Sluice Box Classifier Screen

[steveh2112]

i'm planning to buy a Keene A52 and noticed this A52 Sluice Box Classifier Screen Keene A52 Sluice Box, Sluice Box Sale, Miracle Mat, Miners Moss

its $66 which seems a bit steep for a bit of perforated aluminum

where would i shop to buy something like that if i wanted to make my own?

and does it help to have one?

i've ready that its best to classify stuff down to 1/2" or so before sluicing and doing it with a classifier by hand seems like a lot of extra work

UPDATE, i just checked online and
1x4ft, .063 (1/16) thick - 1/2 holes on 11/16 centers Perforated Aluminum Sheet -Round Holes $30
so maybe $66 isn't that bad.

i guess i could just mount a plastic classifier on top since they are only $12 or so
OR what about some 1/2" chicken wire wrapped over the top? costs next to nothing.

 

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[socalal99]

Before you spend the money on an A52 and then a screen, look at a Calsluice. The Calsluice is self classifying, built like a tank and the preferred sluice among many of us old folks. You spend a little more up front, but it lasts forever and you don't have to classify. Most importantly, the Calsluice was designed to self classify whereas the A52 was not and therefore any add-on screens are not going to be as efficient as a sluice designed to self classify.

 

[ALewis]

Bazooka......

 

[steveh2112]

so now i'm confused.

i can get a nice used Keene A52 for $100
new Calsluice #2 for $249 CalSluice
new Bazooka 36" for $215 36" Prospector Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice Box - Bazooka Gold Company

i have no idea which way to go now. i've watches some videos of people using the Calsluice and Bazooka and see how fast it is to just throw dirt on there, but it looks to me like it would be easy to loose a lot of gold on those. is that a problem?

like everyone, i want to find as much gold as fast and easy as possible. i don't know what to do, can anyone throw me a bone?

i'll be in CA rivers and creeks all the way into Sept. and its dry in CA of course so i think it may be hard to find a good flow. i don't know if that's significant in my choice of sluice.

thx

BTW, i just googled and found this http://goldadventures.createforumhosting.com/whats-your-favorite-sluice-and-why-t745.html
this answer was interesting
"
Hi everyone, this is my first post. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Chris and I live in Southern California. I've been prospecting about 15 years in the rivers & creeks California has to offer. I feel fortunate to have met & learned from prospectors up & down my state. Prospectors are some of the nicest and most helpful people I've ever met. I hope to keep learning because it is a life long learning process. I'm a GPAA member and enjoy supporting that organization. I have been reading the posts here, obtaining knowledge, and enjoying the humor, it's now time for me to begin participating. In other words, I've been a lurker.

I have used the Keene A51, the Bazooka Prospector, and others and they are all good sluice's. But my go-to sluice is now the CalSluice #2B. I really enjoy not having to classify any longer. I have thrown shovelful after shovelful, even buckets full of material with total confidence that I was not blowing gold out the back. The #2B has 2 flow patterns due to it being a undercurrent sluice box. Rocks flow over the grizzly and out the back. Gold drops through the grizzly into the protected, lower velocity, under box.

"The more material you move, the more gold you get," well, I believe that to be true. There is no doubt I have multiplied my production tenfold. I went from getting about 1-2 grams a month to about 2-3 dwt a month. Granted, it does need a good flow of water to work properly. I know it will not work in low flow areas, but that's where my A51 comes in handy. The #2B did take some time to set up correctly, but what doesn't?
"

i don't have the money or space in my van for multiple sluices and i think i'm going to need one sluice that works in every location i might end up in. maybe that's the Keene?

 

[steveh2112]

ok, i think i've decided.

i've got so much gear to get down to the river on my dirt bike (sluice, pans, hand dredge, digging tools, etc) , i think i need to think about practical issues before performance.

so i think i'm going with the Royal folding sluice box.

then, if i have time, i'll get something like this Shop Steelworks 3-ft x 24-in Aluminum Sheet Metal at Lowes.com and make my own classifier screen

 

[johnedoe]

You might look at these guys MetalsDepot® - Perforated Aluminum Sheet
I just received my material from them 2x3 1/16th punch plate, and a 2x3 1/8th punch plate. dropped it off at the sheet metal shop today for cutting and bending.

 

[beekbuster]

i'm planning to buy a Keene A52 and noticed this A52 Sluice Box Classifier Screen Keene A52 Sluice Box, Sluice Box Sale, Miracle Mat, Miners Moss

its $66 which seems a bit steep for a bit of perforated aluminum

where would i shop to buy something like that if i wanted to make my own?

and does it help to have one?

i've ready that its best to classify stuff down to 1/2" or so before sluicing and doing it with a classifier by hand seems like a lot of extra work

UPDATE, i just checked online and
1x4ft, .063 (1/16) thick - 1/2 holes on 11/16 centers Perforated Aluminum Sheet -Round Holes $30
so maybe $66 isn't that bad.

i guess i could just mount a plastic classifier on top since they are only $12 or so
OR what about some 1/2" chicken wire wrapped over the top? costs next to nothing.

ive already looked into it. VALUE BRAND Sheet, Perf, Al, 40x36, 20ga, 0.25 In Dia, Rnd PA3203604001040516 - G2083541 at Zoro. the tricky part is cutting and bending the flared end.

 

[Maitland]

Not to state the obvious, but you can classify with a simple bucket and a bucket classifier pretty easily instead of buying a fancy classifier screen to add onto your sluice. When I go out and I'm working next to the creek, I usually bring with two five-gallon buckets and my 1/2" bucket classifier - that's all I need. Not saying there's anything wrong with a classifier screen for a sluice but sometimes the basic, more primitive methods aren't all that bad either... might be a little extra to haul around with you though.

 

[steveh2112]

that value brand is only 58% open area. doesn't sound like much

not sure about the lowes one, doesn't say but it looks more open. i wonder if you can go in the shop and see and touch it?

the metals depot one is expensive

 

[johnedoe]

Ya get what ya pay for.......

 

[steveh2112]

metals depot is .063 (1/16) thick
value brand Thickness: 0.032"
lowes Gauge 25 = 0.02"

i wonder how thick the classifier on the Calsluice. no point getting more than you need, adds weight

 

[steveh2112]

johnedoe, how much are you paying for the metal bending? i'd love to see pics of how it turns out.

Maitland, i'm sure you can do it with a bucket and a bucket classifier but it seems to me watching the videos of the Calsluice and Bazooka, you can get 2 to 3 times more dirt through a self classifying sluice = 2 to 3 times more gold

 

[johnedoe]

johnedoe, how much are you paying for the metal bending? i'd love to see pics of how it turns out.

Maitland, i'm sure you can do it with a bucket and a bucket classifier but it seems to me watching the videos of the Calsluice and Bazooka, you can get 2 to 3 times more dirt through a self classifying sluice = 2 to 3 times more gold

I'll let ya know when i get the stuff back.... Just dropped it off tonight... Also I will include some pics of the results.

 

[steveh2112]

thinking about it, i can see one big advantage of pre-classifying with a bucket and a bucket classifier, if you are digging a few meters (or yards) away from your sluice, it will save a lot of weight to screen out the big stuff near the source and only carry the classified dirt back to the box

 

[jcazgoldchaser]

Need a classifier?



The ironing board might have been $5 at Goodwill on 1/2 off day.

 

[johnedoe]

OK...... Here is the punch plate hopper I was going to have made....... Dang metal shop was just to dang slow so I went and got my material back and did it my self........
I made 2... one is 1/16th inch holes and the other is 1/8th inch holes.... They fit over the top of my slick plate.

I was hoping they would smooth the feed and flow rate..... It appears to have done just what I wanted, at least on my home setup, I will get it out to the beach this weekend, I have no reason to believe it won't work as anticipated.

Actually I expect it to work even better in the creek where I can get proper water flow.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

OK...... Here is the punch plate hopper I was going to have made....... Dang metal shop was just to dang slow so I went and got my material back and did it my self........
I made 2... one is 1/16th inch holes and the other is 1/8th inch holes.... They fit over the top of my slick plate.

I was hoping they would smooth the feed and flow rate..... It appears to have done just what I wanted, at least on my home setup, I will get it out to the beach this weekend, I have no reason to believe it won't work as anticipated.

Actually I expect it to work even better in the creek where I can get proper water flow.

View attachment 1157535 View attachment 1157536 View attachment 1157538 View attachment 1157541

Looks like a very nice job for doing it yourself. Please let us know how it works.

 

[johnedoe]

I will be heading up to my beach today to test it out......
Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day, calm and clear so far.

 

[arizau]

I hope it stayed calm. The wind is what I most dread in beach mining unless it blew the day before and exposed some black sand. I'm sure that screen will work well for metering and spreading out the sand flow down the slick plate. Here's to a gm. per bucket!

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I will be heading up to my beach today to test it out......
Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day, calm and clear so far.

View attachment 1158522

You are lucky; we had 8" of hail everywhere yesterday. It is still out there today (even though it is in the 40's) and we just got more hail. Some from yesterday were golf-ball sized. By 8 inches, I mean deep. It looked like it snowed. They had to have to snowplows out to clean the Interstate and highways and streets.