I have one. Only used it once so far in the field with mixed results I attribute to my unfamiliarity with the unit and where I was using it. I would recommend it. Definitely practice setting up and running it before heading out. I had a hard time adjusting the legs while using it as a sluice in the creek. Again because of my unfamiliarity with it. It's well built and fairly portable if hiking in..

Good luck,
Ron

I bought one last year and used it all summer. Also had a buddy that bought one. We used it strictly as a high-banker. Didn't try it as a sluice box in the creek as I use a modified La Sluice for that. In general, I love it. It does take a little time to set up the legs and proper angle.

I packed mine up a pretty decent hill on my back, so weight mattered and mini-max was pretty light. In general, both my buddy and I thought that even though we could not move as much material as the bigger trommels, the mini-max seemed to be more efficient and caught more of the gold. Plus we could fit it in tighter places and didn't need as much water supply than bigger equipment.

Advantages:
- Light
- No gas motor
- More efficient and I think catches more fine gold than bigger operations.
- Clean up is nice using the pump to wash out the box.
- Since it is so small, I could drop it right in the pit and work dirt right into it. The trommel guys had to dig their bucket loads and use 4-wheelers to haul their material up the hill to the trommel sites. Can't tell you how nice this was!

Disadvantages:
- Can't move as much material as fast, but that is a given with the size of the intake and high banker.
- If you use the portable battery chargers like they have on the Keene videos, you will need two to take you through an entire day. They take 12 hours to recharge, so hard to turn around for next day.
- The grizzly is small, so you will have to constantly move material out with one hand while feeding material with other.
- Cleanup was a little hard with the hard, green mat as it does not bend well. So hard to get it in a 5 gallon bucket. Maybe the black finish mat would be better to use.
- You really need to classify your material down to 1/2" to get it to run through the top feeder area well. I think this area should be a little larger than it is.

Both my buddy and I had a problem with the top, black mat on the bottom sluice box buckling after running for a while. We were worried that gold was slipping under the mats. I figured this was because the metal mesh that holds this mat down did not come up far enough to hold the mat down, so I contacted Keene and they sent (free of charge) a longer piece of metal mesh. This fixed the problem.

Again, really like this high-banker!

I have one and love it. I needed a more portable unit than what I had with my a52 conversation with the large hopper and also needed to run 12v. I run off a deep cycle marine battery. Id say its by far the best of the small highbankers and is capable of running a surprisingly large amount of material through it per hour, you just don't want to spike the box. I'm using a 3000 gph pump instead of the 2200 that came with it and it really seems to flow out better with no loss.

I love mine here is a video I shot the first time we took it out!! https://youtu.be/5jo_4-YPq4s just copy and paste the link

How long will it run on a marine battery? What size gas pump would be good to use, semi or trash pump?

Shawn, can't comment on the pump, but a buddy of mine has this high-banker on a marine battery and runs for days before recharge.

My Keene is plugged into a Deep Cycle Battery, get anywhere between 8-12 hours of non stop run time id imagine. that is all dependent on how hard you are running your material through the Keene.

My Keene is plugged into a Deep Cycle Battery, get anywhere between 8-12 hours of non stop run time id imagine. that is all dependent on how hard you are running your material through the Keene.

Shawn - I'd suggest the Honda WX10 if you want a gas pump. With a 1" inlet/outlet it moves enough water to run a small highbanker. I'd add a gate valve at the box, then you can fine tune the flow using both the throttle and valve. It weighs 15 lbs, so it's not overly heavy, and fairly quiet.

If you think you might upgrade to a little bigger unit, then spend the extra $80 and go to the WX15. 1 1/2", and almost double the output, for 5lbs more weight.

Don't know how old this post is but im replying any ways i just bought a keen mini max high banker a52s. You must know that you must buy the sluice the conversion kit only comes with top banker screens mat pump hose shutoff valve and three adapters for a little over 450 shipping and handling .but iv used it in all kinds of locations if you really want to make ideal use of it switch the pump out with a small trash pump gas powered pump and get some flat hose the pressure can only build up so much on the flow head and if you must stop flow ( clean out before you start the flow again or your previous work will wash away) like. Trumps new laws .poof .gone ...back to the place it once came .. But if your really got adhd like me you can run the sluice all day like a mad digger just keep cleaning out bucket bash then at the days end use the mini max for a final clean up of all the big pebble and slower flow takes that whole dread out of the mix

Craig, have you bought one yet? I'm considering buying one myself. Id only get to use it a couple times a year since I'm in Texas, but it would be nice to move some more material when I do get out.
Not having to classify is a plus. Royal has a small highbanker that is quite a bit cheaper, but the keene also has options for processing the concentrates, so I'm torn on which way to go. It'll take years to pay for either, but I'm not in it to make a profit anyway. I just enjoy getting out. If I can find a little color, that's a plus.

I got one of these. I love it. Especially after My father and I set it up as a recirculating sluice

Just purchased the Keene Mini Max, and I have it setup as a recirculating sluice. Done a test run, and it was great at retaining even the smallest gold flakes.