Gold Hog Mats ~ Like To Hear From Those Using The Mats

AzViper · Sep 19, 2013

I am about to build a 60" x 12" x 4" X 0.80 Sluice using Gold Hog Mats. The Sluice will sit under my 12" trommel and will be fed by shovel or 5 gallon buckets. Will be using a pump that can deliver nearly 8000 GPH. Please take a look at the image. I had contacted Doc at Gold Hog and he suggested the configuration in the image below. At the end of the Sluice will be a Fluid Bed Gold Trap. The material that we are digging can range from flake gold to 1/4" diameter gold. The trommel will be classifying to 1/2" before dumping into the Sluice. I would like some input from those who are using the Gold Hog Mats, your thoughts, idea's, what your using, how your using the mats, etc. Thank You In Advance

Doitlaynstyle · Sep 24, 2013

catfishjim90 said:
My sluce I use on the Missouri river is 7/1-4" wide by 5' long I use all razorback matting I classify down to 1/4" with my bucket trommal.I am running about 80 gpm. I can run about 20 3/4 full 5 gal buckets in about 4 hours.

Holy cow, Must be some thick mud you are dealing with. Does it take a long time for it to dilute into the flow? I am running 100 5 gal buckets an hour and the most we ran in a day was 500. We have to shut down at around 100 buckets and do a clean out. It seems to be the number for loss prevention.

During clean out we tear apart the sluice, Clean out the miners moss and rinse down the sluice into a tote, then we install the gold hog matting, re-adjust the slope of the sluice and process the cons from the big riffles. Like AZ I will be building a trommel this winter based very much on his design and I am hoping to be able to process 3 times the amount of dirt that we currently can process and I am hoping that we can just process ALL day long NON-STOP.... with only one clean out at the end of the day.

catfishjim90 · Sep 24, 2013

Doitlaynstyle.Man that is a lot of buckets! how many people digging? What is your set up?Here is a video of my small bucket trommal hope I can post it.

Doitlaynstyle · Sep 24, 2013

catfishjim90 said:
Doitlaynstyle.Man that is a lot of buckets! how many people digging? What is your set up?Here is a video of my small bucket trommal hope I can post it.

Hey Catfish. It is a lot of buckets. My left elbow still hurts from the last time and it was over a month ago lol. We usually have 2-3 of us. One dumps and hauls buckets and the other digs. When we have three one hauls, one digs, and one dumps. Watch the following video starting at timestamp 15:00 and you will see exactly how we run. We had some extra help that day... sexy, sexy help LOL

catfishjim90 · Sep 24, 2013

Thanks great video! Now all i have to do is figre out how to post a video off my phone.

Doitlaynstyle · Sep 24, 2013

catfishjim90 said:
Thanks great video! Now all i have to do is figre out how to post a video off my phone.

I think you'll have to upload to YouTube first then post the link.

AzViper · Sep 27, 2013

The Gold Hog Mats arrive today and all I can say is WOW!!! Going to wash the mats with soap and water with a tooth brush to get the white release agent off of the mats that is used during the molding of the mats. Smells like I have a new set of Goodyear tires in my house. Hope everyone has a great weekend, I will be heading up to Lake Havasu on Saturday afternoon to visit my brother. :thumbsup:

AzViper · Sep 28, 2013

I know Doc has said that all sluice boxes are not equal from top to bottom. But mine after using an inside micrometer measure damn near right on top to bottom. So this brings me to my next question. Has anyone cut mats on a table saw? I have a jig that the fence is horizontal to the blade, it runs in the tracks on either side of the blade. Now when I saw cut I am meaning slightly trimming the edge square. The cuts will be done by hand but ever so slightly the edge run through the table saw to true up the edge from front to back, top to bottom. I have cut a number of plastics, foams, etc. on the table saw with no issues provided a very sharp 120 tooth blade is used.

I did cut one section of UR mat by hand and found it to be a pain in the A** to get the cuts square but I am more concern with the Scrubber mat. I also cut the mat about 1/32" smaller that what the inside of the sluice is while used the Gorilla tape fold on either side to get the mat to fit is very tight along the edge. I have no concerns of cutting the mats on the table saw just wondering if someone has before. I will give it a go on Sunday. Again its not as though I am cutting through the entire mat just trimming a few thousands of an inch off on either side to true the mats up.

Doitlaynstyle · Sep 28, 2013

AzViper said:
I know Doc has said that all sluice boxes are not equal from top to bottom. But mine after using an inside micrometer measure damn near right on top to bottom. So this brings me to my next question. Has anyone cut mats on a table saw? I have a jig that the fence is horizontal to the blade, it runs in the tracks on either side of the blade. Now when I saw cut I am meaning slightly trimming the edge square. The cuts will be done by hand but ever so slightly the edge run through the table saw to true up the edge from front to back, top to bottom. I have cut a number of plastics, foams, etc. on the table saw with no issues provided a very sharp 120 tooth blade is used.

I did cut one section of UR mat by hand and found it to be a pain in the A** to get the cuts square but I am more concern with the Scrubber mat. I also cut the mat about 1/32" smaller that what the inside of the sluice is while used the Gorilla tape fold on either side to get the mat to fit is very tight along the edge. I have no concerns of cutting the mats on the table saw just wondering if someone has before. I will give it a go on Sunday. Again its not as though I am cutting through the entire mat just trimming a few thousands of an inch off on either side to true the mats up.

Maybe sandwich it between wood?

goldhog · Sep 28, 2013

It's REAL important to watch the install video... understanding how to square one side to the top, and NOT the other.
I think that is one of the most important steps.
Next important... make the side tape test strips.
Cut one section, put on the side test strips, and make sure you're good.
We are making the mats tighter and tighter over the years now.
The scrubber and Riverhog may scare you on squareness on the riffles... but don't worry about them.
The upper portion doesn't have to be tight to the wall. In fact we even VERY slightly angle in so it won't bind.
Just go slow... do ONE piece, put on the side tape test strips.
Fit in the box, then do the next.
We have tried the saws, end up setting off the smoke alarms and I would be concerned about kick back etc.
Doc

AzViper · Sep 28, 2013

goldhog said:
It's REAL important to watch the install video... understanding how to square one side to the top, and NOT the other.
I think that is one of the most important steps.
Next important... make the side tape test strips.
Cut one section, put on the side test strips, and make sure you're good.
We are making the mats tighter and tighter over the years now.
The scrubber and Riverhog may scare you on squareness on the riffles... but don't worry about them.
The upper portion doesn't have to be tight to the wall. In fact we even VERY slightly angle in so it won't bind.
Just go slow... do ONE piece, put on the side tape test strips.
Fit in the box, then do the next.
We have tried the saws, end up setting off the smoke alarms and I would be concerned about kick back etc.
Doc

Doc I have watched the video a number of times. I will be squaring to the top and cutting from the side but using a table saw with a fence that is horizontal to the saw blade. Its a fence I use all the time in building my custom poker tables. As I said I will be only trimming the edge a few thousands of an inch. When I cut the other edge I be measuring from the newly cut edge. The only difference I am doing from your video is I will be using a table saw and not a 12mm wide razor blade. I can also if needed put a slight 1 degree angle on the blade so the top of the Scrubber is slightly narrower from the bottom.

Doc if you knew me I am a perfectionist when it comes to my builds, I suppose this is why my brother and I got into some rather heated and sometime blows in building off-road race cars in our 20’s and 30’s.

goldhog · Sep 28, 2013

AzViper said:
I will be squaring to the top and cutting from the side but using a table saw with a fence that is horizontal to the saw blade.

Cool........
Take the batteries out of your smoke alarms...
LOL

You'll understand........

AzViper · Sep 29, 2013

I had no issues cutting the Gold Hog Matting on the table saw, but you need to know what your doing and have the right gear. Most importantly your sluice box needs to have the same inside measurements from top to bottom and everything in between, otherwise the table saw will not work for you without making adjustments how you cut the mats. You will need a quality table saw that has a horizontal sliding fence that's 90 degrees to the saw blade and a 120 tooth sharp carbide blade. The horizontal fence needs to be exact if you want a true square edge mat. You need to follow Doc's complete instructions at Gold Hog on measuring but instead of a utility knife you use the table saw. I cut all my mats to 12" wide as my sluice box is 12.025". I placed each mats top edge against the fence to make the cuts. Once the Gorilla tape is installed on the ends the mats the mats are a tight fit. The sliding fence on my saw cuts right to the edge of the wood of the sliding fence. I measured over 12" and drew a line. I over cut each mat to 12.250" by hand then trimmed one edge on the table saw. Next I took the trimmed edge of the mat and placed the edge on the 12" mark I drew on the sliding fence and made my second cut. I repeated this method for each of my mats, but again you need to make sure your sluice box measures exactly the same top, middle, and bottom. None of the mats are in the order that the mats will be used. The mats still need to be washed and taped for testing.

AzViper · Oct 1, 2013

The mats fit so tight that I do not see the need to place tape on the sides. The plan is to roll the mats up and place into a 15 gallon barrel then take the sluice box during clean up and stand it in the barrel and wash it down. I will be adding three tubes one at each end and one in the center to stablize the sides. Will build a four legged adustable stand that the sluice box will sit on and be clamped down. At the end of the sluice will be a fluid gold trap that I still need to build. The four top corners will be rounded for appearence and be a little safer to handle.

Doitlaynstyle · Oct 1, 2013

So your not going to remove the mats to do clean outs? If you don't reverse roll the mats the material will not release from the grooves in the mat. I learned this from experience. The razorback really had to be flexed to get it to let go of the gold.

Edit I just reread and realized it. Sorry about that. We are in the middle of moving and I'm exhausted. You are rolling them up. The mat slides out easy into a tote at the bottom of the sluice for us and then we turn the water on to rinse the box into the tote.

AzViper · Oct 12, 2013

Doitlaynstyle said:
I just reread and realized it. Sorry about that. We are in the middle of moving and I'm exhausted. You are rolling them up. The mat slides out easy into a tote at the bottom of the sluice for us and then we turn the water on to rinse the box into the tote.

That's the plan if I can get everything built and tested. The trommel cylinder I hope to pick up next week after the shop tried to re-roll the cylinder. Kinda at a stand still on working with anything with mining equipment as I have 10 poker chairs to finish up.

IdahoJake · Oct 12, 2013

Nice setup Viper.

I'm new to this forum, but I've been prospecting for over 20 years. I was a tough sell and only trusted the old school stuff--carpet and miner's moss. But now, after reluctantly trying them, I use GH mats in everything: My mini, my dredge, my 2 sluices and my homemade highbanker. I pound material through my highbanker (~3 tph) and have very minimal loses. I would recommend these mats to anyone for any application.

The only thing that I have against GH, is that Doc wore a Boise State shirt in one of his vids. This is promoting less than desirable education! :laughing7:

Here's a YouTube of my homemade highbanker and my GH configuration.

AzViper · Oct 12, 2013

Nice setup John. I plan to make legs of 3/8 solid round steel and bend a dog leg to give the sluice a more stable footing. Have yet to use the sluice as I am finishing up my trommel. I will be using a 8000GPH pump that's electric run from a gen.

Thomas Harrell · Nov 5, 2013

Gold Hog Mats in a 96 inch long 12 inch wide sluice

AzViper said:
I am about to build a 60" x 12" x 4" X 0.80 Sluice using Gold Hog Mats. The Sluice will sit under my 12" trommel and will be fed by shovel or 5 gallon buckets. Will be using a pump that can deliver nearly 8000 GPH. Please take a look at the image. I had contacted Doc at Gold Hog and he suggested the configuration in the image below. At the end of the Sluice will be a Fluid Bed Gold Trap. The material that we are digging can range from flake gold to 1/4" diameter gold. The trommel will be classifying to 1/2" before dumping into the Sluice. I would like some input from those who are using the Gold Hog Mats, your thoughts, idea's, what your using, how your using the mats, etc. Thank You In Advance

View attachment 867231 View attachment 867482

Hi AzViper,

I use only the Gold Hog Mats in a 96 inch long 12 inch wide sluice box with a 3 inch 18000 gallon per hour pump. The box is rigged as a high banker/dredge combination. The pump is always set on idle. The water flow is about 1 inch deep. The order of the mats is UR, ur, ur, ur, razor back, scrubber, razor back, scrubber, razor back, river hog, river hog, scrubber, scrubber, scrubber, scrubber, ur, and ur. I run the water really fast. At the end of a day I never have had more than 1/2 gallon on cons to pan out. I tested the mats with all shapes and sizes of lead. The tested with all kinds of shapes and sizes of aluminum. (lead and aluminum are lighter than gold. If it catches those it will get gold too) 70% of all is caught in first 6 mats, 98% in first 8 mats. 100% caught in the sluice. First day of running dirt we ran 10 yards with a catch at the end of the sluice. The mats had less than 1/2 gallon of cons with all the gold. No gold was ever found in the catch. I don't bother with that now. Panning all that out just to see if the mats are working is way too time consuming. I cut my mats very tight to fit in the sluice. I did not use tape just put them in and run it. The river hog mats have the large fin cut off approx 3/8 inch. I think the Gold Hog mats are great all by them selves. I can't see any reason for using anything else.

Good luck

Tom Harrell R. Ph.

weary1 · Nov 5, 2013

Hoser John said:
Low velocity sluicebox maybe,high velocity,high production dredge box never-John

I run a 4" dredge in the Midwest and catch the fine flour glacier gold. Doc runs a 5" dredge in Ga. and collects super fine and decent size pickers too.

AzViper · Nov 5, 2013

Thx. Again we have more GH users with nothing but great news. We have a member in the forums who is dead set that the mats do not work yet I and others believe he has never used the mats or did not use the mats properly.

Thomas Harrell are you running your sluice box about 8 degrees?

weary 1 what is your arrangement with mats and degrees of your sluice?

Will be installing a diffuser on the bottom of the stainless steel water spigot to spread the water across the sluice.