How long of a box do I need, realistically.

[joncutt87]

I'm wanting to build a highbanker, how long should my box be realistically. I'll probaby classify to 1/4"

 

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[Prospector70]

I'm wanting to build a highbanker, how long should my box be realistically. I'll probaby classify to 1/4"

How wide will it be? What type matting will you use? How much water (GPH) will you be providing for it?

 

[joncutt87]

Either 8 or 10 inches wide, I'm thinking of using v matting, and I can provide 750-3000ghp

 

[joncutt87]

I am more than willing to go narrower as well.

 

[Prospector70]

I think you're looking at 6 feet, two three foot sections. Have you considered gold hog matting?

 

[joncutt87]

Yea, I've looked at it.

 

[arizau]

Either 8 or 10 inches wide, I'm thinking of using v matting, and I can provide 750-3000ghp

V mat alone is probably not a good idea for a highbanker set up but may work well for concentrated fines in a clean up system. Some combination of v, riffles, expanded metal, moss etc. would be more effective for highbanking. Hog mat, as Prospector 70 suggested, is also a good choice. When a system is effective then most of the gold will be found in the top 2 or 3 feet so 4 to 6 feet total should be enough. Good luck.

 

[Bill_saf]

joncutt87,
your going to need the 3000gph (50 gpm ) pump a 6' x 10" box at 3" of water will be 7 gals at 12 to 15 fps

Bill

 

[goldenIrishman]

I agree that the "V" mat isn't the best choice. Granted you can get by with less water flow but it most likely won't grab all of the gold. higher water flows will just blow gold right out of it.

What do you want to make the box out of? Metal? Wood? I've used both and both work very well. The wood is a bit more work to take care of though. How much flow you need is going to depend on the width of the box, they type of materials you're running (1/4" sandy takes less than 1/4" with a high clay content) and what type of surface and riffles you're using.

My current sluices range from 6 ft long X 6 inches wide to 4 ft long X 12 inches wide. I always seem to catch most of the gold within the first foot or so.

 

[Hoser John]

Is your high banker also going to be a dredge setup also ,as then size predicates all-John

 

[joncutt87]

Just a highbanker, I will build my first one for the sandy creekbed by my house.

 

[joncutt87]

Running a lower flow, with more cleanouts, is fine with me. I'm just trying to build something workable.

 

[arizau]

Running a lower flow, with more cleanouts, is fine with me. I'm just trying to build something workable.

Something to consider. Slow/low flow usually results in packed riffles (and in any other capture media) and packed riffles usually result in gold loss. If the media is not continually exchanging material then the extra added material including gold will likely not settle but just wash over the top of the packed bed and out of the sluice. Frequent clean outs may not fully alleviate this problem. Sluice angle may help but an adequate water flow is critical no matter the angle. Good luck.

 

[joncutt87]

I might just get a small sluice, and then build this as I can "find" the materials.

 

[Goodyguy]

Either 8 or 10 inches wide, I'm thinking of using v matting, and I can provide 750-3000ghp

Just a highbanker, I will build my first one for the sandy creekbed by my house.

Running a lower flow, with more cleanouts, is fine with me. I'm just trying to build something workable.

4' long should be plenty with no more than 8"-10" wide.
I like that you will classify to 1/4" In your case I wouldn't recommend any riffles.

Miners moss with expanded metal on top with some v rib mat underneath the moss should work pretty good.

If the gold is extremely fine you can get by without the moss and just run the V rib under the expanded metal. But you will have to feed slower and adjust the flow so that the material doesn't load up or clear too fast plus you should classify down to at least 3/16" or 1/8" in that case.

Like has been stated above, angle and flow along with your feed rate are critical. Just watch the material as it travels down the sluice and adjust accordingly.
Start out with a 1" to the foot of drop and adjust as needed from there.

Wouldn't hurt to keep a tub at the bottom end of the sluice until you get everything set right, You could pan the tailings to see if you lost any gold.

Save your money on hog mats until you can justify the cost.

Go for the Gold,
GG~

 

[joncutt87]

Thanks goodguy, 8"x4' is very doable. I'll head to tsc tomorrow and grab some sheet metal.

 

[joncutt87]

Has anyone used a Colorado gold sticks highbanker? I found a 6"x66" for sale, just down the road from me.

 

[Prospector70]

Has anyone used a Colorado gold sticks highbanker? I found a 6"x66" for sale, just down the road from me.

Is it made out of PVC? If so I'd just make my own. PVC is cheap and easy to work.

 

[joncutt87]

Stainless
Gold high banker sluice

 

[joncutt87]

I do a lot of pvc work during my regular job.