help with sluice box info

[tenjos]

Merry Christmas! I am buying a sluice box with my Christmas money. This will be my first sluice and any advice or info on what is a good size to use would be appreciated. What manufacturer do you use? It will be used in TN and East coast mostly. May backpack it in a ways in the woods but also some spots close to roads.
Thanks in advance.
Jos

 

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[JamesE]

What sluice depends on the water flow, volume, and grade (drop). A 30'' with a wide fluke is most versatile.
Best preparation for any situation is to have a small light weight pump so no matter what the conditions you have enough water flow across the riffles to actually wash the tailings out of your sluice. If you have the pump, even a homemade sluice will do just fine. BUT, if you build a wood sluice, it will get heavy when it absorbs water, so paint or shellac it thoroughly. We have flat water here and to run any large amount of sand/gravel there isn't enough drop to generate the water velocity to clean the riffles with any speed. What you see on the gold fever show is not real world. Without water velocity (drop) there isn't enough water through the rifflles to wash out the gravel and sand, so the water just goes around the fluke and your classified material just sits there or takes forever as in slower than panning. Unless everywhere you go there is a pretty good drop that provides fast enough water through the riffles, you will do better buying a cheap small gas powered pump and building a sluice out of whatever is handy, a good sluice can be home built by anybody, it's not rocket science. Otherwise you have to carry the gravel to your sluice instead of moving your sluice to the diggin'. I use a Keene P 100 2 stroke and an aluminum long tom which is very lite,maybe 20 lbs. (power sluice)
But even ahead of all of this, are you at the point where when you 'sample' a creek, are you getting enough color in your pan to know you can (for sure) do a whole lot better with a sluice?

Cold water from cold Iowa, Good Luck with it, Jim

 

[Eu_citzen]

I use homemade and Honcoop.
Check out the DFS though http://www.damnfinesluice.com/
I've never used one but have heard that they are really good!

 

[Hoser John]

Get a simple keene /proline/whatever and have fun. No motors,permits,plans,bonds,fire restrictions and blah blah blah.KISS-keep it simple and stupid-HAVE FUN,and the gold will come.Tons a au 2 u 2-John

 

[Eu_citzen]

It also depends on how strong you are (carrying) how big the gold is, how much there is etc.
I'd agree with John, keep it simple but get a good one! Choose carefully you can't get any dirty cheap thing and hope it will get the fine gold as well.
look here for the Honcoop I use: http://www.honcoophighbanker.com/sluice.html
It's the first one...
Also be sure it's rewarding to use as sluice at what ever location your gonna be digging in.

 

[tenjos]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[JamesE]

I stopped back to add something I forgot when I went off on the pump idea. I agree with them about KISS if that works in the terrain you're going to. About the pump, if where you're going is mostly flatwater without much speed or slope, it's pretty hard to get water through a sluice fast enough to wash out the 'lite' stuff. If you're in mountain or hill terrain with fast running streams a pump isn't essential but it can save you a lott of heavy carrying over slippery rocks.
The Keene sluice has low profile riffles of steel and is good quailty all around, on the down side it's heavier than all aluminun types. I've used a D&K (Portland, OR) for 8 or 9 yrs., it's all alum. 10x30 w/ 18'' fluke. It has a taller profile alum. riffle and uses more water. Between the 2, I think I'd get the Keene, my opinion is that the lower riffles need less water and incline to keep them cleaned out and better for small gold mostly found in IA.
For really simple equipment, use the smallest classifier you can and learn the 'speed pan' method, you'd be surprised how much can be done with a couple classifiers and a pan with good technique..and if you're in an area for it, spend the extra money on crevicing tools.
Good luck with it, Jim

 

[rmptr]

Pretty hard to beat the keene A-51 sluice (I think they call it) for prospecting and sampling.
They also make a smaller one.

If you are only playing, build one from plywood, line it with astroturf under expanded metal.
4 or 5 hungarian riffles staggered in a framework holding down the mat should do the trick.

I am opposed to painting or sealing the wood.
Burn it and pan the ashes at the end of the season.

R M P T R

 

[Eu_citzen]

Check out the thread "Cheap golds sluice" (or something like that)
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,125638.0.html

 

[aarthrj3811]

Hey R M P T R…I have used the smaller Keene for about 20 years…It slips into a 5 gallon bucket. With the bucket and a small pack with the pans and classifiers in it you can carry a lot of equipment. This will leave one hand free to help you when walking in rough terrain… Art

 

[golddigger14s]

Try an E-Z sluice, small, portable, and inexpensive.
www.blackcatmining.com

 

[rmptr]

Hey R M P T R…I have used the smaller Keene for about 20 years…It slips into a 5 gallon bucket. With the bucket and a small pack with the pans and classifiers in it you can carry a lot of equipment. This will leave one hand free to help you when walking in rough terrain… Art

Yep! They are great.
Jerry puts out some good products.
You might say he's got a gold mine!

R M P T R