Riffles or no riffles

[titan100]

I know this has probably been discussed to death but was wondering about it. Running a recirculating sluice in california deserts using a keene A 52 with expanded metal and miners moss. I am classifying down to 8 to 10 mesh size with a 1500 gph pump should I run riffles or not. I have found a little bit of fine and flour gold but am I losing gold with the riffles?

 

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[Prospector70]

I think you need the riffles to hold that miners moss tightly so the gold does not migrate down the bottom.
Or so I've heard. I actually have never tried miners moss.
Good luck, post pics of setup / and the gold!

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

I run v-rib under my miners moss the full length of the sluice.... seems to work pretty well. The link below has been posted here before and should help answer your questions.

http://www.nuggetshooter.ipbhost.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=24713

 

[arizau]

Have you considered Goldhog mats? Many swear by them. Good luck.

 

[titan100]

Thanks for the info guys I will check this stuff out total newbie with the sluice box but I have found a little bit so far just wanted some opinions still need to fine tune.

 

[Goodyguy]

I know this has probably been discussed to death but was wondering about it. Running a recirculating sluice in california deserts using a keene A 52 with expanded metal and miners moss. I am classifying down to 8 to 10 mesh size with a 1500 gph pump should I run riffles or not. I have found a little bit of fine and flour gold but am I losing gold with the riffles?

If all the gold is fine and flour sized then no need for riffles. The raised expanded metal should be enough to hold the moss in place if it's heavy gauge, however you really should run V or deep V rib mat under the moss to catch and hold onto the fines and flour gold that will filter down through the moss to the bottom of the sluice. Otherwise you will loose some of it as it may wash out of the sluice from underneath and through the end of the moss. The V rib mat will help prevent that.

GG~

 

[rodoconnor]

T. ,you asked if you were losing gold with the riffles.You should get into the habit of checking your tailings, You'll know how how well your setuo is working and if some fine tuning is in order, etc, G/L

 

[titan100]

Thanks again for the tips. Now I can't wait to try it I think I will go with the v matting to start and see if it makes a difference. Damn gold fever it's addictive.

 

[Nugs Bunny]

I know this has probably been discussed to death but was wondering about it. Running a recirculating sluice in california deserts using a keene A 52 with expanded metal and miners moss. I am classifying down to 8 to 10 mesh size with a 1500 gph pump should I run riffles or not. I have found a little bit of fine and flour gold but am I losing gold with the riffles?

I personally would replace the moss with carpet or matting.

There are many designs the key is setting them up correctly, every unit will have an ideal pitch and water speed that it should be operated under, just about any unit out there can recover fine gold if dialed in correctly. The best way to determine losses is by checking the tailings, and any system out there will lose some.

What it all comes down too is how much dirt you can run, as long as losses are minimal focus on running dirt. 90% of the gold from five buckets is far more than 100% of the gold from one.

There is a lot of great information on riffles and exchange zones at this link Riffle Study - Sluice Science

 

[titan100]

As far as checking tailings I did and panned a few small flower pieces so I know I am losing some gold it wasn't much but loss is loss and if I am only getting a little bit to start with every little bit counts. This is why I asked about the riffles so thank you all again and I will try without riffles since I know how it runs with them and see the difference. My next question would be is 1500 gph enough flow for a 10 inch wide sluice with or without the riffles I seem to get decent exchange all the material is classified down to somewhere around a 10 mesh. Any tips on this?

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I personally would replace the moss with carpet or matting.

There are many designs the key is setting them up correctly, every unit will have an ideal pitch and water speed that it should be operated under, just about any unit out there can recover fine gold if dialed in correctly. The best way to determine losses is by checking the tailings, and any system out there will lose some.

What it all comes down too is how much dirt you can run, as long as losses are minimal focus on running dirt. 90% of the gold from five buckets is far more than 100% of the gold from one.

There is a lot of great information on riffles and exchange zones at this link Riffle Study - Sluice Science

Good point! Actually, 90% of 5 buckets is better than 100% of 1 or 2 or even 3 buckets. At 4 buckets it evens out. Me, I'm old, so if I can get 95% or better out of 4 buckets, I will take that over moving 5 buckets!

With a Bazooka, I think I am getting better than 90%, so I'll run the 4 buckets, take a rest break and let others work harder trying to get 100% of 1 bucket or even 90% of 5. Then I can get up and run 4 more buckets!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Since you're running a re-circ system you have an advantage that you might not know about. You have to catch the tailings and that gives you the ability to re-run them! This can help you to get your setup dialed in so you know the best angle/flow to get the best recovery. Different materials, riffle setups, carpets, moss etc will all require different adjustments to get the best recovery. The flatter you can run a system and still have it move the materials thru it the better. It's when you're too steep or have too much water flow going thru the box that you start to blow gold out the end.