A while back i posted about ways to speed up production. I got great responses. Well i had another thought and want to see what you guys think. I use a drop riffle sluice some of you have seen the pics i posted a while back. What i was thinking was to put a center divider so that i can alternate scoops without waiting for the riffles to clear. The majority of my time is spent running material through the sluice. I think the divider would cut my time in half and possibly double the amount of material i could run. What are your thoughts? Thanks guys/ladies
Spur, i dont know that answer i have never had the opportunity to us a trommel. Especially not where i go. But i have often wonderd how 3 or 4 people can be running a highbanker and constantly shoveling into the machine without losing color. Its the same in principal as a stream sluice with just a steeper angle. I would think you still have to wait for it to clear out before the next scoop
I probably dont need to do a clean out as of then as i do but i dont want to risk loosing anything, as hard as i work. Usually i bring home 1 1/2 of the plastic mayonase jars of cons. (easy to carry in my pack) at the end of the day i pan down the cons to get rid of as much blond sand and gravel as possible. Its a tough climb up the canyon wall with empty buckets hell its tough with just myself to carry out. I guess if this doesnt work like i hope ill just have to make an extra box that i can hide there.
I agree, but the drop riffle i use is one i made from an old truck bedliner, im totally hooked on it. It can handle about quite abit. I use a large ice scoop to add material. My thought was, if i put a divider in each side would still take the same time to clear but it would be like running 2 narrow sluices so as i feed one side the other side would be clearing and i could,continually feed alternating between sides. I read somewhere how a narrow sluice is more effective at recovery. I beleive the box i use has between 50&60 riffles. It has excellent capacity. I really dont want to carry an extra box with me its already a challenging hike in to me spot
I dont really think it will help. The device has a certain capacity. blocking one side the volume of the riffles is still the same. They can only take as much as they can take. Once full they act as a solid bed and the gold skips out the end. But test your theory with fine gold and two catches at the bottom. You can however increase your angle and force the sluice to clear faster with drop riffles. I know what your saying because I two scoop myself going side to side but once the riffles are full only weighty pieces are going to land on the sand and sink. another thing is if you let the riffles fill up with heavies the function goes away, so i'm thinking if you do like I do and flush clean often to take any gold and black sand out of the equation and add more angle you could go a little faster. But then you end with my problem and that bringing home buckets of heavies that should have flushed out at a normal pace. I have the autofeeder and concentrators now so its no big deal, and im confident with the safety pans that i'm catching all the fines but its a lot more material than most bring home. Gallons more with the exact same amount of fines. Or may be a tiny bit more, but not much. I looked at the pan out from two guys last weekend for 5 buckets and it was a little less than i was taking from roughly the same ground. Same drop riffle. Difference is they finished up and snuffered up and were gone. I took home 2 gallons of concentrate.
Comments
I dont really think it will help. The device has a certain capacity. blocking one side the volume of the riffles is still the same. They can only take as much as they can take. Once full they act as a solid bed and the gold skips out the end. But test your theory with fine gold and two catches at the bottom. You can however increase your angle and force the sluice to clear faster with drop riffles. I know what your saying because I two scoop myself going side to side but once the riffles are full only weighty pieces are going to land on the sand and sink. another thing is if you let the riffles fill up with heavies the function goes away, so i'm thinking if you do like I do and flush clean often to take any gold and black sand out of the equation and add more angle you could go a little faster. But then you end with my problem and that bringing home buckets of heavies that should have flushed out at a normal pace. I have the autofeeder and concentrators now so its no big deal, and im confident with the safety pans that i'm catching all the fines but its a lot more material than most bring home. Gallons more with the exact same amount of fines. Or may be a tiny bit more, but not much. I looked at the pan out from two guys last weekend for 5 buckets and it was a little less than i was taking from roughly the same ground. Same drop riffle. Difference is they finished up and snuffered up and were gone. I took home 2 gallons of concentrate.
sounds interesting let us know how it works thank you Tim