Fabrication Specialists
Full Member
Good day prospecting brothers and sisters,
I have compiled a list of common issues and questions I frequently get from folks about equipment. Some of the common problems I help folks with is,
Pump size being too small, A 500 gph pump is ONLY good for small clean up sluices, or sluices about 4 inches in width or less running carpet and expanded metal. If you're running special matting (Gold Hog matting, Keene Miracle Mat, etc) your best bet is a 750 gph to 1200 gph. For sluices wider than that (6" to 10") you'll need atleast a 1200 gph if you're running expanded/riffles with carpeting. If you're using special matting (Gold Hog matting, Keene Miracle Mat) you will need higher gph for proper matting operation (1600,1800, 2200 gph). This ensures the matting is working to it's full potential and the lighter materials are being exchanged and moved out making room for the GOLD! Remember the pump WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SET UP! This is one area where a little more money spent will pay for itself ten-fold in the long run (this goes for gas engine pumps too). Also another often overlooked area is the pump outlet and hose size. It does no good to buy a 2200gph pump and run 1 1/8" hose on it as the hose will restrict it down to about 1600 gph. On my 1600 gph pump units I run 1 1/4" hose and for the 2200 gph I run the 1 1/2" hose and fittings to get the max water volume the pump can produce.
You need a solid sluice box angle adjustment/mount Make or buy a good solid mount. You need to be able to easily adjust the sluice angle and you want it sturdy enough your sluice box assembly doesn't fall over. Don't forget a sluice stand can be very useful in a river or stream also, as it gives you an easy way to hold it at the proper angle securely and you don't need to balance your sluice on rocks, between rocks, etc.
Plumbing/hose issues For example, 1 1/8" hose needs the proper adapter, don't just hose clamp it over a piece of pvc as the pvc OD is not 1 1/8" and you'll get leaks and the hose blowing totally off in extreme situations (3/4"pvc OD is close to the 1 1/8" ID, but it won't seal properly without the right fitting. Also I get a lot of questions about how many holes to put in a spraybar and how far apart. First off don't glue your fittings in your hopper assembly. This makes on the spot adjustments easy and while you're building it you can custom tailor holes to your pump. Don't drill a bunch of holes, start with a couple small holes and see how it flows. You can always drill more holes or make existing holes bigger if need be. The bottom line is you need a little pressure so the water flow cleans off the rocks and breaks up dirt balls. You don't want 15 holes and the first 10 have water trickling out and the back 5 have no water at all. For a quick starting point I tell folks to figure it out like this, If you have 3/4" hose and plumbing coming into your hopper, you can drill a little under 3/4" worth of holes. That's 6 - 1/8" holes, 3 - 1/4" holes, etc. That's a good starting point but you will need to drill the spraybar to your pump flow, go slow, don't glue your fittings and you'll be fine. I can't give a solid answer as all pumps are different (even the same gph can be different between different manufacturers).
If you need hose fittings, Jamestown Distributors has great prices on 3/4", 1 1/8", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" hose barb to pipe thread adapters that are made for bilge hose and work great (this is where I get my fittings from also) here is the link to fittings,
Shields Sanitation Hose Fittings
or these, which are the one I use for all my 12 volt bilge pump recirculators and highbankers,
Forespar Marelon Male Tailpipe Hose Connectors
This place has the best prices on these fittings.
I hope this helps, Chris
I have compiled a list of common issues and questions I frequently get from folks about equipment. Some of the common problems I help folks with is,
Pump size being too small, A 500 gph pump is ONLY good for small clean up sluices, or sluices about 4 inches in width or less running carpet and expanded metal. If you're running special matting (Gold Hog matting, Keene Miracle Mat, etc) your best bet is a 750 gph to 1200 gph. For sluices wider than that (6" to 10") you'll need atleast a 1200 gph if you're running expanded/riffles with carpeting. If you're using special matting (Gold Hog matting, Keene Miracle Mat) you will need higher gph for proper matting operation (1600,1800, 2200 gph). This ensures the matting is working to it's full potential and the lighter materials are being exchanged and moved out making room for the GOLD! Remember the pump WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SET UP! This is one area where a little more money spent will pay for itself ten-fold in the long run (this goes for gas engine pumps too). Also another often overlooked area is the pump outlet and hose size. It does no good to buy a 2200gph pump and run 1 1/8" hose on it as the hose will restrict it down to about 1600 gph. On my 1600 gph pump units I run 1 1/4" hose and for the 2200 gph I run the 1 1/2" hose and fittings to get the max water volume the pump can produce.
You need a solid sluice box angle adjustment/mount Make or buy a good solid mount. You need to be able to easily adjust the sluice angle and you want it sturdy enough your sluice box assembly doesn't fall over. Don't forget a sluice stand can be very useful in a river or stream also, as it gives you an easy way to hold it at the proper angle securely and you don't need to balance your sluice on rocks, between rocks, etc.
Plumbing/hose issues For example, 1 1/8" hose needs the proper adapter, don't just hose clamp it over a piece of pvc as the pvc OD is not 1 1/8" and you'll get leaks and the hose blowing totally off in extreme situations (3/4"pvc OD is close to the 1 1/8" ID, but it won't seal properly without the right fitting. Also I get a lot of questions about how many holes to put in a spraybar and how far apart. First off don't glue your fittings in your hopper assembly. This makes on the spot adjustments easy and while you're building it you can custom tailor holes to your pump. Don't drill a bunch of holes, start with a couple small holes and see how it flows. You can always drill more holes or make existing holes bigger if need be. The bottom line is you need a little pressure so the water flow cleans off the rocks and breaks up dirt balls. You don't want 15 holes and the first 10 have water trickling out and the back 5 have no water at all. For a quick starting point I tell folks to figure it out like this, If you have 3/4" hose and plumbing coming into your hopper, you can drill a little under 3/4" worth of holes. That's 6 - 1/8" holes, 3 - 1/4" holes, etc. That's a good starting point but you will need to drill the spraybar to your pump flow, go slow, don't glue your fittings and you'll be fine. I can't give a solid answer as all pumps are different (even the same gph can be different between different manufacturers).
If you need hose fittings, Jamestown Distributors has great prices on 3/4", 1 1/8", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" hose barb to pipe thread adapters that are made for bilge hose and work great (this is where I get my fittings from also) here is the link to fittings,
Shields Sanitation Hose Fittings
or these, which are the one I use for all my 12 volt bilge pump recirculators and highbankers,
Forespar Marelon Male Tailpipe Hose Connectors
This place has the best prices on these fittings.
I hope this helps, Chris
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