Yeah if you have the tools and some flat bar etc you can tinker and tune them up a bit, not real good about the pop rivets on your one. I noticed on mine they stick out a mile at the grizzly's and tend to catch stones too.
I have been in the shed at 2am with my missus on my back the day before heading out just trying to figure out a better design, pretty bad when you cant sleep cause your highbanker is keeping you up. I noticed they have put the price up to $475 as well, I was able to pick mine up for I think $380 so didn't sting as much. Those Gold Rat ones look so much stronger with the welds rather than bends/rivets. I like the look of the header box too, plus Dream Mat! Best to shop Aussie too I guess, the Gold Hog one I was looking at the freight is almost $600 to get it out here, lol can just buy 2 Gold Rats with that logic?
Yeah I'm pretty close to the action, so the Turon is not far from me, we have not had much rain since the floods that pretty much everyone experienced so hopefully be some nice exposed bedrock. I had a pretty decent run last weekend in another spot and must have run about 30 buckets (apparently it was the buckets my missus dug and ran through the highbanker that caught all the gold hehe)
In your sluice the V mat does not run the full length under the grey moss? unless the expanded mesh and riffles have really bedded that stuff down I'd worry I was losing gold, although you said the tailings were clean?
Oh yeah another thing I did was to grab a bit of pvc pipe a little wider than the sluice box and cut grooves into it slotted it over the top of the sluice, really helps stabilizing it and firms it up.
