Sluice Setup Question

[Echoplex]

Hi Folks,

Noob question for you: On my last outing I had difficulty setting up my sluice properly. I'm using a MacKirk Explorer that is just under 3' in length. The river I was working in was big and wide and had very little drop at all. I could not seem to get the proper 1" per foot angle without having the outtake of the sluice too deep in the water. The result was a vortex that kept clogging up the bottom riffles. On the other hand, I couldn't get the intake high enough for the proper angle without having it completely out of the water. What tips/tricks do you seasoned prospectors use in these big, wide rivers that have very little drop to get the correct angle? It it simply a matter of building up boulders to create a sort of dam? This would be very difficult on this river and it seems that damming/diverting would have little effect. Perhaps I simply have the wrong tool for this river. I sure would like to get it to work out there. Or is it just time to buy a highbanker? Any thoughts or tips are greatly appreciated!

-Mike

 

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[et1955]

Hi Mike, for that section of the river an electric high banker is the way to go, I am building a new one right now, nothing worse than fiddling with a sluice all day to get it running right, one thing I didn't tell you about that river is if you do get your sluice running in the morning by noon the river will drop about 2 inches and so you will have to readjust the sluice again, yes carrying in all that stuff is a pain but upside is w.ounce your setup at the dig site it's easy digging, no going back and forth over those rocks, that section of river has not been hardly mined, it will worth the investment. Ed

 

[Echoplex]

Thanks, Ed! I'm looking at highbankers right now. The G2 concentrator seems like a good bet. Would much rather make two trips to the car hauling in better equipment vs. endless walking back and forth over those dangerous boulders!

Hope to see ya this weekend!

-Mike

 

[et1955]

Mike, make sure it has 3 square feet in riffle area if it is larger you will need to get an HPA from WDFW to run it, check your fish and gold book for the rules. You can run 3sqr. ft. high banker year round without restrictions, I will know by Friday for sure if I am going up on Sunday, going to go to the secret river, finding all that small gold is fun but finding a 1/4 nugget makes my day, Ed

 

[Hoser John]

2-2" x 4s" about 3' long to form a v to channel water to your box held in place with a couple of rocks. Raise that bottom end a bit and should be good to go and forget hauling batteries,pumps and related bs. Keep it lean,mean and ez to move around and you'll prosper-John

 

[Echoplex]

Ed, yeah, that G2 ended up having too much riffle area for timing without restrictions. Too bad, because it sure looks like it would kick butt in a place like that. I'm now looking into the MacKirk "Dry Gulch" as a possible highbanker. Also looking into the RDH Goldbuster 2. If anyone has any experience or thoughts on these two setups, your comments would be appreciated. I see Brawn also has a mini banker, but I've read and heard too many negatives on the louvre riffle design.

Thanks, John. Unfortunately, we cannot use structures like that to divert water here in Washington (at least that's the way I read the rules). I think I just need to find a spot on that river that is shallow/fast and move more boulders around.

 

[fowledup]

Drill a hole in the ends of the boards Johns talking about and drill a hole in each corner of the upper end of the sluice and attach them when in use- they are now part of the sluice and called wingdams, and no longer an independent structure. You can also use plastic or aluminum piecesand attach them to the sides with hinges so they simply fold out of the way when not needed or in transport

 

[QNCrazy]

When I first started using my AM Explorer, I too had difficulty trying to set up the sluice with the 1" per foot drop. I soon found that the Explorer worked very well with little drop and plenty of water flow. Try to increase your flow as recommended by John and Fowled and don't worry so much about the drop. As a general rule for me, I compensate the lack of pitch with the increased flow of water, or compensate the lack of the flow of water by increasing the pitch of the sluice. You may have to build a small dam if you don't have the ability to adjust for the lack of either water flow or pitch. Hope this helps.

 

[Echoplex]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! You guys are awesome. @QNC, I think you are right - The AM instructions mention little about drop, but focuses on water speed and depth (1.5 - 2" of water should pass a 1" rock through the sluice at a steady pace...). Will give it a go again soon and hopefully I can retain the fines next time.

 

[QNCrazy]

One other suggestion, classify to minimum 1/2" material. I would recommend 1/4" or 1/8". 1/8" is a good starting point. If you classify to 1/8" and find a picker that won't pass the screen, then move up to 1/4".

 

[arizau]

This may help you and others that read this thread. Doc at Goldhog knows his stuff and he also has many demonstration videos including panning that are helpful. Gold Sluice Tuning

PS: Doc says he is going to write more articles so keep him in mind for useful info.

 

[Goldwasher]

2-2" x 4s" about 3' long to form a v to channel water to your box held in place with a couple of rocks. Raise that bottom end a bit and should be good to go and forget hauling batteries,pumps and related bs. Keep it lean,mean and ez to move around and you'll prosper-John

I like what I see in my head John but at 3 ft length wouldn't a 2x6 or heck 1x8 or 10 whatever those pine boards come in be super manageable, portable and as far as water is concerned quite divert_able not being a jerk the picture popped in my head I like it but, want wider boards.

 

[et1955]

Hi Mike, started working on my mini highbanker, decided to do the Sky Sunday, will bring the highbanker, just had another flood on the Sky, below is a pic of the highbanker I built 2 years ago, I'm modifying it and adding Hogg Mats, Ed

 

[et1955]

Pics of the river we are mining.

 

[Goldwasher]

Don't bother classifying past 1/2 inch with a drop riffle that size. Sorry QN...it is just an added lengthy step, drop riffles run great with bank run material even. Classifying to 1/4...or an 1/8...YUCK that makes me wanna throw up a little.....cuts into dig and run time and is not going to increase your take really. The only way I would advise that is if you were on solely glacial gold.

 

[Echoplex]

Looks good, Ed! Hope to see it in action this weekend.

 

[Doug Watson]

The Brawn highbanker is also made with expanded instead of louvers. Give the store a call and check.

 

[QNCrazy]

Don't bother classifying past 1/2 inch with a drop riffle that size. Sorry QN...it is just an added lengthy step, drop riffles run great with bank run material even. Classifying to 1/4...or an 1/8...YUCK that makes me wanna throw up a little.....cuts into dig and run time and is not going to increase your take really. The only way I would advise that is if you were on solely glacial gold.

GW, I agree with you100%. I hate classifying. I guess I should have clarified a little more. If you can't get the water flow, you might want to classify smaller than 1/2". And even then, if you can't achieve the water flow to move 1/2" you might as well work on your panning skills.