Sluicebox philosophy

[mcordell]

Hello folks, mcordell here. I'm wondering what other peoples thoughts are about water velocity in the sluice. Too fast, blow out the gold. Too slow, rocks stick and create an eddy and gold blows out. I'm using a 42" Keene. Sunny warm day panning in Mendocino today!

 

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[loco oro]

i can only tell you what i do, i adjust my flow according to how i am classifying ,if i classify down to less than 1/4 inch,then i slow it down,if iam chucking it in,then i increase, having said that ,i determine how i am classifing,with what size gold i can reasonably exspect from where ever i am, i determin this from previous testing,i find no sense in just running without having a idea, of what comes from a particular area. just my opinion, everybody does things different.

 

[goldenIrishman]

I find that running a sluice boils down to four things. Flow, Angle, Catching Surfaces and Classification. Keep in mind that I"m in the desert and pretty much HAVE to run a re-circ system but the rules apply to all sluices.

Flow: Inverse of angle. More water = less angle / Less water = more angle (within reason. Standing the box on end with 1 gph is NOT going to work)

Angle: Set by a combination of flow and classification. I usually try to keep the box as flat as possible without having it clog up. The smaller the materials are classified down to the less water it's going to take to move them through the box.

Catching Surfaces: Mix them up!!!! Having a single type of catch surface is far from the best way to go. If gold blows past one section what makes you think it's going to stop for another section of the same surface? You'd be surprised by some of the surfaces that will work to catch gold. What you have in the box to catch your gold is also going to determine how much flow you need to have as well as what size gold you'll catch.

Classification: Determined by the area I'm working in. If there's the possibility of large gold ya don't classify down to 1/4 inch or less!

It takes time and a working knowledge of your equipment to get everything dialed in so you're catching a high percentage of the gold in your material. Use every trick in the book if you can. It also helps to have a system that you can adjust to given conditions. Adjustable box angle, and a pump that is overkill makes for a re-circ system that can handle just about anything you want to throw in it.

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

This will teach you a lot. Between this pdf and ALL of Doc's Videos on Gold Mining School - Gold Prospector Training I learned all I needed to know about this topic and I built my first ever Sluice box before ever even having gone mining then turned it into the highbanker project last year and in about 8-10 outings got us an ounce of gold. Using the same skills I learned I am building the trommel that is kicking my butt right now lol. I hope all of this helps

http://www.hecklerfabrication.com/files/sluice-build-partIII-2.pdf

 

[mcordell]

Wow Irishman, I thank you soo much! I have been completely overlooking minimal angle. How much gold I have been losing with high flow to move out larger material. I was being lazy and not classifying my material. I have been using the chuck it in method. Thanks man!

 

[goldenIrishman]

No problem Mcordell. I'm here to help and learn myself. I've been doing this for years and am still learning new stuff all the time. Knowledge is meant to be shared. This is a great place to pick up new ideas as well as sharing your mistakes so everyone can learn from them. I'll send you a PM here in a bit with some more things you should think about.

One thing I forgot to mention was the side to side angle. Make SURE that you're as level as possible on that axis!!!! If you're deeper on one side than the other you're going to be loosing a lot of the processing ability on the shallow side. Keep the flow over the bed as even as you can get it. I keep a level in my toolbox to check that the box is as level as possible across the working surface. I also have a leveling protractor that I use to set/check the downhill angle. In the area I'm currently working I try to keep it around 4-1/2 to 5 degrees. The leveling protractor is not a common tool. I came across it in some old tools that were my grandfathers. I would think that with a little searching you could find one as well. They also make electronic ones that you can get at woodworking stores but I like the manual one because there's no batteries to go dead on you in the field. (Plus electronics and water don't mix well as we all know.)

 

[KevinInColorado]

Most smartphones can also be used to show angles so you can just use your phone to check sluice angles...just be sure to keep that phone out of the drink!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Oh come on Kevin! You KNOW I'm old school here. My phone is as well. Calls and texts is all it can handle.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Oh come on Kevin! You KNOW I'm old school here. My phone is as well. Calls and texts is all it can handle.

LoL, at least you'll have less to cry about when your phone goes swimming ;-)