Our new trommel we built. Any critiques out there?

Nice machine! That's how machinery needs to be build. Just wondering why you don't use buckets to collect the cleaned tailings... ;)
 

Lol, well we definitely had plenty of buckets out there. Yesterday we went out and bought a 10 cu. ft. wheelbarrow and used it. We dug a 4 foot deep hole x 2 feet in diameter and ran all of the material in under 15 minutes. It was fun. And yes, the machine is built like a tank. Mig welds around all frame endings, etc. It has definitely taken quite a beating so far.
 

Welcome to TNET! Awfully nice machine, that;s one to be had. Seem that there ought to be a removable top cover for the engine, to keep the dirt and water off while in use.
 

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Nice trommel! - Maybe tack on overhead protection for engine? And just for PR, a cheap sediment curtain to show you are "concerned" about turbidity, and
again, something to dampen noise from the pump. "anti-mining" factions always complain about noise and silt in the water. Trommel set-up? - Id buy it!
 

Instead of a sediment curtain couldn't just dump on stream bed away from running water? Super nice machine, I like haw it dumps tailings to both sides. What size mesh/screen is the trommel using?
 

It has 1/4" holes on 3/8" centers. I did have concern for the engine cover but we figured with often we re-fuel (small fuel tank) we didnt bother with it. There is just a very small amount of water that splashes around onto it. I actually re-made the spray bar and redirected some of its spray so it doesnt even get out of the trommel barrel/belly any more.
 

This is what our cleanout looked like. The black matting is right after we shut it down to check the matting, the pan is what we panned out of 5 tablespoonfulls of concentrate after running it through the gold cube.

2013-01-20_15-51-13_825-1.jpgIMG_20130120_141718.jpg
 

That looks good! I would love to go out and play with a machine like that. :icon_thumright: Too bad there is no playground nearby.
 

True...We dont really expect much of anything over 1/4" to come out but you never know. Id love to find a big enough nugget to get through the trommel. I think we just may put a nugget trap at a sluice angle and run water over it on the tailings outlet.
 

Great looking machine. Looks like it works like a charm. My concern is it looks like the water running in the sluice is a little harsh. Maybe could be slowed down a bit. Maybe a ball valve on the trommel water supply to control the feed. I would buy it.

B H Prospector
 

Nice but I'm not so impressed. How does it handle larger cobbles? ( looks like your material was preclassified or at least lacking some of the larger cobbles on my shovel) Also the flow rate shown is slower than I can feed my Bazooka Goldtrap Prospector so what is the advantage over just setting up your Bazooka and shoveling into it?

Mine it and recycle it!
 

KevinInColorado said:
Nice but I'm not so impressed. How does it handle larger cobbles? ( looks like your material was preclassified or at least lacking some of the larger cobbles on my shovel) Also the flow rate shown is slower than I can feed my Bazooka Goldtrap Prospector so what is the advantage over just setting up your Bazooka and shoveling into it?

Mine it and recycle it!
Click to expand...

Well thanks for your input, It handles larger rocks just fine. Why wouldn't it? Did you not see the tailings on the ground? The area we were in was a small creek and there really werent any large rocks to run. The material was straight out of the ground and not classified. That is the whole idea behind the trommel itself. I was feeding it at 5 gallons per 1:20 for the camera as well as not wanting to overload the sluice box because everything I was getting out of the ground wasnt very large. A lot of material goes through the box. I was running dredge riffles as well and have tested the proper flow rate of the water vs. actual retention of gold in the box. with as little gold there is here in Indiana, everything has to be set just right or there is a great chance of losing the gold out the end. Trust me, we have tested this unit and have set it up many times and have tested sluice angle / water flow for the exact settings. We can also run a yard of ANY material in under an hour. including up to 9" rocks, etc...How does the bazooka handle a bucket of 9" rocks being dumped onto it? I think I have the advantage with this machine.
 

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IndianaRob said:
Well thanks for your input, It handles larger rocks just fine. Why wouldn't it? Did you not see the tailings on the ground? The area we were in was a small creek and there really werent any large rocks to run. The material was straight out of the ground and not classified. That is the whole idea behind the trommel itself. I was feeding it at 5 gallons per 1:20 for the camera as well as not wanting to overload the sluice box because everything I was getting out of the ground wasnt very large. A lot of material goes through the box. I was running dredge riffles as well and have tested the proper flow rate of the water vs. actual retention of gold in the box. with as little gold there is here in Indiana, everything has to be set just right or there is a great chance of losing the gold out the end. Trust me, we have tested this unit and have set it up many times and have tested sluice angle / water flow for the exact settings. We can also run a yard of ANY material in under an hour. including up to 9" rocks, etc...How does the bazooka handle a bucket of 9" rocks being dumped onto it? I think I have the advantage with this machine.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have it well tested and sorted out, great job!

Mine it and recycle it!
 

At the end of your box, possible to attach bucket with screen on top of bucket & multiple holes cut in sides. It'll catch anything your box misses guys. Looks like a slick little set up! Another suggestion, the stand in which the trommel is on, make either the front or back adjustable in height so you can easily play with pitch/angle of degree. Each location will be diff, being able to adapt is KEY. Keep up the hard work, it'll pay off. I PROMISE.
THANKS,
PM HUNTER
 

Lol. well thanks. I think the next video will include close ups of the material being dug, the location of the dig, and the cleanout afterwards. We run the cons through a gold cube at home and then pan it out.
 

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