, to the Gold Well based on price and recovery rates alone is unfair. Bring in that 60 pound rock or two years of hard production and the equation has a whole new dimension.
It's understandable that price may make the Gold Well undesirable to some prospectors. It should also be understood that some miners look less at price and more at value over time. The Gold Well works. It's tough light and portable. And it takes the abuse that full time mining is known for. In that realm of tough mining is the Gold Well overpriced? No. It's right in the price range of other tough built mining sluices.
I don't own a Gold Well and I wont even consider buying one until our present equipment is worn out. I don't know the maker and I won't make a penny if you decide to buy one. Even so I do have a dog in this fight. I'd really like to see more robust mining equipment available. It's rare to see new designs made to a quality level that survives hard mining. You may not like the makers attitude or the way he compares your favorite equipment to the equipment he makes. That's cool. Just please don't make him out to be a bad guy or a crook. He makes quality equipment at an honest price. That's priceless these days.
Nonetheless big rocks fall on equipment at least once in the equipments lifetime. It's the nature of mining that big rocks get lifted above equipment sometimes. Paying twice for a sluice while waiting days for a replacement is a real killer on a miners income. A derocker is nice but it's way over the top for our small crew. We have several homemade pipe grizzleys we use when digging and stacking material to be run. Simple, cheap, portable, affordable, easily repaired and effective. Not TV stuff but it's what most small placer miners use.
