What sluice do you use? - Gold Prospectors Association of America

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Last Post 06 Feb 2020 12:38 PM by James Peace

What sluice do you use?

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James Peace

Highbanker
Posts:100

12 May 2014 02:01 PM
Yes and yes, if you can get a good deal used but good luck finding someone wanting to sell theirs...

Steven Anderson

Greenhorn
Posts:2

12 May 2014 05:50 PM
I use a Royal Recirculating sluice, this gives me multiple options in one piece of equipment. I've mostly used it in areas where there is no water (desert) so I bring my own water. Began with 5 gallon buckets of water and graduated to a 30 gallon drum. Originally this was the first piece of equipment I bought and with the addition of a Royal Drywasher I use the sluice to further clean up my cons. Have never run a sluice in a stream as of yet, planning a trip to Lytle Creek soon, so maybe I can give it a whirl.

JOHN DORVAL

Greenhorn
Posts:

14 May 2014 04:10 PM
I use a Keene A52 , it works well for me.

AARON DECKROW

Greenhorn
Posts:

15 May 2014 09:43 AM
Posted By RONALD LEWIS on 12 May 2014 01:57 PM are those bazooka sluice worth the money and are you really saving that much time by not classifying? thanks. Yes it is worth the money, and it does save a lot of time, I own a super mini, and a regular prospector model. I have a friend of mine that runs a pro line , about the same as the A52 and I can do two to three 5 gallon buckets per his one bucket. I can do a cleanup and be back up and running before he can get his sluice broke down for his clean up. and at the end of the day not only do I have more gold then he does because of the amount of material I ran but I have just as much if not more fine gold as he does with his carpet. I've ran several test on the tailings even so far as set it up where they tailings run into a container and it does miss hardly any gold, I would recommend the bazooka to anyone. One top of all that it is very forgiving when it comes to cleanup, set up, water flow.

RONALD LEWIS

Greenhorn
Posts:

15 May 2014 10:46 AM
thanks guys for the in-put, i am also looking at the wolftrap sluice.

MICHAEL STEELE

Greenhorn
Posts:

15 May 2014 01:39 PM
I'm still somewhat of an entry level miner. I have an AM Explorer (which I have made a highbanker attachment for) and two different RCM Drop Riffle, 6" and 10". I made a recirc system with the 6" for clean up at home. I find myself switching between the AM and the 10" depending on water conditions. I am making an adapter to join the two and extend to 7'.

Jeffrey Henry

Greenhorn
Posts:

18 Jun 2014 02:49 PM
I have a Keene A52 that I have used for a couple years. Works great. I recently got a Bazooka Gold Trap Prospector. Tried the Bazooka for first time last week, and it eats up the dirt! The problem I had, tho, was the tubes getting plugged up with silt from other sluices upstream (busy day). I didn't know it until clean out that the water hadn't been entering the gold trap from the intake tubes...so probably my last 10 buckets of dirt were simply washed downstream. Anyone else have that problem? Any way to fix it other than to clean out more often, and not sluice in such a busy place with so much silt? Thanks! Jeff

Richard Pluff

Greenhorn
Posts:18

26 Jun 2014 09:22 PM
just ordered my first 30" sluice should be to me by July 3rd can't wait to try it out been down with a knee injury had surgery now healing and can not wait to get back out there

Roger Turner

Greenhorn
Posts:

01 Jul 2014 05:29 PM
I've only panned 3 times, so I'm really new to this! But I did find a little gold at Thermal City, NC last week. While I was there I picked up a Keene A52 and will be using that this weekend for the first time. So, wish me luck!

SHELDON SWEAT

New Member
Posts:28

02 Jul 2014 06:15 AM
I just picked up a Goldwell sluice, incredible recovery and very easy to use and cleanup, can also run large volumes of dirt quickly. Pricey units but well worth the quality build. I also run a RDH mini highbanker love it but it may get neglected now. I love how the Goldwell has no carpet and simple to cleanup.

JAMES AU

Greenhorn
Posts:

06 Jul 2014 01:04 PM
50" Royal folding for sampling or Keene A52. Miner's moss over ribbed carpet for now. Experimenting with Gold Hog mats. Recirculating or electric pump on a mini highbanker or gold cube when water flow is nowhere to be had. Fiddling with setups, water flow rates, and mats. Haven't had much luck with the Bazooka. Still learnin'. Welcome any pro tips for setting up the mini-highbanker for fine gold.

Richard Pluff

Greenhorn
Posts:18

07 Jul 2014 03:17 PM
I just got a stansport 30" mini sluice lightweight and easy to transport to sites with panning gear

ADAM ANDREWS

Greenhorn
Posts:

24 Jul 2014 09:07 PM
I have a Jobe folding sluice, modified with 4 bolts for keeping the sluice straight. It also has the big & small V matting up to the flare piece. I also have the power sluice header w/ a 1250 pump.

Eric Honaker

Greenhorn
Posts:

25 Jul 2014 08:59 AM
Hey Jeff. I do not own a Bazooka but have built two of the fluid bed sluice myself. on a much larger scale and design. I designed my tubes with cleanouts on the backend. Also if the tubes can be removed you could upsize the water ports by a 32nd or a 16th. You can also incorporate a screen on the front end of the sluice. It needs to protrude out from the box by at least an inch or more. This will allow even more water flow into the box. The screen does not allow large debris into box. Take 1/4 or 1/2 inch hardware screen/cloth. This is in the fencing section at your hardware stores. Design a cube missing one side. This side will insert into the opening. Once you create this allowing some play on all sides then overlay window screen (alluminum) on top of it. The screen does not particularly stop the silt but it will slow the flow to drop it out of suspension before it hits the tubes. I wouldnt worry about any restriction to the water flow as the pressure in the tubes shouldnt change dramatically. If you would like to see photos of my screen inserts I can post them later. I have to get some photos uploaded on here anyway. Oh I use an extremely large hot glue gun to create these little screening additions. The 12" sticks are cheaper in the craft section of Walmart than they are in the tool section.

Jeffrey Henry

Greenhorn
Posts:

11 Sep 2014 04:26 PM
Hi Eric, Thank you for that idea! If you have pics, I'd love to see. Thanks again! Jeff

DEBORAH KELLY

Greenhorn
Posts:4

16 Oct 2014 07:52 PM
we use a full louver drop vortex sluice box, almost no one we have met have seen one till we show them ours. I have no idea how it stacks up to other sluices because I have only every used this one, got it on clearance.

CASH BEST

Greenhorn
Posts:5

16 Nov 2014 11:20 AM
Update on Bazooka Sluice - My first purchase was a large 48" model. This past season, I did buy the smaller model 30" Prospector model, as I had planned; this is much lighter to carry and easier to set up on small streams because it requires less water flow. In larger streams and rivers, i find running the primary material through the 48" sluice with the supplied grizzly (about 3/8" openings) first, and then running the resulting concentrates through the 30" sluice modified with screen over the grizzlies (reducing to about 1//8") by the time I din the second run, all my fines were easily panned out of the second sluice box. This is a very fast way validating your sampling learns with high confidence in the result. I still want to experiment with creating a water "bib" with a tarp which can channel and feed water flow into the larger sluice so I can do increased volume of material in very small streams. Anyone interested in sharing trips from Portland to Sweet Home Oregon once or twice a month let me know, maybe we can double up on our gas money!!

BRANDON JOHNSON

New Member
Posts:37

17 Nov 2014 03:19 AM
I originally purchased the Keene A52. I have been curious about the Bazooka and after reading everyone's comments I may have to look into it more. The A52 is a great sluice and when set up with a good water flow it will go through a 5 gallon bucket fairly quick, but you still have to classify through an 8-screen for best results. My first year learning how to prospect I heard about a public place to dig, so I found myself up at the Bear River near Colfax, California when a very helpful guy named Gary helped me out and showed me how to set up my sluice properly. He gave me a lot of advice that summer and kept reminding me what's wrong with my setup if I didn't do it correctly. Gary would tell me about different mats and stuff to help catch the gold better. The last setup he told me about Pioneer Mining in Auburn, CA now sells the Keene A52 with that same setup (they didn't at the time), which happens to be how my sluice is set up today. With all that said, anyone who has been on the Bear River near the campgrounds will tell you that it is all fine gold, no nuggets I've heard about. I can run the water fairly quick through my A52 and catch that fine gold no problem. As my A52 is setup now, I can go all day without cleaning it out as well... with my bad back all day amounts to about 20 buckets of classified material, whereas before I would have to clean out about two to three times. Getting the gold may be difficult at times, but it is always fun when you see it in the pan. It's so addicting I find myself always looking at other equipment all the time wondering how I can make it easier on myself, whether when hiking the equipment a long way and up/down steep mountain sides or simply making it easier to get the gold from the material (less classifying). Because of this, it's nice to read what others have to say. Now I just need to find more gold or work more hours to pay for the goodies, I would prefer to find more gold than work. Haha! Good luck!

Don Hower

Greenhorn
Posts:6

18 Nov 2014 11:52 AM
I use an Angus for sampling or low water flow streams. I started with a Bazooka Prospector and just purchased a Miner model. next will be a Mini. Bazooka rocks...!!! from set-up to running material to cleaning. The angle and water flow is all to be concerned with and after you have that set-up, just feed it ! run it all day and clean it out once.... Love it !

RANDY WITHAM

Greenhorn
Posts:

18 Feb 2015 06:27 PM
Hey Everyone... GREAT to be back here on-line! Awesome topic. As "you all" have noted....picking a "favorite" or best sluice is a big bunch of "it all depends"... Personally, I really avoid like the plague all the silly pocket sized, micro sluices, backpacker models, and anything that's no more functional than a good 14 inch or 16 inch sampling pan. I can swirl 16 inch pans pretty darn fast, and with almost no water required, soooooo as to sluicing I am looking for 2 main things: 1). Ease of setup, use, cleanup, operation 2). Production to the max, given the water flow/volume and my material I surmise that IF I can get the finest fine/flour/flood gold I surely will get the pickers & nuggets. Here in now pot smokin' "High" Kolorado (The People's Republik of) we have decent fine flour/flood gold in many streams. IF I can get the flood gold well, I am totally happy. So, my 2 best and favorite sluices are: 1). The Wolf Trap line 2). The green plastic Le Trap First, I have several Wolf Traps....the experimental 20 incher, the 24 incher and the big 30 incher. Love them all. With that 1 inch "dead well" and reversible riffle bars set I can really hog in the material, no classifying, wash a LOT of dirt until the box is full, cleanup, repeat. These Wolf Traps do get a lot of fine gold, BUT you end up with a LOT of heavy black sand cons at the end of a day, week to process. Needs a VERY high, deep, fast and smooth water flow for best results. Go with the biggest Wold Trap....the 30 incher....if water flow allows....more volume, less cleanups. Luckily, I have an awesome Gold Cube to reduce my buckets of black sand cons into a cup of super cons to then pan out. Second, I have the drop riffle molded green plastic Le Traps. LOVE them. Very light weight, 20 seconds to clean up. They do exceedingly well in medium to even low flow/slow water speed scenarios. I shovel in the material fast if I have good flow, or hand wash material in slowly if under really low flow scenarios. The Le Trap is 4 feet long with 3 1/2 feet of drop riffles. REALLY gets the fine gold. My fav by far. So, in summary....I go for max fine/flour/flood gold. I use my Wolf Traps for high/fast water....shovel the material in... I use my Le Traps most the time otherwise, and still shovel my material in, or hand feed if the flow/speed is slow. HTH, Randy Witham "C-17A" www.goldadventures.biz

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