Newbie wanting to get his hands wet

Check out the Gold Rat highbankers & river sluices, very good quality products & they have the Dream mat on them as well which works great. Top quality, they work very well & are Australian made.
The river sluices have an optional power head so you can hook up a pump & run it like a highbanker.

ozziii said:

Check out the Gold Rat highbankers & river sluices, very good quality products & they have the Dream mat on them as well which works great. Top quality, they work very well & are Australian made.
The river sluices have an optional power head so you can hook up a pump & run it like a highbanker.

Click to expand...

I was eyeing them out the other day but both models 10" and 12" were out of stock till sometime next year.

Ended up ordering the Sluicy GS21 in the end after it was recommended. It was also in stock and will pretty much have it delivered within a couple days.

Hopefully can get out this Saturday and break it in. Anyone going to be out at Oallen on Saturday ?

Geez I didn't send my message I wrote... Haha but look at you go you've kitted out already. :lol: Fossicking is a great addition to camping I'm sure your family will love it. I've got some prep to do on Christmas eve but if I can get a day out I'll let you know.
Jon

Let's just wait till the minister of finance sees the courier knocking on the door in a couple days. That's going to be an interesting sight....lol

Santa delivered everything just in time for Christmas so I'm heading out to Oallen Ford in the morning (Saturday) to give it a run. Hoping a couple of you experienced folk are out there tomorrow also that can give me a couple pointers in tuning the sluice.

I just noticed the sluicy comes with carpet. Does anyone recommend I change that with the grey rubber spaghetti mat from bunnings?

Just run the carpet to start with so if you want to change later at least you can compare. Change the oil in the pump.
Jon

The pump came empty so I just filled with Castrol Edge 10w-30 full synthetic oil which is currently on sale at supercheap for less than half price. ($25 for 5 litres)

I was thinking of changing it after its first run or do you think the first oil change should be done even after 20min of running the pump?

Check the hand book, it should be run in with mineral base oil visc rating in the handbook, don't use synesthetic oil for running in

Well the guy at the shop for the pump told me to run 10w-30. I also run that on the camping gennie even though the book shows different.

I rang the technical department for the gennie and he said that they advise for Australia that viscosity is best suited for the little 4 strokes.

Didn't know about the full synthetic in running in. Might drain it and top it up with normal oil as I've got half a litre of it sitting around. What's the reason for not running synthetic on run in?

Synthetic oil on runin will stop the rings from seating properly and glaze bores up, resulting in low compression.
The run in time I'm not sure on on a small motor I guess it would be in the hand book maybe

Change oil as advised by the pump running in guide or recommended by who you bought it from. If you can't find this info I'd change the oil after a day running as bores and rings have come a long way. Remember to still run water through the pump if you choose to run in for a short time.
Jon

The runin time should be about 2hrs at 50% load after 2 hrs slowly increase load slowly over a few minutes then shut off and let cool for a little then drain for as long as possible that's for a gene not a pump so not sure about a load rating, I'd be doing it at home not when your out
Run in oil get's dirty quick
so a couple of hours and it's done
I'm guessing load on the pump would be flow of water + throttle % opening
Don't get to %100 percent load during run in about 70% max, you'll hear some people say 100% but don't listen to them they don't know
100% load and too long run in time on run in will wear and can even spin bottom end and main bearings

It can't hurt to soak your carpet in soapy water either in case there are oils left from the manufacturing process and wash your banker as well for the same reason. Oil will remove your gold.
Jon

Thanks for the advice. Just washed the carpet and noticed that the rivets that hold the leg bracket and the hinge for the highbanker had sheered off. I reinforced the hinge with nut and bolt and pop riveted the leg bracket back in place with bigger rivets and added a third. She's good to go.

Overall workmanship on the sluicy is pretty good but just the finishing touches let it down abit. Nothing a couple of beers and an hour in the garage can't straighten up though.

OK.
Information over load. LOL
You have a great kit there Mate to start out with.
The advise about the oil is spot on.
On the way down, Grab some " Running in " oil and CHANGE it after you have lunch.
Also, Grab some two stroke oil and put TWO TEASPOONS in the fuel tank every time you fill it.
Do that for the first 3 tank fulls only.
Next week, Lob down to your favorite Auto Shop with the spark plug from the Motor, a " Torch ",
Replace it with a KLG only equivalent. The conversion tables for the TORCH plug are in the back of
the book.
Carry a spare.
Fantastic little pump but just do these few little things and your pump will perform like a buety for
a long time.
Don't spill petrol on the starter cord side of things. LOL
we look forwards to your reports.
Oh, Please Banker on the Canberra Side of the Bridge.
More coming on that one shortly.
Have Fun.
Doug

Thanks for the advice Doug. I have already changed the plug to an NGK plug. Even the guys that sell them recommended to do that... Lol

I think I got some standard mineral 10w-30 oil here so I'll take it down and do an oil change after lunch.

I'll do my best not to spill fuel on the chord. I'm pretty good at getting oil or petrol in places they shouldn't be.

I've never actually been there before so is there a particular road that you need to turn off to take you under the bridge or is it all pretty self explanatory once you get there.

I'll be sure to report.

From Sydney/Goulbourn,
Go across the bridge and immediately turn right.
Watch for traffic coming over the hill in front of you.
Be aware that there are some star pickets in some tracks that I
am having dealt with at the moment.
Glad about the freaking spark plug. First thing I changed. LOL
Go for the oil you have for the first 3 or 4 days.
The Thornado will serve you well.
I have had mine for 2 1/2 years with no problems.
Rato is the same pump and is just as good.
If you look after them.
Above All,
Enjoy the friends you will make
and,,,, Have Fun.
wish I was there. 8.(

Sounds like damage in transit but highlights the need for spare butterfly nuts, screws, rivets etc. when you are out to make repairs if need be. I've had rivets shear on me before which stuffs your day up if you can't fix it.
Jon

Just want to add that requiring a mineral oil for break in is an old myth. certain cars come with synthetic as factory quick google search even shows it as a myth in the aviation industry, but yes change out the first lot of oil fairly early as this will contain tiny metal fragments from bedding in

Run what you bought Boulders regarding the oil.
from most things i read these days the best way to break in vehicle engines to seat rings etc is to run an engine under good loads which puts pressure on the pistons and rings without hitting higher rpm brackets. AKA what is generally a diesel engines worst enemy, light loads that glaze the bore then run poorly. Yet take that engine and work its arse off and it generally comes around. Bit hard to do with a pump etc working a load unless trying to pump water up decent heights.

At the end of the day just run the thing, how many ancient briggs and stratton lawn mowers are still fully functional today after just adding fuel from new and hitting the nearest lawn.