Best Sluice Box

[digger34]

I'm wondering what is the best sluice box for under 80 bucks. Or what's the best power sluice box for under 150. Currently only have pan and sifter.

 

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[johnedoe]

I'm wondering what is the best sluice box for under 80 bucks. Or what's the best power sluice box for under 150. Currently only have pan and sifter.

I think for a good all around sluice in the price range you are specifying a LeTrap would probably fill your needs.
I don't think you will find a power sluice for 150 though.

 

[Aufisher]

Get the Bazooka and you will never go back!

 

[ezrider2]

My Angus Mac Kirk rocks

 

[GFBurke]

Angus is local to me, I should go look at them.

 

[digger34]

How does the Bazooka work because it doesn't look like a normal sluice?

 

[AU_Solitude]

How does the Bazooka work because it doesn't look like a normal sluice?

Physics. It doesn't look like a normal sluice because it's not, it's better.

 

[Bronze]

The Bazooka is a fluid bed type sluice. You shovel in the dirt and it will classify out the big stuff while small stuff goes down into a trap with "pressurized" water lifts light material up and out while heavy stuff stays in the trap.

I Love my Bazooka "36 Prospector. The amount of material I can move is RIDICULOUS. Last Monday I went out and on a shortened day I managed to move 30 buckets of material. Compare that to the 8-10 I could only do with a traditional sluice. Had to dig the dirt, then classify, then slowly feed the sluice. by the end of the day I had maybe put 3 buckets of classified material through it. Now I just dump shovel fulls of unclassified material right in.

Bazookas aren't the cheapest but they definitely work. They have a mini, sniper, prospector and miner models. Mini is for testing, sniper is a great one (my digging buddy uses that one) and I can do about 2.5 buckets to his 1 with the Prospector. The miner is a BEAST! You can pretty much dump 5 gallon buckets right into it.

Clean outs with the sniper are super easy. Just dump in your pan and pan it out. Prospector requires an additional step if you want to make things easy. Instructions say you can clean out in a pan but I don't recommend that unless you only ran a couple buckets. Dump into a bucket then classify to "1/4 into your pan. And I cant imagine doing a clean out on the Miner.....The instructions say to empty into a tub, LOL!

I think the sniper can be had for around 180 or so shipped. If you are on a 150 budget, I'd just save a little more and go for it.

 

[Aufisher]

Ridiculous is right! Plan on moving 4X the material you ever had before. A small backhoe would be great!

 

[utah mason]

Since getting my bgt prospector using my Keene and a classifier hasn't even crossed my mind(except in my nightmares). Get the bgt it works really well. At first I was worried it wouldn't hold the -100 mesh but there Always seems to be plenty of -100 mesh gold in my clean ups. Most of the gold I find is 70, 100 mesh and below. Nothing better then more gold and as a bonus your back will be not as sore from being hunched over bucket classifying material.

 

[goldenmojo]

Bazooka is the only way to go. Here is my supermini and gold taken with the same supermini. This model is a few dollars more than your $80 budget but well worth it.

 

[Aufisher]

Love watching gold sliding down the Bazooka!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well for the price range I'd have to say Le Trap as well. Hard to overload them, they're light and work great. You might get a power sluice for the price you stated, but that would be for the box only. No pump or any of the other required gear.

Now... THE BEST sluice would be one that also shovels the dirt for you as well as cleans out the cons and loads the gold into your vials.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Well for the price range I'd have to say Le Trap as well. Hard to overload them, they're light and work great. You might get a power sluice for the price you stated, but that would be for the box only. No pump or any of the other required gear.

Now... THE BEST sluice would be one that also shovels the dirt for you as well as cleans out the cons and loads the gold into your vials.

I would agree with goldenIrishman; for your price, go with a Le Trap. It was my favorite until I got a Bazooka. The LeTrap is still my choice if the 30" Sniper won't perform due to water conditions. And the Le Trap can be converted to run as a recirculating sluice with very fine recovery rates; the Bazookas not as much.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I would agree with goldenIrishman; for your price, go with a Le Trap. It was my favorite until I got a Bazooka. The LeTrap is still my choice if the 30" Sniper won't perform due to water conditions. And the Le Trap can be converted to run as a recirculating sluice with very fine recovery rates; the Bazookas not as much.

I agree.

However, I beg to differ on running a Bazooka as a highbanker/recirc. With 2000+ gph and laying almost flat, my Sniper does the job quite well.

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

How does the Bazooka work because it doesn't look like a normal sluice?

I've found this video particularly good at explaining the voodoo




And a more simplistic design which shows what's going on.

 

[arizau]

Oldies but goodies for those who don't understand how the bazooka system works.

 

[IdahoJake]

I agree with most of these...go with the BGT.

You don't classify. Move an enormous amount of material (my 36" Prospector can wear me out!). They're easy to set up. They recover the gold!

 

[digger34]

Thank you everyone, having hard time it's either the Bazooka or LE Trap

 

[triple d]

I use the last sluice built out of the electric box. As a clean up sluice. Ive tested after every clean up. And have lost no gold. Hard to believe but it works great. And is fairly fast.And a fairly simple build.