12v bilge pump for a sluice ?

[Dug]

I did a bit of a test of my wooden sluice and thought I might add a few bits and make it into a small high banker . I tested the water flow and would need appx 1200lph minimum .it clears out really well very happy with it.
There are 4000 liters per hour pumps for $80.00 or so are they the go ??

 

[Twapster]

A lot is trial and error and working out how long your battery will run the pump. If it can run for a few hours then all is good. No use having a great pump that works well for 15mins. Id be more inclined to have a set up that will chug along for extended periods rather than guns blazing and then carking it just as you get everything set up right. My 2 cents worth.

 

[Dug]

Thanks twapster , I notice you have a pretty good setup ,seeing as it's pretty much me and my two young sons that go out most weekends at least for the arvo ,I need to be with them ,not detecting or walking too far away.A good sluice setup will cover all bases.its a good 1/2 hr walk in so I'm aiming for lightness or rig up a trolley .i do have a 2 1/2 hp trash pump sitting in the shed ,but will muck around with a boiler box and one or two electric pumps and play with the pitch of the highbanker .probbably end up starting fresh and getting some "hog matting" that stuff looks good .
Thanks again

 

[Twapster]

If you don't mind a bit of loudness, ive been eyeing off those teeny 1 inch 2 stroke pumps. I actually want one for draining the water out of my dig holes if they start to fill with water....so I can keep digging under the water table so to speak. May be an alternative option to battery powered pump unless you are after stealth! They look fairly light and no battery required!!!

I've also got a mini banker at home that uses a bilge, once I went to petrol I haven't looked back, just too many issues with battery dying out in the field but did work nicely when it was fully charged.

I guess whatever you decide you are after portability. If you are using slow flows I don't think you need to go too fancy with what you use to catch the gold, the hog matting certainly looks sexy. While we used the hog matting on the weekend, expanded mesh/ bread crate...etc over miners moss or ribbed matting does just as well. Matting choice seems to become more critical when using high flows, but low flow (12v) just about any set up will catch the gold as long as your angles are ok.

My biggest issue with 12v is I tend to do the best when I hit a clay layer, and that's when water pressure in the boiler section helps. I found my bilge set up just couldn't handle that. If you hit clay and using an electric set up you may need a boiler bucket where you manually break the clay down in water before you put it in the sluice, kind of like mashing potatoes!!! lol

 

[Dug]

Some great pointers there Twapster , all about the boiler box / classifier .i think I'll end up making two .Ill add a box to my wooden sluice just so we can use it more often , and another aluminium one for the 4 stroke .i really like the work goldhog have put into designing their mats (utube) .ill make everything but have a go at their mats. I like the idea and principal of "exchange" vortex ets.
The same principal as the drop riffel .i love watching all those little vortex's do their thing .