Sluicing tips i need some

[frost10509]

Nice pun!

Don't forget to tip your waitresses!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[Quickpan Dan]

My own first attempt at the fluid bed trap. It seemed to work as I could see the water pushing up on the outflow of the sluice. I think quarter inch screen is too large, and will replace with smaller. Any suggestions are appreciated

 

[frost10509]

My own first attempt at the fluid bed trap. It seemed to work as I could see the water pushing up on the outflow of the sluice. I think quarter inch screen is too large, and will replace with smaller. Any suggestions are appreciated

That's a great looking rig. I haven't tried mine out yet but I think you're right. A smaller screen would probably be more efficient. Best of luck!

 

[Quickpan Dan]

Thanks, it isn't pretty but it will do the job with a little more tweaking. My first clean-up produced only one color(lots of black sand) so I can assume ny sluice is catching most of the gold before it gets to the trap. Seems now like a lot of work to catch the stray color here and there

 

[frost10509]

Thanks, it isn't pretty but it will do the job with a little more tweaking. My first clean-up produced only one color(lots of black sand) so I can assume ny sluice is catching most of the gold before it gets to the trap. Seems now like a lot of work to catch the stray color here and there

I guess every piece counts. At least you know you have a safety valve. Where do you prospect. I live in NY state but will be using my new equipment in CT.

 

[Quickpan Dan]

I'm all the way over here in California. By Auburn. It would be quite the road trip lol.

 

[frost10509]

I'm all the way over here in California. By Auburn. It would be quite the road trip lol.

Lol. True. I lived in Grass Valley near Truckee for about 5 yrs when I was in the Air Force back in the late 90's. I wish I would have been into prospecting back then because I was in prime gold country I miss that part of the country sometimes.

 

[Quickpan Dan]

Move back! Its the only place for me. (Lake Tahoe from edgewood lodge)

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

I want to build one of these to go on the bottom of my setup. The main reason for the garden hose outlet on the water bar.

 

[Quickpan Dan]

That is frickin awesome! Will have to make my own now.

 

[frost10509]

Move back! Its the only place for me. (Lake Tahoe from edgewood lodge)

Memories!!! Tahoe was my favorite spot.

 

[Goodyguy]

I want to build one of these to go on the bottom of my setup. The main reason for the garden hose outlet on the water bar.

Lookin' good

Just remember once you're in the field and adding material into the hopper that sluice is gonna need at least 2-3" of drop per foot for those Clarkson riffles to work properly.

GG~

 

[Goodyguy]

My own first attempt at the fluid bed trap. It seemed to work as I could see the water pushing up on the outflow of the sluice. I think quarter inch screen is too large, and will replace with smaller. Any suggestions are appreciated

I see a technical problem with your design......
What you need is an overflow port at the far end of the trap that extends 1/2" to 3/4" lower than the screen going all the way across the end.

You are loosing fine gold because it doesn't get a chance to drop out of suspension due to the fluid pressure at the surface of the trap.

That water you see "pushing up" on the outflow has enough pressure to "push" against the fine and flour gold keeping it from dropping into the trap, especially when coupled with the force of the water coming off the end of your sluice.

That is why you need an overflow port at the far end of the trap that is lower than the screen. A half inch lower would be enough so that there is a lower pressure at the front of the trap where the gold will enter.

Also a diverter baffle should be installed level with but just underneath the screen mounted about two inches past the front opening of the trap to insure that any fine gold is directed below the water surface in the trap so that it cannot just surf straight across and over the overflow port. The baffle just needs to extend downward into the trap 1/4" below the height of the overflow port.

Not sure if you understand what I'm trying to get across but those are the reasons why your trap is not performing up to par.
Everything else looks good, a little fine tuning and you'll be all set

GG~

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

Lookin' good

Just remember once you're in the field and adding material into the hopper that sluice is gonna need at least 2-3" of drop per foot for those Clarkson riffles to work properly.

GG~

Ya it took a lot more drop than I initially thought to keep the riffles clearing. With the amount of gold I got I think I dialed it in just right. Thanks for the heads up on that!

 

[Goodyguy]

Ya it took a lot more drop than I initially thought to keep the riffles clearing. With the amount of gold I got I think I dialed it in just right. Thanks for the heads up on that!

When I first tried Clarkson riffles I thought a foot of drop on a 4 foot sluice would be crazy. I soon found out that it wasn't so crazy after all, and was also impressed at how much faster they could process paydirt while maintaining a super high recovery percentage.

The vortices produced by their design along with proper spacing is what makes them so efficient.

GG~

 

[NorCalPilot]

What is the best way to deal with a surging river? The last few trips to the North Fork American river, and also on the South Yuba, the water was surging all day long. Based on my sluice setup (which I changed several times) it would go from a trickle of water to way too much water in seconds.

Get a high-banker isn't a valid response

 

[KevinInColorado]

Get a fluid bed trap based sluice...it don't care about surges :-)

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

SAW THIS UNIT LOOKS TO BE TOP NOTCH ... Bear Bottom Mining - Order Now price is up there by twice what its the worth .

 

[NorCalPilot]

Get a fluid bed trap based sluice...it don't care about surges :-)

I'm leaning more and more to doing this! Thanks for the advice

 

[Quickpan Dan]

Get a fluid bed trap based sluice...it don't care about surges :-)

That's one reason why I modified my sluice to include a fluid bed trap. Large fluctuations in water level every hour or so.it definitely adds to running speed and gives peace of mind. Downside is the damn thing now weighs like fifty pounds, and it won't run in a low flow creek. I have a smaller sluice for those areas.