River / Stream Sluices - advice, information and questions

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Tried out my new Mackirk Boss today. First go with it.

Easy to use. Quick to clean out. Catches right down to very fine stuff.

It did take a lot of water for it to work well. I was at a river with reasonable flow.

Feed rate was good - just about continuous from the scoop.

Very happy with it at this stage. Did what it was asked to do and did it well.
 
I order the boss 2 from America and it's arrived the other day ($220) and I'm stinging to use it, hopefully next weekend I'll get to turon for a test run, anyone keen??

Can't find a bad review and it's highly recommended here, that's why I gots it. :D
 
Hello all,
Been awhile since an update, still no flare, will have to wait till I get back to the workshop to bend one up myself.
Well, this week at work there was red lid thing, sorry but I cut it before the photo.
1411800701_good_find_1024x768.jpg

Before cutting it, it looked like it may have come from a toy setting from the backyard, looking at it from the other side it reminds me of shingled roof but made of plastic.
Well, cut down to fit at the clamp of the sluice and turned over, it has U shaped pattern that I thought might do some good.
1411801122_new_riffles_2.jpg


Also, found a section off this perforated sheet (2m x 500mm), not sure what will come of this but I am sure that I will think of something.
1411801960_mesh__1024x768.jpg


As I am off to Melbourne on Monday, I will leave the testing until next weekend at Oallen.

Any thoughts from anyone welcomed.

Peter. :cool:
 
pjg100 said:
Hello all,
In my spare time this weekend I have made some mods to the RS.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...68501_rs_version_3_without_mat_1_1024x768.jpg
I have dropped the mesh down to the bottom 600mm of the RS. At the existing top bolt points I have an extruded aluminium clamp to hold the V mat. This gives me a 420mm slick. The V mat is 160mm exposed and 320mm under the mesh.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...68987_rs_version_3_without_mat_4_1024x768.jpg
Have added handles for the backpack.

Managed to sneak away last weekend to Tuena and struck next to nothing on the Saturday, but on Sunday a different story.
Ran the RS with the mat again, nothing in the mat on the first clean-up, mat retired early.
Running with the mat started to get colour, even crossed off some items off my bucket list.
Found my first gold above the mesh, :lol:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...1409469276_gold_above_the_mesh_1_1024x768.jpg
Found my first clunker, if you were in the valley you would of heard me yell out, what a feeling. :D
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...9469512_first_clunker_on_its_own_1024x768.jpg

Well next Saturday, I will be head out again to Tuena for the day to test these mods. Caught up with my mate today and asked about the flare, he cannot get one to me until the middle of the month. So I am going with this 420mm slick and see how this goes.

Peter. :cool:
Click to expand...

Hi Peter,

I tried that aluminium mesh in your pics years ago and found it let a hell of yellow back into the river. Since then, from an engineering perspective, to me, sluicing is the endless war against constant variables.
Variables with flow, size of concentrate/classification, density, viscosity, slope, turbidity and the list goes on, "Fight fire with fire" i say. The more variations in a sluice, the better.
Look at a river, all rivers are patchy when it comes to gravity based retention. You'll get little or nothing in one spot then 10 feet away you get decent results. I build my sluices with all that in mind. Of all the sluices i have built, the best by far are the ones that have variable riffle size and spacings. Clean up sluices and highbankers are another story as you can eliminate certain variables, but in the field, with natural differing flow rates and classification limitations, as i said, "fight fire with fire". The changes in riffle size may only be subtle but over 4 or 5 feet (the length of your sluice), it makes all the difference.

Muz.
 
Has anyone used or have any feed back on the Royal MFG foldable sluice from the U.S.. Looks easy to set up and the locking mech looks good (not as many wing nuts to lose as others) some simular ones on ebay as well.
 
Not seen it but watch the creeping dollar and delivery before you buy. you can always just nip the end of the thread to stop the wing nuts falling off.
 
Thanks Slowfow, yeah I bit the bullet and just bought one. Cost about $230aud including shipping with self locking when folded out and at 3kg should make it easier to carry when hiking.
 
Wow talk about a blast from the past! :D

Simple ideas are often the best Geo2...great idea to get the kids involved
 
Sure a good past time for kids ! they will love feeding that little thing and see the specks of gold show after some time :)
 
so i have decided to up the size of my spray bars on my hopper to a larger diameter, the plan was to go up to 1.25 inch (32mm) well as i was in a hurry and not paying as much attention as i should have been i grabbed DN32 pressure pvc pipe which is 1.5 inch (38 ish mm), now the sluice is ran by a 2inch pump, the question is you think that will be too large a diameter or should i just go back and buy some more 1.25 inch pipe? i am worried that the pressure will be to little, it will have heaps of volume but its the pressure i am worried about,which is the opposite to the problem with the smaller spray bars or just tune it with the spray slots with the larger pipe for the right water, am i just over thinking it?...
cheers for your time guys
Jamie
 
Hey Jamie, going on what ive read and put in place on my wal banker, sounds as though youll be on the money for pressure if dropping down from 2 inch to 1.5 as I am fairly sure wals set up runs at 1.5 inch down to 1 inch spray bar. Alternatively you most likely would get better pressure with dropping down to 1.25.
Im only a relative newby but been running the 1.5 down to 1 inch a bit and it does a nice job in the gippsland clay etc.
Hope this helps.

Blue
 
Jamie,
With a 2" pump I think you will be fine. Is your hose 2" right to the spray bars from the pump. ???
Just fine tune with your slots in the spray bars.
Be aware that you have to balance pressure over volume.
Nice to have a ripper set of cutting bars but not enough volume to run the sluice properly. :)
I had the same dilemma when I setup the H bars on my Banker. I cut the slots with a Hacksaw
then bought them up with a thin grinding wheel to work it out
 
Cheers guys, yeah have upgraded the hose to 2inch as I was running the 1 inch I had been using cause that is what I had at the time, I will get it sorted and see how it goes, thanks again everyone
 
Sounds like everything you've got should be fine but if you need to buy a new piece you can find all the gold prospecting equipment you need at very affordable prices at GoldRushTradingPost.com

Message from a Mod.
Thank You for the information but we do have site sponsors who can supply this equipment.
Maybe you can approach them to be a sponsor. :) :)
 
Hey hows all!? Im new to this and wondering if any one knows about the m&d sluices sold at seven hills nsw $2500 including pump etc its fibreglass as mark said that steel sluices are crap as metal on metal ( steel on gold) will cause negative charge n repel the gold !!!
I thought gold had a neutral charge or +1
Does anyone know a real good banker as dont want to spend $$ on crap n most sluices out there are very small expensive n looks like a toy id give my son
Any help much appreciated !!
IMG_3703.jpeg
Thanks
 

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