Don't forget the jet dry, it keeps the gold from floating. I lose a tiny bit of flour gold and a very, very rare speck of flat, floaty gold. But my post blue bowl testing of the tailings show I lose little else. Questions, do you have a valve to control the speed of the water right at the blue bowl where you can finely adjust it? This helps also.

Welcome Vickie and Robert ,

All of Robert's suggestions are right on
Instructions are very explicit on set up and run
Move the suggested valve to the pump, reason is to smooth the water into the bowl
Jet dry or dish soap to break surface tension of the water, not to much
I try and not run over the top, I will make many adjustments to water flow over the run slowing, down the water as the bowl clears
Bowl level is very important
This device is a slow process in cleaning cons, speeding up the process will result in loss's
Sounds like you need to slow down a bit, crack a beer and watch the process

Bill

i do not want to be the Debbie Downer here but I wanted the Blue Bowl for many years and when I bought mine over 10 years ago now i believe, I had the same problem with mine. the fine gold would go over the top or not remove all the black sand.
that's ok, I was not going to give up. I tried everything, all the same that Robert and all have suggested and in the end, I sold my blue bowl.

The bowl does work, but I do not have the time or patience to watch water swirl and loose my gold, or keep having to moderate the water flow, or the level. just a pain in the butt for sure. it is NOT AN EASY ONE TO USE no matter what anyone says. try it and you will see for yourself. I do not like to talk bad about a product but you sound frustrated like I was. and you could benefit from this post.

I have owned many different clean up tools and I can recommend 2 that I have found to be better than all others I have spent my hard earned money on that can capture that FLOUR you are after when you bought a blue bowl.

1 - Prospectors Dream adventure sluice with header - this has been the one that gets all the gold and I mean FAST!!!! you will drink 2 cases of beer watching the water in the blue bowl clean up while I use my Prospectors Dream sluice, clean up my gold, put it in a vial after weighing it, have gone in the house and taken a shower, made dinner, ate with the family, and sat down for some TV before heading off for bed hours later. I will say to you as I head to my bed...."hey are you seeing any color yet?" and you will still be at it for a few hours more...... trust me I have done it!!!! this unit has become the unit of my choice due to the fact that I can take it in a tub out in the field and set it up right next to my drywasher and run my cons in seconds after running my machine and digging - this way I can verify if I am on the Gold and staying on the gold.
And you do not need any type of flow restriction - the Dream Mat captures Gold in the vortex- its a natural thing by Gods design.

copy and past these links to see my set up
https://youtu.be/GmAmfiy4coc?si=_qekg4SMVMEzrf3G

https://youtu.be/8q5NorODPGQ?si=pRvvNu25X3w5fADD

https://youtube.com/shorts/myHbMTM1k_E?si=wnKCwlcF_EdCbYkL

see the gold locked in the dream mat
https://youtube.com/shorts/PviJcKi2zZU?si=XfQveJnv_m-IZP-g

2 Royal Manufacturing - Miller Table- but add a Micro Mini Prospectors Dream Mat for the Gold Cube - it fits the Miller table perfectly and first you run the cons through the miller with the micro mini mat - 99% of the time that mat catches 100% of all your fines- I have tested mine over and over and there are NO gold that gets through. ( have not had any since getting the miller table 8-10 years ago.) you then can use the miller table with the last cons to see visually if you missed any or if any got through - but this is a very quick process

good luck with the blue bowl but if you get tired like I did of it, maybe my suggestions will be well received- I mean well and hope my advise helps you or anyone reading this post to capture finer gold quicker and easier.

I am not endorsed by any of these products or manufactures - I am a real person, and this is my experience and I hope it saves you the money I have spent over gear that works but not as good as it is intended.
Good luck “Work hard, Stay Humble, and be kind to people.” Jesus is Lord!
your friend and fellow GPAA member Don Greeno

Hey Don
Thanks for the reply. I was really debating on getting the mat with the header but after seeing your videos and the recommendation you left I definitely had to buy one. So I bought one it says it should be here by May 3rd. Any tips or tricks for leveling it or using the mat?? Also what size container should I use when setting it up? I bought the L shaped pvc connection(as shown in the video) and then bought a pvc connection that gos to the L and the hose hooks to the other end, of couse it has a water control valve built in also... Water right to it no power needed. I was thinking using it this way by hose so I can use it outside during this nice weather. I agree I may sell my blue bowl because it does take forever! I don't mind waiting but dam its SLOW! LOL. I ran -70 and only put in half a spoon full, yeah its findings the small gold but its been over 3 n half hours now since I have to run it slow and still not close to done yet.

Do u by chance have a video or link where I can buy it, the miller table thing you were talking about? I can't picture what u are saying. I have a generic Miller table the one off Amazon it works great. So an improvement to it would be awesome.

here is the Miller Table at Royal Manufacturing
https://royalmfgind.com/product/royal-gold-dust-concentrating/

here is the Prospectors dream - Mini Micro Gold Cube mat that fits the Royal Miller table perfectly
https://prospectorsdream.com/products/micro-mat-cube

for the Tub, I used a Craftsman 20 gal tub from Lowes and 1x3 pieces of wood to make the ramp
use a 1 gallon painter pail from lowes for the cons to drop into

hope you find this helpful and with either of the 2 units clean up after classifying only takes MINUTES with AMAZING results you will enjoy.
God Bless
Don

here is a video from Royal on how to use the Miller table - this does not show the use of the dream mat. Only the miller table which by itself it perfect also. the Micro mini mat just makes it a whole lot faster clean up and My Back loves easy and fast clean ups after digging all day.....

https://youtu.be/as-3Hn-30n0?si=J5bzv9QARGVb7Oiw

I had the same problem and thought it may be because the valve was not too precise so i attached a twist garden faucet as a valve so can restrict and adjust in more smaller values . It worked for the most part slowly stepping it up , i would leave it going for entire day before opening up a little more and so on. Yes it is time consuming but once start to know your cons and see how much it moves and comes to a slow of taking away material you get faster but never have been able to go completely open valve it will go out over the top. Putting the valve at the pump sounds like a good idea on smoother flow i might do that as well . Also i've never used a battery , I had a box of variety of lap top chargers and found one rated close to the voltage and amp of pump and wired it threw a rocker switch then the pump . so no need to get car or lawnmower battery and I have a on off switch . The cable from the charge box can be disconnected so can easily clean pump with no worry of getting charger wet as well . Recently i purchased the dream matt vortex for blue bowl and have no worries and quick , works just like the mats for sluice and can run higher speed at first and cuts my time from a day down to just a short time . i cant take the matt out to clean though since have to silicone it in but just have quick connect at the bowl from hose and valve and clean it out over in a pan once used snuffer to suck vortex pits . LOL also i couldn't afford the level pieces for the legs so i hot glued mixed with super glue a nut to the rounded inside part of the 3 legs then screwed in some leveling feet from an old washing machine and screw in or out threw the nut to get it level on a board i have with hole cut out to straddle over a bucket or tub . Im new though i just now bought a lifetime membership and all my cons i have bought from gpaa or from few sources on ebay and other reputable guarantee gold return dirt companies . I cant wait to plan my first adventure and find the time from work . Im 34 and I was 8 or 9 my uncle took family kids cousins and what not down to gold camp in south alabama or may have been georgia either or i grew up watching him pan at his home not being healthy enough and able to go out prospecting even though he had lifetime membership , he has been gone for over 20 years now and i hope he looking down on me happy he influenced the enthusiasm in gold that i have that i didnt have much of a chance to share with him . The first clean up I get to do in the field im gonna go burry on his grave site , any way with the vortex matt and other home made additions the blue bowl can be used at its best ..

May I suggest using a 70 mesh screen also. Keeping partical sizes as close as possible will let the lighter material travel up the cone. I'll cut the power to the pump and suffer out the gold that has been cleaned after the water has slowed and blow the remaining back out to the outside and run it again and always watch the water speed to help lift the lite material out.