Bazooka Super mini- setup/operation tips

[KevinInColorado]

Really good advice Preshrunk, thanks!

 

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[Aufisher]

Got a Super Mini for my birthday! Should double my crevice production not panning all day in remote country.

 

[Timberdoodle]

I got a super mini about 3 weeks ago and just got out to the creek to use it yesterday. The water was high due to the snow melting and rain but I found a spot to set up. The flow was good(or so I though). I set up a wing dam to help divert more water into the box. It just seemed to me the the slick plate area and the box were constantly overloading. I stuck my finger in the trap and it seemed packed and not moving like it should be. The top part seemed to hold a lot of material and not clear very well. The build up in the box was built up all the way back to the grizzlies. I figured I have enough slope about 5 degrees or so. I couldn't get anymore water in this thing with it floating away...Any tips to it working better or was it in fact functioning properly?

If your having snowmelt conditions, do you have any slush in the water? this could have easily plugged the jets

5 degree angle also sounds to shallow to me. The jets work off of head pressure and if you do not have enough height from input end to outlet end the results of poor flow over the box and clearing of the fluid bed would both result. It may be simply a matter of setup, but the mod's are a very good idea going forward.

 

[Goodyguy]

Keep in mind on the bazookas that if the bottom tubes become plugged due to floating leaves and other debris, it will pack up the trap solid. Some people (myself included) made leaf guards to fix this problem. And also you may need to classify smaller then the stock setting depending on your local gravels. I have found a couple places with lots of flat skinny rocks that fit through the stock grizzly, then once inside they turn sideways and act as a false bedrock preventing the gold from sinking into the trap. What that happens the slurry just blows out the top without ever sinking into the trap. This is one reason why I recommend the hardware cloth. The other reason being mentioned above already, which is proper classification is always key to better recovery. No matter where you are mining you should always tune your equipment to the ore you are working. No equipment is one size fits all and works for every situation.

Heres a video where I am using my bazooka with my hardware cloth mod that is being fed 4 mesh material (At about 7:00 minutes). Notice how fast the material is processing. That is about normal flow and what I usually use and it works great.

Really enjoyed the underwater camera work
Great job on the gold recovery too!


GG~