Need some advice.

[sushidingo]

So i have the 100 dollar backpacker sluice box. I took out the carpet and put miners moss in it. Was thinking to try the corrugated rubber matting next. Any opinions on which is better? Also a good place to buy the rubber?

 

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[arizau]

Google v sluice mat for lots of sources.

 

[sushidingo]

Google v sluice mat for lots of sources.

Very very helpful. Forget having your own opinion. Use the Google machine.

 

[arizau]

Your quote..."Also a good place to buy the rubber?" Sorry you took my answer the wrong way.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Are you talking about using V ribbed rubber mats under your moss or riffles or are you referring to purpose made rubber mats such as Gold Hog? A lot of people that run miners moss will also run a V rib mat under the miner's moss to stop migration of material that has worked it's way down through the moss. I used expanded metal over deep V rib mat in my dredge undercurrent sluice. On my Keene A52 and A51M sluices I cut out the hungarian riffles and welded in expanded metal and run them with unbacked veranda carpet over V rib mat. I have no experience with the purpose made rubber mats other than observations of other prospectors setups. I was interested in the dream mats when they first came out but have lost a lot of interest observing them and having interactions with their maker. Gold Hog mats look great, you can stack up different types of riffles for the material you are running but they are a little pricey for outfitting smaller sluices.

 

[sushidingo]

Are you talking about using V ribbed rubber mats under your moss or riffles or are you referring to purpose made rubber mats such as Gold Hog? A lot of people that run miners moss will also run a V rib mat under the miner's moss to stop migration of material that has worked it's way down through the moss. I used expanded metal over deep V rib mat in my dredge undercurrent sluice. On my Keene A52 and A51M sluices I cut out the hungarian riffles and welded in expanded metal and run them with unbacked veranda carpet over V rib mat. I have no experience with the purpose made rubber mats other than observations of other prospectors setups. I was interested in the dream mats when they first came out but have lost a lot of interest observing them and having interactions with their maker. Gold Hog mats look great, you can stack up different types of riffles for the material you are running but they are a little pricey for outfitting smaller sluices.

I was actually just wanting to put the mat under the riffles and grate. I wouldnt have the space for the rubber and the moss. My locking bolt is too short.

I can always see the gold in the ribbed matting and am brand new to the moss. I ran a bucket through the sluice and came up dry with the moss. I was thinking to just replace the moss with the rubber.

 

[russau]

I was actually just wanting to put the mat under the riffles and grate. I wouldnt have the space for the rubber and the moss. My locking bolt is too short.

I can always see the gold in the ribbed matting and am brand new to the moss. I ran a bucket through the sluice and came up dry with the moss. I was thinking to just replace the moss with the rubber.

The bolt is soooooooooo EZ to replace that even I could do it! Follow the good advice of N. Lionberger !

 

[N-Lionberger]

I'm not a fan of miners moss, unless you have tall dredge riffles the moss pillows up under riffles and messes with the action. The main point of the carpet or ribbed rubber under the riffles is to seal them to the bottom of the sluice so they don't scour out not as a capture media.

 

[sushidingo]

Im just gonna use the rubber. My sluice is actually pretty small too. I was thinking to get a bigger one but its a 2 mile hike in for me and a huge sluice would be hard to carry that far

 

[Goodyguy]

So i have the 100 dollar backpacker sluice box. I took out the carpet and put miners moss in it. Was thinking to try the corrugated rubber matting next. Any opinions on which is better? Also a good place to buy the rubber?

Your sluice needs to be "tuned" to your particular situation. Water speed, gold size and type of material being run have everything to do with how you should tune your sluice.

For instance: lets say the paydirt is mostly sand and the gold is mostly fine, then the v mat or carpet under the expanded metal or riffle tray would be a good choice.
But if the dirt is coarse with lots of gravels and the gold is coarse and consists of flakes and fines, then you want to run the riffle tray over the miners moss with the option of either v-mat or carpet underneath the moss.

It depends on each particular situation as to what is the best way to set up your sluice.
For example: Water speed needs to be faster when running larger material over riffles and much slower when running fine material over just v-mat. Classification and sluice angle are important details to consider when fine tuning.

Carpet, v-mat, and miners moss are all capture mediums.
The riffles are there only to create low pressure zones and to help break up and stratify the material but mostly to create low pressure zones to aid in gold falling out of suspension. The moss, carpet or mat are there to capture the gold and prevent it from re-entering the flow.

Miners moss is better at capturing flakes and nuggets and not so much on fines, thats why carpet or v-mat is needed under the moss to capture the fines and to also help prevent migration of the fines under the moss and out the end of the sluice.

There are many mats on the market that are far superior to and would eliminate the use of carpet or miners moss as a capture medium but are way more costly.
Here is a mat however, that seems to me to be the best as an all around mat with multiple capture zones that is NOT expensive and would eliminate the need for a riffle tray and/or expanded metal. Only $20 https://www.seriousdetecting.com/product/trimmable-riffled-tpr-light-weight-sluice-box-matting-27-x-10/
Just trim it to fit your sluice.

Hope this helps.

Go for the Gold
GG~

 

[wildminer]

^^^^^^^ As always, Goodyguy has put the answer to your question into words.

 

[sushidingo]

Your sluice needs to be "tuned" to your particular situation. Water speed, gold size and type of material being run have everything to do with how you should tune your sluice.

For instance: lets say the paydirt is mostly sand and the gold is mostly fine, then the v mat or carpet under the expanded metal or riffle tray would be a good choice.
But if the dirt is coarse with lots of gravels and the gold is coarse and consists of flakes and fines, then you want to run the riffle tray over the miners moss with the option of either v-mat or carpet underneath the moss.

It depends on each particular situation as to what is the best way to set up your sluice.

Carpet, v-mat, and miners moss are all capture mediums.
The riffles are there only to create low pressure zones and to help break up and stratify the material but mostly to create low pressure zones to aid in gold falling out of suspension. The moss, carpet or mat are there to capture the gold and prevent it from re-entering the flow.

Miners moss is better at capturing flakes and nuggets and not so much on fines, thats why carpet or v-mat is needed under the moss as well as helping to prevent migration of the fines under the moss and out the end of the sluice.

There are many mats on the market that are far superior to and would eliminate the use of carpet or miners moss as a capture medium but are more costly.
Here is a mat however, that seems to me to be the best as an all around mat with multiple capture zones that is NOT expensive and would eliminate the need for a riffle tray and/or expanded metal. Only $20 https://www.seriousdetecting.com/product/trimmable-riffled-tpr-light-weight-sluice-box-matting-27-x-10/
Just trim it to fit your sluice.
View attachment 1913434


Hope this helps.

Go for the Gold
GG~

Thank you. This was very helpful. I will look into that matting for sure. Im now considering buying a bigger sluice that has a wider opening and a bit longer than the one i already have.

 

[N-Lionberger]

If the carpet is what is keeping the gold in the sluice and not the action of the riffle why does a plastic sluice such as a le Trap work so well? If you're worried about making trips with a big sluice you can always find a hiding spot for some heavier gear and buckets, bring some chain and a padlock to secure it to a tree. If you need to backpack in you might also consider a plastic sluice they are much lighter than metal sluices.

 

[Goodyguy]

If the carpet is what is keeping the gold in the sluice and not the action of the riffle why does a plastic sluice such as a le Trap work so well? If you're worried about making trips with a big sluice you can always find a hiding spot for some heavier gear and buckets, bring some chain and a padlock to secure it to a tree. If you need to backpack in you might also consider a plastic sluice they are much lighter than metal sluices.

A le Trap plastic sluice would be a good alternative.

The reason why the le trap and other plastic sluices work so well is because they are designed from the ground up to catch gold without a mat. They are not simply flat bottomed trays with a set of Hungarian style riffles as other sluices that need a capture medium are. If you will notice, each riffle on the plastic sluice is followed immediately by the ramp of the next riffle creating a slanted V shaped capture zone between each riffle. Drop riffle sluices work on the same principle.

My previous post was only meant to address the op's desire for opinions on using carpet, miners moss, and rubber mat in his backpacking sluice, as well as providing a good place to purchase the rubber.

Like you I am not a fan of miners moss because it is hard to clean and captures too much waste material plus it allows the super fine gold to migrate underneath and out of the sluice.

Plastic sluices are somewhat prone to breakage, as well as scouring if angle is too steep or flow too fast. However for backpacking and sampling they are fine.




GG~

 

[N-Lionberger]

Plastic sluice VS metal sluice it doesn't matter its the riffle action that keeps the gold in the sluice.

 

[Goodyguy]

Plastic sluice VS metal sluice it doesn't matter its the riffle action that keeps the gold in the sluice.

I must disagree, in fact, riffles are not even needed at all to keep gold in a sluice. Specific gravity will do it all by itself.
That's how a miller table works with no riffles or mats, just a smooth surface. Of course using a miller table to sluice for gold would be totally impractical.

"Rough Top Conveyer Belt" AKA vortex mat even though not invented to capture gold, used in the Gold Cube sluice with absolutely no riffles whatsoever does an excellent job of capturing 1/8" and smaller gold!

Miners moss AKA "Nomad" is the #1 capture medium used in large wash plants capturing many millions of dollars worth of gold each season and has for decades.
It's also good for wiping mud off your boots and if there is gold in the mud it will be left imbedded in the mat.

I know what you mean about riffle action playing a part in gold recovery, it's just not the sole reason gold is held in place in a traditional flat bottom metal sluice.
According to the Clarkson study a properly "tuned" riffle will create a vortex holding the gold in place in front of the preceding riffle which in theory sounds great.
However in reality Clarkson admits that is just not the case due to many factors (water viscosity for one) and other variables that cannot be controlled simply by riffle design alone. Clarkson also recommended the use of "Nomad" mats in conjunction with his riffle design.

Doc of Gold Hog has also studied riffle design along with the associated physics involved and has come to the conclusion that there is no one size riffle or capture zone that fits all circumstances. So far he has created 10 different styles of mats and is still working on more.

There are however metal sluices available that will do a great job without mats or traditional riffles such as the very pricey Vortex Sluice.

Watch this video to understand much of the physics involved with sluice and mat design.



GG~

 

[mikep691]

I'm not a big fan of miner's moss. My old sluice (1980's) has unbacked indoor/outdoor carpet, under raised expanded, under standard Hungarian low riffles. 10"x36", fits in a 5 gallon bucket and under my armpit for transport. The old girl has caught a lot of gold in her day.

 

[madmantrapper]

Your sluice needs to be "tuned" to your particular situation. Water speed, gold size and type of material being run have everything to do with how you should tune your sluice.

For instance: lets say the paydirt is mostly sand and the gold is mostly fine, then the v mat or carpet under the expanded metal or riffle tray would be a good choice.
But if the dirt is coarse with lots of gravels and the gold is coarse and consists of flakes and fines, then you want to run the riffle tray over the miners moss with the option of either v-mat or carpet underneath the moss.

It depends on each particular situation as to what is the best way to set up your sluice.
For example: Water speed needs to be faster when running larger material over riffles and much slower when running fine material over just v-mat. Classification and sluice angle are important details to consider when fine tuning.

Carpet, v-mat, and miners moss are all capture mediums.
The riffles are there only to create low pressure zones and to help break up and stratify the material but mostly to create low pressure zones to aid in gold falling out of suspension. The moss, carpet or mat are there to capture the gold and prevent it from re-entering the flow.

Miners moss is better at capturing flakes and nuggets and not so much on fines, thats why carpet or v-mat is needed under the moss to capture the fines and to also help prevent migration of the fines under the moss and out the end of the sluice.

There are many mats on the market that are far superior to and would eliminate the use of carpet or miners moss as a capture medium but are way more costly.
Here is a mat however, that seems to me to be the best as an all around mat with multiple capture zones that is NOT expensive and would eliminate the need for a riffle tray and/or expanded metal. Only $20 https://www.seriousdetecting.com/product/trimmable-riffled-tpr-light-weight-sluice-box-matting-27-x-10/
Just trim it to fit your sluice.
View attachment 1913434


Hope this helps.

Go for the Gold
GG~

Ok you are saying with this mat you do not need any expanded metal or cloth or moss or whatever, correct?

 

[Goodyguy]

Ok you are saying with this mat you do not need any expanded metal or cloth or moss or whatever, correct?

Correct

The mat does it all.
Just use double sided waterproof tape to hold it into your sluice.

I recommend attaching a strip of aluminum flashing in front of and onto the first 1/2" of the mat for a smooth transition. Also use the double sided tape to hold the strip in place. https://www.amazon.com/Duck-392907-Indoor-Outdoor-1-41-Inch/dp/B000BO4QZ0/?tag=treasurenet01-20

GG~

 

[N-Lionberger]

I was trying to keep it in context for the OP with a backpack sluice with what I assume are low hungarians, I understand the use of Nomad scraper mats in commercial setups but you cannot actually compare small prospecting apparatus with commercial wash plants.