high banker test run

[jamie]

so yesterday i finally finished my high banker and went for a run down to oallen ford to try it and see how it goes, also had my brand new 6.5hp 2' thornado pump, well after meeting and talking with Nick and his mate (sorry buddy forgot the name) i set up, i had huge dramas getting the pump to pump water right but after all three of us having a look at it we managed to get it happening.
what i found with the banker is that i had plenty of water pressure but not nearly enough water volume, i had the 2' suction hose to the pump, but as i had 1' layflat hose i necked it down at the pump to suit the hose, my spray bars are 1' pvc with slits approx half inch gaps between, there would be approx 15 water jets per side of the hopper, and also i had to have the pump flat out to deliver the water i had.

Do you guys think it would be the 1' lay flat not having the capacity to deliver the water needed or insufficient spray bar jets, i am sure the pump is supplying ample water as we did run it without the lay flat connected, i should get some photos of the spray bars so you all can see them i suppose which i will do tonight.

i will add i did get some gold in the 15-20 shovel loads i put through it which was nice as i just randomly shoveled to test the banker, the banker clogged real fast from lack of water

 

[WalnLiz]

Wouldn't run 1" hose on a 6.5hp motor with 2" outlet. Get some 2" lay flat and you're problem will be solved. Adjust water volume with the throttle to suit sluice angle and runner heights.

Wal.

 

[jamie]

thank you Wal, i ran out of cash at the time of ordering the pump and had to make do but pay day i will order the hose, i just had a mate that is a prospector with alot of experience call in and he said the 1' inch spray bars are too small and my grizzly bar setup is too big so i got work to do i guess

 

[Tathradj]

Mate,
2" pump, As Wal said, 2" right to the banker. Then 1.5 inch delivery to the spray bars.
You may have to enlarge the holes in your spray bars a bit so when you go to test it with the new hose, Take an appropriate tool with you.

 

[jamie]

thanks mate, will take your advice on a cutter to 'mod' it in the field if needs be

 

[Next1m8]

Sorry to hear it didn't run too great mate, it's a nice day for once in ballarat had nearly 3 days of rain so I'm going out to test my mods and new pump. Curious mate did you prime the pump first?

 

[jamie]

it wasn't too bad, it was better than being stuck in the city like i am 99% of the time, bad day prospecting beats a good day at work, well that's how i see it.
Yeah had to prime it so many times and just wouldn't draw water up at first but managed to fix that, seemed as tho it may have had a small air leak from the suction hose connection, so i am going to re do all the connections to completely rule that out.
Get out there mate test it out and hope it all goes well 0for you, let us all know how you go

 

[jamie]

sorry guys one more question... for now
i have my grizzly bars set at 6mm apart and is made of 6mm steel rod, only welded at one end but is 6mm too far apart? i almost only go to oallen ford (flour gold) and tuena (slightly larger small gold)
cheers guys
Jamie

 

[WalnLiz]

6mm is plenty good enough for Oallen, but 10mm would be better for Tuena where gram plus nuggets are frequently picked up. If you have a metal detector take it with you when working Tuena and check your tailings pile at every cleanup. If you check your tailings at the end of the day only, make sure you rake them flat first as a gram nugget won't register too deep in all that ironstone out there.

Wal.

 

[jamie]

thank you again Wal, Your experience and willingness to share what you know really goes to show how lucky PA is to have people like yourself and more importantly shows what a great bloke your are, so again i thank you

 

[jamie]

finally done the cons i bought home from the test run at oallen ford, even tho it wasn't running at all right and was only about 15-20 shovels of random dirt, i wasn't really looking for gold just checking the sluice, i still got a little gold