What is the difference between a bellows and vibrostatic drywasher

[ProspectorALEX]

I would like to know the difference between the two. Thanks. Alex

 

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[kazcoro]

A "vibrostatic" drywasher can be a bellows as well. The static charge comes from air being forced across a fabric. The difference is the amount of static charge that is created. With a bellows type, less air is moved, so less static charge is built. With a drywasher operated by air, lots more air is moved, and thus, more static charge created.
But, static charge is only a small part of the critical process. The most critical parts of the process are angle, riffles, material dryness, and clean up time. The angle must be set correctly to capture gold behind the riffles. If the angle is too steep, material will flow through the machine too quickly to seperate itself. But, this is where the vibrating action of a blower operated drywasher helps considerably. It will allow you to run a steeper angle, as the material is constantly, aggressively agitated. This an area where the blower operated drywasher moves more material and is quicker than a bellows type. The riffles will need to set differently for each type of system. The difference is going to very small, but there is not crossover, i.e., you will loose efficiency if you mix the two types up. Material dryness is a universal problem with both types. Clean up time can vary from machine to machine of the same type, and also from each area of ground to another. You can move ten feet, and your clean up times will change. What you will want to do is perform a clean up before you get your riffles loaded with black sands and heavies. If your riffles get overloaded, gold will not have space to settle.
I hope this helps, and if I am wrong or missed something, jump in guys.

 

[ProspectorALEX]

Some people say to put the riffles backward. Is it more efficient. Alex

 

[kazcoro]

On my gold buddy, yes they are indeed backwards. The heavies settle in front of them.