Got a little Sluice cheap.

[dwt]

You could try getting in contact with the manufactures, pretty much guarantee they would have a recommended pump with the right litres per hour to suit your sluice, not enough water is just as detrimental to gold recovery to much, angels of the boiler box are also just as important as the sluice, no point putting hours of shovelling through if the dirt is not being broken down or washed properly,
On a personal note I like seeing at least 10 plus mill of water over the top of riffles, that tends to make the sluice box act like a river in flood, making the riffles create eddies and dead zones to be able to drop out heavy materials all along keeping the lighter materials flowing out of the sluice box,
Just dwt's personnel opinion

 

[Guest]

Hmmm I think you should do the sums. Generator for Charging, Battery, pump, and fuel. They may work out a bit dearer than a small petrol pump. Dont rush in explore all avenues cheers Jembaicumbene

 

[ozziii]

Nice looking unit. What did you look on Facebook to find these highbankers and sluices?

https://www.cwpsupplies.com.au/product-category/sluices/
Central West Prospecting Supplies stock them. Might be close enough to have a look at the shop FK

Look up the the gs 13 in the above link and it recommends a 2500gph bilge pump or a 2.5hp petrol pump.

No GS13 there, but 2500 is the same flow rate for the GS10, i did see somewhere else though that had 2200gph, so anywhere in between should be ok.

 

[ozziii]

I can get a couple of good 2nd hand batteries for free & charge at home on a charger I already have, as long as I get a few hours use then thats all thats needed, I won't be out for 6-8 hours at a time & I won't be going flat out digging dirt, its just a hobby. Electric pumps on ebay are reasonably cheap, as is some hose to run from pump the sluice. I've looked at petrol pumps, hosing, clamps etc & it will cost me more to go that way, & as I also want to make a recirculating set up the electric will also be good for that. Have heard from people who use the same sluice with 2000gph bilge pump & it works ok for them & I have spoken to the manufacturer a while back & was told you can run less than he recommends but its not quite as good, still works though.
I hooked both front & back yard hoses up to it & ran a little dirt through, still not enough water but I knew it wouldn't be, just wanted to try it, got a couple of little specs though. Went & got some more dirt, changed angle on sluice & ran a small amount through, got another little spec & the water flow was better with the steeper angle. Its all practice & learning & I know I need more water but I'm not made of money.


On the second try I raised the sluice on bricks, lowered the front & got faster flow which helped stop the build up of gravel/dirt a bit.
Here the few little bits we got.

While I have alot to learn this is a start & its good practice testing things out, gives me a better idea of how these things work.

 

[narra]

They are a very good sluice that catch very fine gold made in benalla. I think a 5horse pump is all you need for info www.sluicy.com.au

 

[ozziii]

When you're at Bunnings, look in the gardening poly hose/pipe area and make your own spray boom?

Yeah I have looked at some fittings up at Bunnings yesterday & today, it won't take much to join some pipes & hook it up to spray back up into the hopper, will get other things first though & then check out some spray bar mods.

 

[ozziii]

They are a very good sluice that catch very fine gold made in benalla. I think a 5horse pump is all you need for info www.sluicy.com.au

Yeah I've checked out the site & checked out some pumps but will get a cheaper electric pump for now, that will do while we are learning a bit & will be a little easier to transport as well, electric is more convenient at the moment. Petrol pump will come later.

 

[Nightjar]

Ozziii,
You have the right attitude, one step at a time and you learn with every step. Will follow your thread with interest to see how you go.
Not sure if it applies to wet operations but a tried and proven riffle box angle with a dry blower is 21.
A caravan spirit level fixed to horizontal section is very handy to set the device correctly every time you set it up.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-Way-T-...210445?hash=item4643ae59cd:g:50oAAOSw5ZBWMzQw

 

[ozziii]

Thanks NJ, I try to have the right attitude, I like doing the research as well & like to learn & thats needed in this hobby. Its great that there's places like this forum with good helpful people as well, I've learnt alot here.

I'm not sure on the correct angles myself but I think it also depends on water flow, but I did notice today, even with low water flow, when the sluice was tilted more causing the riffles to be laying nearly flat, they didn't seem to work that well, so I guess there is a limit to how steep the sluice should be.
We got a spirit level from Bunnings yesterday, it has a rotating level with angles written on it, its a good little unit & works well.

 

[AtomRat]

I still think it needs more water on the inlet than what you are feeding it. I use a small 2.5hp petrol 4stroke motor I carry with one hand for most highbanking and its quiet.

Instead if more flow, you can add angle, but the riffles will have a point where a too steep angle won't work. Some riffles like the yukon style, love steep angles with fast water. Considering I've seen a few sluices now which use the expanded alloy..even rocker sluices ( what the yanks call a grizzly sluice ) seem to catch gold well. The more reason why I'm saying more power and water is for clay and breaking up silts, grass etc as the riffles do thier work, churning it all. Also riffles won't work withought a strong flow very well. They need the power to create and hold a vortex..thier purpose isn't to stop the gold but hold it in the water dynamics. ( this is the hungarian style on your box )

My mate has the exact same sluice ( the vid I uploaded of the bouncing sluice with motor ) and he uses a 1200w bilge pump, 1" to his and its not too fast flow from what I've seen, though I would reccomend adding a carpet and mesh to the top half of your box to catch extra gold..gives a preview per shovel..and also gives an area to rub clay onto and grind it manually if you want.

Angles, speed of pump etc you will figure out as you drop the first one or two shovels into the box. You want the riffle sections to be clean pretty fast, ( a few seconds ) holding material behind the riffle ( in the vortex ), and make sure its all level on all 3 axis. Goldhog vids have a good explination on how to setup a sluice using 'gauges' as a reference. They also state a good rule for a new sluice and box..and that's to start everything full pelt and then step it down slowly until it all seems right. For example - start with max sluice angle and pump throttle / power / inlet, and ease them off until it seems suitably stable. This is only really necessary for new sluice designs..but still worth a try here and therr

 

[ozziii]

Thanks AR, I completely agree about needing more water, setting it up with the hoses was just to see how things worked a bit, just needed to try it out as we only just got it & never used one. The inlet is 1 inch, straight through, no spray bar, water just hits the alloy & spreads out so only small fine gravels can be used really, as it won't break up any clumps, but later on I will make some changes & add a reverse spraying spray bar facing the jets back up towards the top to hold & break clumps a bit better. I would like to eventually make some bits & pieces with alloy sheet & maybe hire a TIG welder to weld the alloy instead of rivets, or if I can then buy a cheap TIG welder for alloy sheet.

I will just have to get the 2000gph bilge pump for now, just need to keep costs to a minimum & 2000gph should be just enough water to get us going, will just need to load the dirt slow & keep an eye on how its running, not in a hurry to pile the dirt through, & will just upgrade to a better pump when we can.
I've been doing a bit of reading about sluices & keeping them level, thats why we got the adjustable level & will get a few other bits to help out as well & going to see about some longer legs this week too.
The carpet in this one covers the whole of the bottom tray, the expanded mesh starts about 2 inches from the top & the first riffle is about 6 inches from the top of sluice section. The carpet is a bit of a pain to wash though, little specs would have to get trapped in there wouldn't they.

Its all trial & error & once we get the pump then it will be better, then with some mods & adjustment things should improve, then when we get higher flow pump it should be pretty much right. I do like the quietness in the bush though so electric is something I would like to keep using if I can.

 

[AtomRat]

little specs would have to get trapped in there wouldn't they.

You can always burn mats after 5 years mate don't worry about gold getting caught as its a bonus!

 

[madfisher]

Sluicy are good guys and very helpful.. ive only got a little sluice box but im going to buy a banker of them. Great deal you got there mate. Good luck.
Ps as for gold getting caught in the carpet. It does a bit. Ill do a quick clean out a few times during a day then do a major one at the end of the trip.. i put the carpet straight back in after washing and always keep it upright so im not losing small stuff .
As atom said you can burn it in a few years if you want.
Good luck mate

 

[nucopia]

Nice score Ozzii
Looking on the sluicy web site 2500GPH bildge pump is recommended probaly find something on ebay.
Looks like they make some good equipment, and affordable too
i like your bunnings level with the rotaiting angles be great for setting angles on my walbanker.

 

[ozziii]

Thanks Atom, yeah I read on this forum somewhere a while back about people burning the carpet, I might have to just be careful & do like you do MadFisher, keep it upright & clean it a few times through the day & a major clean at days end.

That level is also magnetic Nucopia, no good for alloy but alright if you have steel on your banker. Think I will stick a bit of flat to it though so its a bit longer & has a lip to help line up the bottom edges of the hopper & sluice sections easier.

Have worked out what pump I will get to start with & if need be I will upgrade to a petrol pump at a later date.

 

[nucopia]

Yeah i bought a magnetic pocket level a few weeks back at bunning not thinking my walbanker is made of aluminum.
Luckely the cable mesh i use as a classifier on top of the sluice is gal steel so a magnet sticks there . But useless because thats were I remove the lager stones and gravel No problem just use it at set up and check from time to time..just good to know what angle the slope of the sluice is .

 

[TheFossickingKid]

Went out to a private property today and one of the guys we were with had a highbanker like the gs10. He was running it off a 5.5hp pump and worked great.

 

[ozziii]

Yeah the 5.5hp would be a good size for a petrol pump, could probably run a couple of sluices, I've checked a few out, around the 4.5-5.5hp size would be alright for what I want.

 

[Mungoman]

To those fellas who need a spirit level. On your smart phone there's a compass, along with an inclometer.

 

[ozziii]

To those fellas who need a spirit level. On your smart phone there's a compass, along with an inclometer.

Before using it you might have to Calibrate it by sitting phone on a flat surface, had to with a spirit level function on mine.