Mailbox Sluice

[M.E.G.]

I believe these underwater sluices were called mailbox sluices, maybe a Keene product from way past. Has anyone had any experience with one?

 

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[M.E.G.]

It may be called a horse head sluice

 

[Assembler]

It may be called a horse head sluice

What was the time frame of manufacture?
Maybe someone here can pin point the product easier if the year is known is what I'm thinking.
Any pictures?

 

[M.E.G.]

Not really sure of time line. If I had to guess 70s-80s.

 

[Assembler]

Not really sure of time line. If I had to guess 70s-80s.

If you google keene underwater dredge there is at least one seller that still sells the dredge for about $1050.00.
It is not a supporting vender here on this forum so I can't link.

 

[M.E.G.]

Found it, Thank you. Now, has anyone had any experience with the use of one?

 

[Jim in Idaho]

The idea is you don't have to lift the material up to the surface. Allows for much greater
capacity while using less power. The downside is much less efficiency on smaller gold.
Jim

 

[Assembler]

The idea is you don't have to lift the material up to the surface. Allows for much greater
capacity while using less power. The downside is much less efficiency on smaller gold.
Jim

Yes even the manufacture points the efficiency on smaller gold factor out.

Yes there should be more material pushed through just don't know as few have used the setup.

 

[russau]

Before I had to stop dredging / prospecting I started to design a under water 5 inch device . I thought that if I built a scalping device just past my inlet tube it could scalp out the heavies and down into my underwater sluice's (2 )with having added more sluice area with a additional sluice it would slow the water down to help get that fine gold to drop out. I didn't get to try it out and sold all of my gear to a man from Chicago Il. area to my disappointment !

 

[Reed Lukens]

I've use subbies from 4" to 8" and I still have them. Here's a pic of our 2.5" Proline set up with the 4" Keene Submersible sluice box. They're great for moving material out of the way, but a surface dredge gets the best recovery.
Here's a link to the old ashworth site. Click the different links for more info. Some of the pics work and some don't but that's the wayback machine and fortunately... not everything was lost from days long past...

Prospectors Cache Forum - Viewing topic #13 - SUBSURFACE DREDGE TECH

 

[southfork]

I had a 3-inch sub that was great for removing silt but that's all. If you accidently tilted to the one side it would blow out the fines home built unit.

 

[russau]

I had a 3-inch sub that was great for removing silt but that's all. If you accidently tilted to the one side it would blow out the fines home built unit.

Southfork did you wonder why it wasn't working ? It's true that the sluice needs to lay FLAT on the bottom of the area your working to keep the sluice material spread out. I assume that your sluice was loading up with the silt you were sucking up and would not allow any fines to drop behind the riffles or was there another factor involved in your deduction ? I just couldn't allow it to "just don't work" Idea. I like to fiddle with things and find out why it's not working like I want it to !

 

[southfork]

Southfork did you wonder why it wasn't working ? It's true that the sluice needs to lay FLAT on the bottom of the area your working to keep the sluice material spread out. I assume that your sluice was loading up with the silt you were sucking up and would not allow any fines to drop behind the riffles or was there another factor involved in your deduction ? I just couldn't allow it to "just don't work" Idea. I like to fiddle with things and find out why it's not working like I want it to !

The sluice was too small /short but it never loaded up I used the pumps and floats to build a surface dredge. We were working in swift currents and it was a pain to stay in place it was a constant fight. I had to come back and edit this post because I said floats it was inner tubes. I started out with one truck tube the engine was 7 horse two cycle power bee with the pump under direct connect the engine also drove a reed type air pump all hung on curved metal brackets. All the parts made a light weight unit I used for years same pump engine setup just added a sluice and another truck tube with a conduit frame. I used a home built suction nozzle at first changed to a jet tube worked like a dream.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Keene no longer manufactures them.

 

[M.E.G.]

Thank you all for your input.

 

[Bonaro]

Also called a Bazooka dredge. I have used them and didn't care for them at all. They were great for getting thru soft overburden but you cant lay them down to use your hands to move rock. Once you tilt them they blow out.

TrevNZ had a suitcase dredge that was sub surface...pretty amazing

 

[russau]

I haven't heard from Trev since the Washington Rally in 2007 ( ? ) well a long time ago !

 

[southfork]

Also called a Bazooka dredge. I have used them and didn't care for them at all. They were great for getting thru soft overburden but you cant lay them down to use your hands to move rock. Once you tilt them they blow out.

TrevNZ had a suitcase dredge that was sub surface...pretty amazing

A local miner in Garden Valley N. California manufactured an under flow sluice maybe? called a Bazooka.

 

[bartholomewroberts]

They were called a bazooka.. I had one back in that day.. They worked, to a point, for gold in a river.. But I found they worked best for

finding coins, silver, gold in swimming holes and lakes.

Micheal