To Build or Buy ?

I'm thinking about a small highbanker, and I mean small,
150mm wide and maybe 700/800 long.
Top tier about 500mm long with a hood over top 100mm
Pump outlet directed up under the hood
Pump would be about 1100gph 12v bilge pump
Skid plate under grizzley area to direct max flow over full length of the sluice
300mm slick area on bottom then expanded mesh over miners moss (like a Walbanker )

Reasons for my thinking along these lines.
1/ I'm 70 years old and not the fittest in the world, big sluice would be a waste of time
2/ I can run a 3aph bilge pump for 3 maybe 4 hours off of a 30ah sealed battery( about 8 kg's) which I can charge up from my car
3/ This can all be packed into a plastic crate and lugged around on a collapsable hand trolley within 100/200 metre distance by me
4/ I'm paranoid about not carrying petrol inside a vehicle ( too dangerous for me ) so I really don't want a 2 or 4 stroke pump

Recommendations please.
Should I pre classify with a bucket 1st

cheers Keith

i would go for it build your own that way you get what you want
preclassify would make your life a whole lot easier at the end of the day

I don't know of one available that fits your requirements, so you may have to build it. Go to a metal fab shop, they can cut and do the main bends for you. It's important to get the sluice area nice and flat with accurate parallel folds, if you try and do it yourself it just won't be as good.
It's way too far for you but I get bits and pieces from Aluminium express in bayswater, they cut and fold too, next door has a welding shop if needed. You can just rivet though and silicone inside the join before you join it. If you are building a two teir highbanker you shouldn't need to classify, but you could just build a power sluice and run classified material into that. You'll need to bear in ming that it won't handle large volumes (which it sounds like what you want). Look at prices for matting, it will probably be the same price as 10 inch.
BUT before you go down this path maybe look at someone else's 10in banker first, they really are not that heavy, the difference in weight between 6 and 10inch wouldn't be massive, but if the extra weight is a deal breaker then you are better off building a small one.

I can vouch for Aluminium Express - great service. The welding shop next door are also extremely good, but a little pricey (IMO). I guess you pay for what you get though. Also, right next door is Total Eden, for a great range of irrigation supplies/pumps/fittings etc.

Thanks for that info guys, next question is I have an old aluminium security door with what looks like anodised paint covering it, would that be suitable to use in the tray over miners moss
cheers Keith

Grab a tape and measure the width and the thickness of the door mesh, some of that stuff can be pretty thick and if you are running only a 1100gph bilge pump you might not get enough water flow over them to create your fluid bed for your heavy's to drop into them. Also is the mesh raised or flattened?

The expanded mesh I use is about 12mm thick, " A" . I then welded flat as riffles about 75mm apart.Seal the bottom of the mesh with silkaflex so no holes, all water must go over the riffles. Have Miners Moss underneath.

Door mesh looks like a no go, it's flattened mesh and only about 5mm thick at "A" :N: back to the drawing board 8.(

I have some you can have, it's all 205mm or a bit wider. One bit is 600mm long and there are a few 200mm long you could weld to make one length, but I actually like it in sections myself.

Thanks for the offer OP :Y: but I think I might have to put the whole project on the back burner for the moment

ive been using a gs16 sluicy that ive made a few simple mods to. from scratch i could build a better sluice but for the $260 i paid it was well worth it for a small banker to tweak. if youve got the time tools and experience to build one from scratch go for it but honestly for $260 (or about $200 without the spray bars) it was easier for me to just buy it and get sluicing.