Whats a good 12v battery for a highbanker?

[Wayson]

What's a good 12v battery for a highbanker?

Hey all! I've been sluicing and panning for about five years now, but I'm finally looking at getting a highbanker. Right now I'm looking at the Gold Buddy Mini, because it's small enough to be portable by myself with no help, and because it can be made into a recirculating system pretty easily with a 10 gal tub.

Thing is, I've never run a highbanker before (ever), and I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I've even seen one operating. So I'm unfamiliar with the power requirements for one. The Gold Buddy Mini that I'm looking at apparently can run off anything 12v, so I'm wondering if anyone here had advice or a personal anecdote about which battery might be best for this. Should I just go to Wal Mart and browse the aisles for any old 12v battery? Or is there one that has a longer life while not costing an arm and a leg?

On a similar note, is it possible to recharge a 12v, and if so... how? I could see running a highbanker getting mighty expensive if every couple hours I had to swap out to a brand new battery.

Thanks for any help or advice!

 

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[russau]

of course you can recharge a 12vdc battery! the type you want will determine how long (during the day) you want to run material. deep cycles are the best but more expensive and heavier. and being heavy will determine how far you want to drag this to the stream.I always used a old car battery , but I use my ATV to haul my equipment. but now I just dredge (depending on how my back feels!)

 

[Wayson]

Yeah, if I could dredge I would in a heartbeat, but I'm (temporarily for the next several years) trapped in California, which has banned dredging to the best of my knowledge. :S

How would I recharge the battery though? Is there a kit out there than I can simply plug into a power outlet and attach to the battery leads?

 

[Goldwasher]

Maybe you should just go with a sluice box and run it in the creek before you make the jump to a powersluice. a 12v highbanker is more for concentrating and clean up rather than production

 

[Wayson]

Maybe you should just go with a sluice box and run it in the creek before you make the jump to a powersluice. a 12v highbanker is more for concentrating and clean up rather than production

I've had a sluice for the past five years. If I could avoid dropping the $400+ on a highbanker and battery, I would, but...

The problem is that a lot of the places I prospect are don't have handy creeks with the right amount of flow and drop for a sluice. Think the bank of a river, with very low flow way too deep to put the sluice in. (A dredge would be amazing there though.) Or an area previously used for hydraulic mining but without any handy water sources nearby. I recognize that a 12v-powered pump is not the most powerful thing out there, but I imagine if I classified material down to 2 mesh (or 4 mesh if the sluice part didn't like 2 mesh) before feeding it in... *shrug* Basically it would let me prospect more effectively than sitting there with a pan because my sluice won't run.

 

[mike(swWash)]

Bi-Mart has a good looking deep cycle on sale this week for $70. regularly 90.
I'm picking one up for my highbanker set up since my son borrowed mine for his boat last fall.

I've run 3 pumps for 4-5 hrs straight several times, a 2100 and two 1100's all at the same time without problem, however it was the largest deep cycle I could get and was about $120.

Gold Hog makes mats compatible for a 12v setup water flow for pretty decent production. One 4000gph or two 2000gph pumps will give a good flow for -3/8" material on a 10" sluice and mat combo.

 

[Goldwasher]

I've had a sluice for the past five years. If I could avoid dropping the $400+ on a highbanker and battery, I would, but...

The problem is that a lot of the places I prospect are don't have handy creeks with the right amount of flow and drop for a sluice. Think the bank of a river, with very low flow way too deep to put the sluice in. (A dredge would be amazing there though.) Or an area previously used for hydraulic mining but without any handy water sources nearby. I recognize that a 12v-powered pump is not the most powerful thing out there, but I imagine if I classified material down to 2 mesh (or 4 mesh if the sluice part didn't like 2 mesh) before feeding it in... *shrug* Basically it would let me prospect more effectively than sitting there with a pan because my sluice won't run.

Got it. Are you trying to be quiet? is that the reason for going electric vs. using a gas powered pump?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Yeah, if I could dredge I would in a heartbeat, but I'm (temporarily for the next several years) trapped in California, which has banned dredging to the best of my knowledge. :S

How would I recharge the battery though? Is there a kit out there than I can simply plug into a power outlet and attach to the battery leads?

Have you never heard of a battery charger?

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

I have one of those little highbankers sitting in a corner of my garage. I never liked the 12v pumps. Harbor Freight has a cheap 1" clear water pump that works great with that little highbanker then you don't have to deal with batteries and such.

 

[goldenIrishman]

As a desert miner, using a recirculating system for wet processing is a must! We don't have streams for the most part and those beds that have water are subject to flash floods.

A lot of what goes into choosing a battery depends on several factors:
1. What size and how many pumps are you planning on running? What is their rated current draw?
2. How long at a time do you plan on being out in the field running the system?
3. How far are you going to have to haul it to get in in to the dig site?

A general rule on pumps for a re-circ system is to get the largest one(s) you can afford. You can always cut back the flow with a simple valve setup to get it where you need it to be for your system. It's better to have the flow and not need it than to need it and not have it! I run two pumps on my homemade highbanker. One feeds the headerbox for classifying the materials into the sluice and the other feeds the sluice itself. When combined, I have a flow of up to 3000 gph. Both draw water from a cut down 55gal barrel. A tailings bucket sits in the barrel to catch the waste and keep the barrel from filling up with junk. The pumps are in a box made from hardware cloth that is also covered in window screen to keep crud out of the pumps.

When I'm running materials in the field, I use a marine deep cycle battery. When shopping for a battery of any type, check the max current draw it can handle. The higher the available current the longer it's going to last. A regular car battery will work, but if you let it get run down to far and too often, they can go bad on you after a time. Deep cycle batteries are made to be discharged much further and survive longer than a car battery.

As far as recharging the battery goes, it's going to depend on if you're trying to do this in the field or at home. In the field I have a folding solar panel that I hook up to the battery to charge it. I usually will dig and stock up materials for a day or two and then run them through the highbanker. Once I've run out of materials, the battery goes on the panel for charging while I dig and haul more materials. I spend at least a week at a time out in the field and have yet to have my battery go dead on me using this method. My mining partner runs on pure solar, but that's a bit to "iffy" for my taste. One cloudy day and you dn't have near enough power to run materials. When running materials at home I hook the pumps up to a battery charger. If you're going to do this, make sure that the charger can supply the amperage needed to run the pump(s).

If you have to haul the battery a good distance over rough terrain to get to the dig site, I'd go with a sealed "Gel-Cell" type of battery as these don't leak electrolyte (aka battery acid) all over the place if they get bounced around. That stuff can be nasty and can eat through just about anything given enough time.

Hope this information is of some help to you! Welcome to T-Net and good luck in your hunt!

 

[mike(swWash)]

In Washington we're limited to battery powered pumps and equipment until the in river season which runs aprox. July thru Sept. Then we can use gas powered pumps.

That is if they don't close us down while they decide the fate of dredging here.

 

[Wayson]

A lot of what goes into choosing a battery depends on several factors:
1. What size and how many pumps are you planning on running? What is their rated current draw?
2. How long at a time do you plan on being out in the field running the system?
3. How far are you going to have to haul it to get in in to the dig site?

1. I've slightly changed my mind from in the OP and am looking at the Gold Buddy V1250, because it comes with a 1250 GPH pump as opposed to the Mini's 750 GPH. Pump's rated draw is advertised at 2.6 AH. (So, low.)
2. 5 hours would likely be the limit for actually running the highbanker. I would fill a couple 5 gal buckets with classified material before I turned it on, to save on battery power.
3. Good question. Depends on the dig site. The ones here in CA that I have in mind are ~ 0.5 miles. (So, not immensely far.) The ones in CO on the other hand... well. I won't be back there for another 3-4 years anyways so it doesn't matter.

When I'm running materials in the field, I use a marine deep cycle battery. When shopping for a battery of any type, check the max current draw it can handle. The higher the available current the longer it's going to last.

This is what I've gleaned as well from my research. Right now I'm trying to decide between a lead acid 'wet cell' type and an AGM. I haven't really looked into Gel ones yet, but I have recognized the fact that lead acid ones want to be kept at 100% nearly all the time. Because the pump I'm looking at draws 2.6 AH, and I wouldn't want to draw the battery down below 50%, to run a highbanker for 5 hours would require a battery with ~26 AH.

Right now I'm looking at this battery. That particular bundle features a charger that I know will work with the battery, is a 'smart' charger that won't overcharge the battery, and can desulfate the battery if/when I screw it up. Amazon reviews are positive for both the battery and charger. For those who don't want to click on the link, it's a 12 Volt 35Ah SLA AGM Deep Cycle battery.

I looked at portable power supplies like this one by Shumacher, but I don't know if those would be better or worse than a battery, and I couldn't find out anything about their AH.

I do have another question about battery recharging. Once you've charged the battery up to 100%, can you simply leave it attached to the charger if said charger has a maintenance mode? The charger's Amazon page says this about its final two stages of charging, which makes me think that I'd be good to leave it in the garage for a couple months plugged into the wall: "Stage 3: Absorption, the output voltage is limited to 14.7V while current declines as the battery charges to its full capacity without overheating. Stage 4: Float. At this stage, the battery is fully charged and the charger maintains the battery through pulse charging. "

 

[Wayson]

Got it. Are you trying to be quiet? is that the reason for going electric vs. using a gas powered pump?

This question has popped up a couple times, so I'll answer. Namely yes, I am trying to be quiet both so I don't disturb people and so I can maintain my situational awareness. I tend to prospect alone, so knowing if someone or something is nearby me is kind of important. Also, because I prospect alone and don't have an ATV, everything I take out has to be man-portable, preferably in no more than two trips. Gas generators are heavy, even heavier than a battery in my experience. (Having been privileged to carry one for a couple miles.)

Have you never heard of a battery charger?

Before I began to research highbankers, the only interaction I have had with batteries bigger than D cell was helping a few friends jump their cars, and cleaning corrosion off of my car's battery once. I know literally nothing about any batteries bigger than flashlight-size. I am learning and educating myself but I'm starting from zero here, sorry.

 

[goldenIrishman]

The Gold Buddy system you're talking about is the same one that my partner Chris uses. He runs a pair of the Gold buddy high bankers with an auto feeder system he made from a deer feeder and can really go through some materials in a day. He upgraded the pumps on each of them to a 1500gph Rule brand pump and loves it. He usually runs everything off of a pair of folding solar panels but also has a deep cycle battery in case of a cloudy day.

 

[kevin1]

Are you hauling your gear in with a cart? A garden cart with 26" wheels, preferably a folding model, would give you greater flexibility in your choices. Most can haul 300-400 lbs. with ease.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

12 v Lithium car/motorcyle type batteries are less than 3 pounds in many cases, and are starting to come down in price. Many are now in the $100-$200 range. I am thinking this is a good alternative to gel batteries, lead acid batteries, etc. You might find that a workable solution. Get a solar panel to recharge it and you are good to go.

Just a thought....

 

[Wayson]

12 v Lithium car/motorcyle type batteries are less than 3 pounds in many cases, and are starting to come down in price. Many are now in the $100-$200 range. I am thinking this is a good alternative to gel batteries, lead acid batteries, etc. You might find that a workable solution. Get a solar panel to recharge it and you are good to go.

Just a thought....

I did look into it, but none met the dual requirements of sufficient AH (I decided that 35 AH would do for any pump drawing 8 AH or less) and sufficient price (less than $200 for both the battery and the charger combined).

I thank everyone who's replied so far for your advice and anecdotes; like I've said repeatedly, I've never even run a highbanker before and this will be an entirely new experience.

My plan as it stands so far is to get the Gold Buddy V1250 with a 1250 gph pump (2.6 AH draw) and run it off of a 35 AH AGM deep-cycle battery (linked to on previous page). I would be classifying down to either 1/2 an inch or 1/4th an inch (preferably 1/2 an inch because it's faster) and running that material through the highbanker for 5-6 hours at most. Does this sound viable? For the total system (highbanker, pump, battery, and charger) I have a budget of $600, so if there's a better system out there for approximately that price please let me know.

 

[ORAUhunter]

Different option. I'd be looking at a high banker by [http://www.casluicebox.com/HIGH-BA...1/4" material is pushing it. Just my 2 cents