River / Stream Sluices - advice, information and questions

[AtomRat]

Got a photo of the homemade box Eldorado? Looks like all the info needed has been said already

River sluices are a bit time consuming having to manual sieve. I'd probably end up putting a wooden shaker at the head with a handle for painless classifying straight into the sluice. A handle which would hinge the bigger rocks off to the side too.

That walbanker main screen they use ( elec wire shelving? ) would be great on a river sluuce as long as it didn't stop the vortex action of the riffles. You would be able to simply shovel rock straight onto the river sluice and rake the roaks off

Hopefully before long you get a pump so you can begin some h.banking or easier digging mate

 

[casper]

G'day cecc,

I love my Mackirk - the vee at the intake means you have at least the minimum requirement of water needed to clear the sluice of classified gravel and associated light material. Also you'll see that if flow and fall are optimum the retained heavies will be "dancing" around in the riffles but be aware that these sluices are sensitive to "surges" which can flush out the accumulated heavies and also your GOLD so be careful not to disturb the water flow entering the sluice for example by walking around in the stream behind the sluice.

good luck

I was walking around behind the sluice,didn't think about it disrupting the flow. I may have lost gold.More great tips from you guys,I certainly am learning a lot from this thread.I will try your idea RustyG next time and see if I am losing gold.

.......the surge issue is well documented and i know it from experience as well - you gotta fight the impulse to "pluck" that picker that you see dancing around in the 1st riffle or sitting proud just upstream on the feed area. Just dipping your finger into the water stream will see it flushed a w a a a a a a a y !.... never to be seen again. Don't ask me how I know :8

casper

 

[casper]

............ further to my previous post I'm testing some mods to my Mackirk sluice that mitigates the surge issue. YES! they have been successful, and I am into "fine tuning" at the moment.

casper

 

[cecc]

............ further to my previous post I'm testing some mods to my Mackirk sluice that mitigates the surge issue. YES! they have been successful, and I am into "fine tuning" at the moment.

casper

Thanks Casper, yeah the temptation is there, and yeah won't try and touch any thing, can you take any pic's of the mods you are doing if you don't mind, sounds interesting.

 

[magneticsand]

I use a snuffer to snipe sometimes. No disruption.

 

[Eldorado]

Got a photo of the homemade box Eldorado? Looks like all the info needed has been said already

River sluices are a bit time consuming having to manual sieve. I'd probably end up putting a wooden shaker at the head with a handle for painless classifying straight into the sluice. A handle which would hinge the bigger rocks off to the side too.

That walbanker main screen they use ( elec wire shelving? ) would be great on a river sluuce as long as it didn't stop the vortex action of the riffles. You would be able to simply shovel rock straight onto the river sluice and rake the roaks off

Hopefully before long you get a pump so you can begin some h.banking or easier digging mate

Here is the homemade sluice I knocked up, not much but couldn't afford to buy one. Seems to be catching gold though.If I think I can make something I will have a go at it. Going to get another bread crate and redo the configuration of cutouts. It has the Bunnings mat under the crate. Not really happy with the expanded mesh either its gal steel,sloped but has gaps under it at the feeder end.

 

[Ag Man]

If I have a good amount of flow, I only classify by picking the biggest rocks out of my bucket.
If the material shovelled in dances happily out the sluice without stopping along the way, I don't classify at all & have no probs catching the fines.
(MacKirk sluice).
Only in low flow I classify to suit.
Snuffer bottle or long pointy medical tweezers to pick out anything of interest on sluice.
My thoughts - if I need to classify to 1/8", then I'll just pan with the Garrett pan as that'd be more efficient of my time and less likely to miss any potential pickers that may have been overlooked during classifying.

I run my sluices as level as the water flow I have to work with will allow.

 

[casper]

X2 exactly like Ag Man said......

casper

 

[G0lddigg@]

angus is pretty aggressive in its downward pressure its only that med size rocks can displace gold that would cause you to classify but there's lots of riffles to hold it in. Just don't throw 10 buckets through without a clean out.

 

[AussieGamer_Ben]

I just wanted to ask everyones opinions on river sluices and if they are worth getting or not.
main reason is because atm I am panning and I am thinking of buying a river sluice to be abit quicker at moving material. and eventually I will move up to a highbanker.
but for now should I get one or just stick with panning.

 

[jamie]

mate it is what i started with, a river sluice, a pan, sieve and shovel, now have a banker and all that jazz, but to be honest sometimes it is nice to sit quietly and just feed a river sluice and not have the pump running like the banker, and one benefit is if you find a spot off the beaten track it is easier to 'prospect' it with a river sluice before hiking in pumps, hoses and bankers
and yes you can move a little more material with a river sluice vs panning, unless you are a gun at panning like some of the guys on here

 

[blisters]

+1 what Jamie said. Consider also how much water flow you expect in the areas you intend going to size the sluice.
Jon

 

[AussieGamer_Ben]

+1 what Jamie said. Consider also how much water flow you expect in the areas you intend going to size the sluice.
Jon

oh ok s u need to choose a sluice for the size the creek ur working. if its quick/slow flow. is that right

 

[jamie]

Yeah pretty much mate, you can also adjust water flow by making a "dam" of rocks to up the flow or reduce it and also the angle of the sluice too

 

[AussieGamer_Ben]

Yeah pretty much mate, you can also adjust water flow by making a "dam" of rocks to up the flow or reduce it and also the angle of the sluice too

thanx jamie

 

[jamie]

No worries mate

 

[Potbelly11]

Where's the running water?! I have a river sluice and no where to use it 8.(

 

[blisters]

My opinion is a stream sluice is a good migration step to a highbanker and you will always have it. I have a grubstake sluice and for me it is a little quicker than panning at 1/4" but it's not as physical as panning so you get a rest so to speak. From that perspective it makes the day a little easier. This sluice is good for small water flows and lower feed rates. If you go bigger then you have faster feed rates but need more water. There are other considerations such as slope as well to get the vortexes running and self cleaning. So it depends a bit on what your goal is feed rate wise and where you are going as to what sluice you can reliably setup right with angle and flow.

To give an idea here is a vid of a stream sluice setup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SY-dIPV7vI

This guy is pretty knowledgeable IMO and this vid shows the sluice tuning parameters which he only gets right near the end. Near the end where he is feeding the sluice and not talking I would feed the grubstake at about the same rate but probably one fifth (maybe less) the amount of dirt. But it gives you an idea of the feed rate and flow requirement for that size sluice compared to a grubstake. You can also run a bilge pump to it if things are a little stagnant.

Jon

 

[G0lddigg@]

cant go wrong with a sluice mate, best move from panning provided you actually have some flow available.

You still need to pan and find your pay streak and test but being able to either shovel straight into a sluice or classify into 4/5 buckets then sit down and feed a sluice its much more relaxing and that one pan at the end more rewarding when you see a rainbow.

theres sluices that offer little more production than a pan if you are a fast panner, but i think you will find for most part they are a great investment and easy to carry

 

[nucopia]

My wife and I are looking at getting a river sluice , just not sure what we need , how they work i.e how to use one etc
This thread is helping to answer a few questions we have , thanks guys.
We have a high banker but at Nundle and Ophir they are not welcome. As both places have good water flow the next best option is to use a river sluice. We are getting better at panning but as many here have said a sluice can speed up the process some what.
My question is once the sluce is set up , how do most sluice uses process the dirt to get it ready to feed into the sluice ?
Im thinking first find the payable dirt by digging and a test pan, then start shoveling that dirt through a classifier screen into a bucket.
How do others do it ?
thanks guys , as always we really appreciate how every one on the PA is helpful in passing on knowledge
Cheers