I know Andy is getting buried in orders for these things, And now that its here, I can see why. The shear volume of work to craft a single one is amazing. This is a well made device. Had a couple sharp edges that took 2 min with a file to clean up. Just happy to get one so no big. I have watched the progression of models for a few years now. Some were incredible but had huge price tags. Some were just design evolution. This final design the TopRunner II has it down. The finished model has a 24 inch slick plate with a stainless hard plate at the head to take the shovel abuse, and an 18 inch classified sluice bed. As it classifies and sorts the extra fine gold drops out at the head of the bed, then the chunky stuff and pickers onto the next 6 inches and last any nuggets drop at the end of the box. If you dont have nuggets he will put two 1/4" classifier sections in on request. There is no way for the larger material to knock the fines loose because they never come in contact. The pins are gone and parts have all been fabricated into the box and the classifier is remove by loosening two thumb screws now. There is one drawback that wont affect me. You have to have some depth and water flow so its not a small creek or low flow unit, but our rivers have flow year round. Neither is it lightweight at 12 pounds. Its also a full 14" wide at the feed end so a standard header box isnt going to fit but im handy and have lots of scrap. All in all for $95 and shipping you wont find an American made box anywhere near as complex to build. Let alone one that ends the shakey shake. Now if I could just get healed up I will run it hard and write a review. Sometime before the opener I will have legs and a header box on it. The plan is a 1.5" Inlet on the header and a 1.5 inch pump at 4500 gal per hour. Need about 6 more grams before the season starts to cover the rest of the parts, pump,hoses.
Note: Technically in Washington you cant shovel rock waste into the rivers. But for me I will be using a standing screen at 1/2" so the letter of the law is met sluicing. For banking its a shovel everything rig.
Here is the site:
Im not sure how long he can afford to make them or will make them. Lots of labor and materials at that price. If the big houses made anything similar it would run $200.00
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Good reveiw Mike and the video on sluice set up was great for basic sluice and the Ideal river set up. Next I would love to see a Blog from you on sluice set up compimises angle verses flow and so on I'm sure your experiance has seen it all ! Last weekend I came across a first for me, While running a productive bucket of material the stream flow suddenly dropped an inch and a half ! some one up stream had started Irrigating so mid run comprimizes had to be made And I Might add very gentally with gold in the sluice
I see the opposite quite a bit up here. waters running regular and then it surges real fast for may be 15-20 seconds and then normal. No clue what causes it unless further up stream, water held back in ice pools is melting through. On the set up...well i do that too sometimes. I know better so if i can i will get the tail clear. But if its gonna be packing buckets very far....that A52 is getting dumped flat in the water. The main thing I was getting at was the compare between the outflow above water as steady, flat and even and the material flow under water being steady and even. His end of the box shot of the curls getting blown out and the material hopping were crystal clear. One reason the casluicebox products are so nice is when you overfeed like i have the tendency to do then you dont lose what you already captured just the portion that scoots across the riffles. Over feed that T2 and it backs right up.
Didn't see any point in doing a separate review since all the other info is here already. Adding a drawing here to explain as far as the T2 testing. Couple things i didn't like so well in practice but they are minor. First was the woolly carpet that comes stock will actually wear down over time to a normal ribbed carpet. The sand and material cuts off all the loose wool once you start working with it. I have an envelope here to go in the mail for some vortex matting and i think that will help with flushing the waste material. Second thing was the thumbscrews that hold the classifier on keep you from sticking it into the bucket for rinses. I generally only break down for a full cleaning at the end of the day, and rinse a few times during the day when heavies start affecting the material flow rate. Its tricky but if you have your pan and everything close you can do the rinses. It would be nicer if it went down in the bucket. Found some more sharp edges. Be sure to use a fil or run sandpaper on all your edges. metal is like that and i did the same on my Keene. It had a couple sharp spots new too.
So far i have had it out in the river 3 times. One full day, once for about 4 hrs and I snuk in an hour when i was supposed to be going somewhere else. This machine is not for a newb just getting started. And there is a learning curve but if you have proper sluice skills then you can manage the transition from working above water to working underwater.
I know everyone thinks they know how to run a sluice. Truth is there are a couple dozen on here that know the correct way to run a box. I see it in their pictures. Most people do not. Most people learned how to do it from someone else who didnt know how. Even Tom Massey doesn't set one up right on Gold Fever. (or he might just be cramped on filming time, but he back scoops right on camera.
There are 3 clips here. Larry teaches it great and explains the whys. Then he dumps an ounces of his own gold in to prove he is correct. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzFX5g984HI&feature=channel&...
Now if you understand what he has shown above, then the following for the T2 will make a lot more sense.
If you dont know how to run a sluice box like in the 3 vids then you dont have much of a chance of running the T2 properly. Giant puffs of blondes mean your probably losing gold. (keep in mind a drop riffle is different than both and works well almost flat if you have to)
The T2 is running a sluice box under water.
With the T2 your using that long slick plate to encompass each particle of material in water so its all separate, and can flush the larger amount of light material right on out as well as push the large rocks and gravel on through. But you still have to feed it at the correct rate. Like Larry says there are two wrong ways and one right way to feed a sluice. Thats the rock solid truth.
Now every time I have ran the T2 I have recovered gold fine enough that it took a 10x to see. It will catch every bit of fine gold in the first 6 inches of the box as long as you set up and run properly. The flakes larger than the small holes and smaller than 1/4' drop out right in the next 2-3 inches beyond that. I didnt get larger than 1/4" at any time so far but would imagine those drop in the first 2" of the nugget plate as well.
This box has to be ran in a fast river, and even then, each time so far required a 4-6 foot wing dam to get the water pressure up enough to push those large plumb sized rocks on out. larger ones i rinsed and filled in my dams with.
Now remember I have two mods on mine. the first is the second strap across the top to hold irregular rocks so i don't have to hunt for a wide flat one. just grab what wont fall through the two bars. Second is I added aluminum angle to the end of the box that sticks up just a tiny bit above the carpet. you don't need this but i have the tendency to overfeed and boil the box and this gives me a tiny dam for fine gold if i get carried away.
Now to explain the operation.
Now if your an expert like in the vids and your not boiling your riffle box and loosing gold then doing all that under the water isnt a real big step. In diagram A you can see your looking for a similar drop off spot. Even though your under the water you need a hole for the material to drop into. if you make sure to keep the hole clean from waste and dont let it pile up to closer than 5-6 inches from the end of the box your doing it right. Otherwise just like the vid above you will get the water back curling into your box and plugging up the whole bed.
1. Distance down to your waste pile is critical. Keep your waste area cleaned down.
In diagram B you can see where the gold deposits. Even though its a short 18" sluice bed, as soon as the gold hits the screens it drops straight down the lighter material will fall down a little further down the bed or wash straight on through. I actually took the time to pick through the carpet a bit with tweezers and that is where i spotted it in the heavies. so to test I put half the mat into a bucket next to the sluice bed and rinsed the gold drop end. Then rinsed the sluice bed and the tail end of the matt into a different bucket. I panned the tail and found one 50 mesh or so speck so we know it catches and holds correctly exactly how its designed and that I over fed once or twice.
The drop down from the slick plate, an inch and a quarter down, is the big slow pocket of water that sucks the gold out of the material and onto the sluice bed. As long as the material is spread on the slick plate so it all separates.
2. If you dont overload it the gold goes where its supposed to. It wont wash through.
Feeding is the tricky part. You have to be dead level side to side. Diagram C shows when to lighten up on your feeting. You should see the top of the expanded metal as well as all of the tail end washer visible. this is a constant and when it sets for 10-15 min at rest you should see the expanded metal cleaned off about halfway through the 1/4" classifier. If you see the tal washer silting over stop feeding. When looking down into the water from above you should see an even cascade of light material coming out the end of the sluice in a sort of waterfall.
But here is where the story takes a turn. You cant always set the same angle front to back. Its not like the riffle sluice in the vid. The angle is completely determined by the type of material your running through the box!
I ran three types.
1. River dug gravel with larger rocks and gravel and the sand between them.
2. a 50/50 mix of mostly 1/8"= sands and gravels in the 1/2" to 3/4" range and the fine sand mixed with those.
3. All sands from 1/4" down with a lot of fine sand mixed in at about 50%.
This is where you have to understand that blonde waterfall of material off the end is the same as the even water on the end of a riffle box. This is the critical information for running this box if you think you want to leave the classifiers home. Pay close attention.
Material number one only needs enough down ward slope to wash the larger rocks off the end of the sluice. This is a steady tinkle tinkle sound as they bounce on out.
The second material will clog your box. your going to have to do something that doesnt seem right and thats raise the tail almost even but a little lower with the flair. I know this sounds wrong but its not. you will see the box clear out and you will see the waterfall of blonds come back as soon as you do. Its because of the drop. The pressure cant clean it off as well so you cut part of the drop till it starts clearing properly.
The third type of all sand material is completely counter intuitive. It will not clean unless the tail is almost even with and just a tiny bit below the flair level. When you see the blonde waterfall of material come back out again its set right, even if it seems impossible.
Don't worry about loosing gold on the angle. Once it falls onto the sluice bed its trapped in that slow low water pressure zone.
If your prepared to think out of the box, be flexible and learn new things, and try something completely different running a sluice box under the water, its a lot of fun and a shovel, pan, bucket and this box are all you need.
Freedom from classifiers is an awesome thing. But keep in mind this box is for fast moving water and you might have to throw out a wing dam to up your water pressure if you dumping shovels full of large plumb sized rocks all day, but that waterfall of blonde material is your guide. If your willing to learn everything above, and have fast water to work in, then I say order now while he will still produce them.
Mike
And if you dig with me..... thats why i wait till your all set up, and say "Looks good. Now put some of your gold in it and well see if you did it right" Lol. the brutal truth right there. Sometimes you have to gamble a little bit into a safety pan to know if you are wrong or not.
Well I had this one out for the afternoon and made a fools mistake. I dug an area i hadnt prospected. It was a bench that was on the gold line that we only see for the three summer months. Set up two sticks about 20 yards apart to set the line, and dug a pit and rolled the watermelons in and took 18 inches in a half circle away and everything to the sluice. The full distance of the shovel in all directions from the center point. That and I was late getting started and forgot my test vial. It takes a lot of fast water to run it. I was shoveling lots of rocks half as big as my fist and a bunch as big as my fist. Had to build a small wing to make them move, some I push through with the shovel that were heavy. The gold was pitiful, but I got some, and a flake of platinum. Since there was a learning curve with overloading it and I was in a bad spot of my own doing. I'm going to wait to say anything more. I do like it so far. Will post a pic, and try to get it to a deserving spot for a fair appraisal.
Got the aluminum angle mod done. Its a tight fit with no light. Used three self drilling and tapping screws from the bottom. Trimmed the edge of the carpet even to the angle and used a dremel to cut off the 4 nibs on the expanded aluminum. This isnt the sort of mod you want to try if your new to sluicing. If you get the dam too high it will cause the dreaded end jump or boil. The water needs to come off the end very smooth and even. If you cause a boil or water jump it will do the same as feeding to fast and suck the heavies out the end of the sluice with the blondes. So like I said if your new to sluicing its probably not a mod you ever want to try until your certain you can run smooth and even and know what can affect that. I see people boiling their box on youtube and it makes me sad for them because of all the work and the loss that causes. But here is the mod. You can see the carpet gap and space on each side and that what the dam will do. Catch heavy particles and give them a chance to settle and build silt in that crack every time it runs.
I bought 2 of these not long after a buddy turned me onto them.
One if still in the box and the other I need to turn over to my testing crew. I have made some modifications.
1st; I want it tested as delivered.
2nd; I added 2 sections of Gold Hog SC mat right after the SS slick plate. Then I have a new "Pin" matting I want to try underneath in the classification area.
Gold Hog SC matting: (I haven't taped the sides yet.)
My "Pin" matting: (I haven't taped the end yet.)
3rd; I will replace the "Pin" Matting with Gold Hog UR mat.
My testing crew already know to work the same area and same hole for all the tests so we can get an "apples to applles" test as close as possible.
You're right, I have told Andy that he should be selling the sluices for $180-$200!
Im really interested in hearing back how that performs. I was thinking Gold Hog matting to begin with.
Looking at your pin mat I get the feeling it could be a mistake. If fine gold hits the top of one of the gaps it can rush straight out the end. If you turned that mat at 45 degrees the fines have to hit all the pins before they bounce out and the rubber friction will stop the particles behind the top pins? just a thought. I dont know. never worked with it before.
But in time I decided to tighten up the sides where the carpet is and get the lip on the end because i will push it as fast as it can go, side to side and the fines will leak a tiny bit, even when I tighten the sides up.
Have been looking at pumps people have running and in order to bank with it, its looking like it might need about 3/8 of pad under the carpet to cut the drop space under the classifiers and raise the expanded metal up. If I can get that done I will set a taller lip at the same relation to the carpet. Even then from what I have seen for volume it needs a 2" pump and at least 6500gph or more.
But i need more gold so I can get the pump and hoses so im taking it down to the bar I sampled. I scooped about 300 trout fry that were trapped behind it out with a bucket classifier and put them out in the river before the place they were stuck dried up. the birds were picking at them pretty good so it was one of those do the right thing right now sort of decisions. As i cut the bar down from about 5' to 2' on the end and at the correct angle so it doesnt fill up, i will dig a 3' wide by 2' deep channel to connect the slough area again so they dont keep getting trapped back there for bird food. Gonna be some nice chunky gold and pickers come when the channel is cut.
At the same time the T2 will be in the water ahead of the channel and as i shovel down hill through a course stand up screen I will go down and shovel minus 1/2" the fines into the T2 and leave a wide tailing pile as a buffer so the gravel doesnt come back as easy. Its a plan. Rivers are powerful so it all may go bad but if there was a spot that needs dug out thats the one and the bar had nice oval +50 flakes in every sample on the top couple inches.
Its getting healed up now. I think I can get it all done in 3 weekends and still have time to build the banker head and put it all together by the 15th of July for the season. if not its a late start.
I was very happy Andy could squeeze me in as he had a pile of orders when mine came. Now that its here im starting to know how lucky that really was.
At the end of the "Pin" matting, I'm either going to do the Gorilla tape method so there is a dam there. Or actually fashion a dam out of copper sheet I have. Either way it needs something to keep everything from washing out (Much like Miner's Moss) on the end.
I'm not worried about the Gold Hog UR mat or the carpet/expanded metal washing out.
I just have to find time to cut the UR matting to size and the Dam for the Pin mat and we are ready to test.
Good Hunting, Brian (Charlotte49er @ Gold Rush Guys)
Hi Brian, Any report back on the mods vs the stock model? Still down and havent been out so hooking up power on this one might not happen this summer. Power season here starts July 15th and some fines need to come in before I can pay for the pump and more parts. Walking around fine but even small buckets or small bags of groceries get it inflamed and swollen real fast. Plan B is to put the power head on the A52 and classify....doh. Not sure I want to sink the money into an all day battery for that one, vs a gas pump. Less than a month to figure it out now.
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