Losing black sand from my sluice box

[abishiai]

I just bought the little "Gold Buddy" highbanker/sluice box and used it for a couple days up in the Mojave desert. One thing I noticed is that there was some black sand collecting in my tailings pile.

Am I running the box too fast?

I tried slowing down the angle, but then I started getting clay buildup before the riffles. Please share with me some comments on the optimum setup for trapping gold.

Thanks all,

Kevin

BTW: I DID find a bit of gold. It was my first time out in the desert and I'm pretty happy!

 

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[Nitro 54]

You should have at least a 1/2 inch of carpet or moss showing in between the riffles. Not all black sands are heavy enough to plug up your sluice. If you think your loosing gold, put your pan under the sluice and catch a pan full and pan it out to make sure.

Glen

 

[Hoser John]

Not a good sign at all. Are you prewetting your materials before you feed them into the box-sure helps a lot.What size screen are you using to prescreen your material with-dry I hope,works bette,lighter and faster too.Play withit at home with dirt from the boonies using tiny lead shot and get your levels and such right. Like ALL equipment,big or small,erst-test-and test some more till that buddy is your buddy and ya know it's quirks inside and out.No matter how good,or bad,a piece of equipment is you can get decent results by practice and experience or modifications to you or it.Tons a au 2 u 2-John

 

[abishiai]

Thanks!

I haven't pre-wetted the material.That's a good idea. I'm classifying the material with about 1/4" holes. Last couple days I've been running the buddy here at home with some dirt I brought back with me from the desert. I got a few flecks of gold this evening and a couple more last night.

My biggest question is how fast can I run material through it. I've been springling the dirt in the hopper at a steady rate, but I'd sure like to run a lot more through. However I don't want the gold to blow out of the sluice box.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Hoser John]

As a general a thumb you can run twice as much materials thru anything with proper classification and wetting BUT every piece a land is different as to sand,clay,gravel content so ground conditions mandate operating standards. Your sizing right now, wet and run!!!Tons a au 2 u 2 n2006-John