Angus MacKirk Sluice questions, information and questions

[Danielkrupski]

Wish now that I bought one of there straight sluices

 

[Ag Man]

Wish now that I bought one of there straight sluices

Don't get me wrong Dan, they are all great sluices.
Like anything you buy in life, figure out what you want from it, where you'll use it, some conditions you'll come across etc. & then research, find all your options & narrow down your search. Look for reviews etc.

 

[Danielkrupski]

Mdv I'm gonna try your idea out. I emailed angus about pump size and recommended flow for the boss model. Hopefully they get back to me. I was wondering if you sealed the sides up and bottom to reduce water loss. I want to do something but not make it permanent as I still want to use it as a stream sluice when water is flowing enough. Thanks

 

[mdv]

Mdv I'm gonna try your idea out. I emailed angus about pump size and recommended flow for the boss model. Hopefully they get back to me. I was wondering if you sealed the sides up and bottom to reduce water loss. I want to do something but not make it permanent as I still want to use it as a stream sluice when water is flowing enough. Thanks

Hi Daniel,

I just bought a cheap washing-up tub and cut as close as possible to the shape of the sluice and providing a drop of about 8cm for the sluice. To reduce leakage from between the sluice and the tub I first tried rubber strips as might be used around window glass but that was unsuccessful. I now use a strip of rubber foam as might be used to insulate a hot water pipe. I merely place the sluice into the slot and slide it out until the flange is hard-up against the foam. I use a rock on the sluice to put downward pressure against the tub - which is necessary to prevent the outlet hose in the tub from kicking up the sluice. Honda WX10 pump operates at not much more than idle speed and runs several hours on its 0.65l tank.

I only use this set-up when there is not enough flowing water - otherwise I use the Grubstake as a river sluice (but I prefer to keep the exit clear of the water for better performance) - see last image.

I need to replace foam after about 10days of use but foam rubber is cheap. Still leaks a bit what the heck.

Tub is used to store pump when in boot of car. Hoses, spare fuel, sluice, short shovel, small crowbar, crevicing gear and 3-legged stool all go into bucket. 1 person can carry the entire set-up over a km.

Aluminium foil is sometimes needed to prevent the entry flow going underneath the sluice. I feed 1/2 to 3/4 bucket of 1/2inch classified material (full bucket is too heavy to carry) through sluice and then pan-out.

Sluicing in this manner is slow work - best confined to sampling. I am about to graduate to a Walbanker for serious recovery.

 

[Danielkrupski]

Angus mackirk got back to me and for the boss they recommend 2200 gph. That seems like a huge amount of water with a decent sized heavy pump. So much for keeping everything light weight

 

[Teemore]

Angus mackirk got back to me and for the boss they recommend 2200 gph. That seems like a huge amount of water with a decent sized heavy pump. So much for keeping everything light weight

That seems to support what a few others have mentioned previously ..... They work well with quite a bit of flow going through them (need a 'test' pebble to consistently gauge correct flow?).

Great set up with the pump MDV but have some concerns as to the legality of running these with a sluice/high banker, need to read back through some of the older posts that have mentioned it but believe its illegal to use 'mechanical' devices?
(In Vic anyway).
Cheers Tom

 

[mdv]

Angus mackirk got back to me and for the boss they recommend 2200 gph. That seems like a huge amount of water with a decent sized heavy pump. So much for keeping everything light weight

Great set up with the pump MDV but have some concerns as to the legality of running these with a sluice/high banker, need to read back through some of the older posts that have mentioned it but believe its illegal to use 'mechanical' devices?
(In Vic anyway).
Cheers Tom

Hi Tom,

I believe from all that I have read on this and other forums that using a pump with an Angus McKirk sluice is not illegal, at least not in NSW. I understand the reference to not being able to use a 'mechanical device' refers only to the method of extracting the wash-dirt from the ground.

Regards,

Martin

 

[Ozjono]

Angus mackirk got back to me and for the boss they recommend 2200 gph. That seems like a huge amount of water with a decent sized heavy pump. So much for keeping everything light weight

Great set up with the pump MDV but have some concerns as to the legality of running these with a sluice/high banker, need to read back through some of the older posts that have mentioned it but believe its illegal to use 'mechanical' devices?
(In Vic anyway).
Cheers Tom

Hi Tom,

I believe from all that I have read on this and other forums that using a pump with an Angus McKirk sluice is not illegal, at least not in NSW. I understand the reference to not being able to use a 'mechanical device' refers only to the method of extracting the wash-dirt from the ground.

Regards,

Martin

Your tripping read more

 

[Marked]

Angus mackirk got back to me and for the boss they recommend 2200 gph. That seems like a huge amount of water with a decent sized heavy pump. So much for keeping everything light weight

That seems to support what a few others have mentioned previously ..... They work well with quite a bit of flow going through them (need a 'test' pebble to consistently gauge correct flow?).

Great set up with the pump MDV but have some concerns as to the legality of running these with a sluice/high banker, need to read back through some of the older posts that have mentioned it but believe its illegal to use 'mechanical' devices?
(In Vic anyway).
Cheers Tom

Hey Tom - as I couldn't quite make clear sense of the two follow ups to your post (together they seem to be contradicting each other?) ;

Mechanical excavation is illegal in Vic...mechanical processing (i.e. sluicing, trommel, trailerable wash plant, etc) is fine and dandy.

The common consensus amongst the vocal forum users here is that for NSW, using a pump to move the water that is used in processing is fine and covered by an exemption under the water act...which would make feeding the Angus in the field with a pump OK...

The advice to read more was good however; as you should be knowledgable of the regs covering your own area and be satisfied with your own interpretation, rather than blindly following other's say-so. No one to blame but yourself if found doing the wrong thing that way

 

[Teemore]

Thanks Marked,
No problem for me with the Foreman as stream flow is sufficient, at the moment, in my areas.
Rangers are reasonably active so will ask them next time they check me out for a MR.
Cheers Tom

 

[Danielkrupski]

I'm so surprised with all the good feed back on their products that not a single representive has joined the site? Or have they??? Would love to test some of their gear. Like a highbanker .

 

[penfooey]

Hi, I'm researching sluices and have read a great deal of posts about the Angus McKirk Range. On their site they show some new sluices but don't give sizes - they do however have pics. I'm wondering if anyone has looked at these? I'm particularly interested in the Au. Trap Pro Set.

http://angusmackirk.com

#1 Scout II (Abyss) $ 55.00 NEW 40
#2 Recon II (Abyss) $ 75.00 NEW 40
#3 Foreman II (Abyss) $ 105.00 NEW 40
#4 Boss II (Abyss) $ 139.00 NEW
#5 Au. Trap Pro Set - A $ 150.00 NEW
#6 Au. Trap Pro Set - B $ 200.00 NEW

 

[user 1769]

I use the boss with good success. I love it, it's so easy to use and clean. Most of these, though, need a good strong flow to work properly, unless you're prepared to classify to tiny sizes.

 

[Redfin]

Hi mate, have a gander at this site and each sluice has a "details" tab with all measurements.
http://www.prospectingsupplies.com.au/category/72-sluices.aspx

 

[Nugget]

I own the AM Grub Steak and think it performs very well in low flowing creeks. Best of all it fits in a back pack which is great for hiking. I usually classify down to 1/2" which it seems to handle quite well.

Here are the specs for the Grub Steak;

Length: 28.5"
Width: 8"
Depth: 2.5"
Weight: 2lb
Number of Riffles: 18

Just be aware that prices listed above are in US dollars.

 

[TheFossickingKid]

Hey everyone this has probably been said a thousand times but what is the best AM sluice for rivers. Was wanting to buy one for future outings. Thanks.

TFK

 

[Teemore]

Hi TFK, probably best to do a search on Angus McKirk in the forum, heaps has been written, there's loads of info there.
Probably find that just 1 won't suit all locations/circumstances, the big AM Boss will handle heaps of dirt but needs good water flow, there are others that can be used when the flow is not that great (smaller/not as wide).
They all work remarkably well.
Good luck, T.

 

[Goldtarget]

River sluices have never been my go to preference in gold prospecting, mostly due to needing a steady stream of water. I was introduced to the Angus McKirk range and after using 4 types and owning three (grubsteak, explorer, boss) I can honestly say they make a pretty damn good bit of kit. ... But there's a small drawbacks. They have real trouble with two things. First is very fast flow rates, the action required to hold the gold in the early riffles and if you slow the rate down too much they tend to clog at the end and cause the classic bulge of water. They really need the correct water speed which sometimes can be difficult to achieve.
Secondly they need really good classification. Larger rocks displacing the flow patterns will also allow fines to exit to the next riffle and often straight out the end. This is particularly true where there is alot of ironstone and black sands. Larger rocks aren't always soley to blame, nearly ANY flow interruption near a seated piece of gold will dislodge it. Although this risk can be managed if you're not paying attention it will cost you in terms of your capture rate. They also need to remain virtual level or much of the heavies will creep to the biased side.
I'm not trying to be negative about AM, in fact I'm extremely pro AM, they have many wonderful features, and recommend them highly, but the new user would be well advised to keep the above points in mind for the best results.

Now moving on, I had put my sluice to the side in favour of the AMs for a while but after being back up at eldorado and having a couple of buckets to run I thought I'd do a little test. Not having used one for a while I did a few reviews on setting up a sluice and realized that most of what should be top of mind I had forgotten as the AMS don't really rely on the same principle that a proper traditional River sluice does. What did surprise me was just how good my capture rate was, and perhaps I have become a bit too reliant on the simplicity of the plastics. So I set up a side by side test running one into the other. My conclusion is as of today that you would be hard pressed to beat a traditional sluice with flare when set up CORRECTLY. Next outing I'm going to spend the extra time I've been thinking of "saving" and increase my capture rates.
My recommendation is take an hour of of your time and do a review of your practices if your sluicing and test for yourself. You might be as surprised as I was. The most important part of the prospecting journey is to keep on learning and reviewing. If you are doing that successfully the result will show.

 

[DrDuck]

Very interesting post GT, thanks...

 

[G0lddigg@]

Interesting points gt

I agree classification is key in recovery especially with the am im very pro am but im also very pro ribbed rubber with fine expanded flare sluice . Theres alot more tollerance for flow but if yoi have fast water and alot of it theres a few things that make am great. Running flat and aggressive will pull down heavies and keep them. Its very hard to displace gold when its got lots of pressure pushing it down. Ive found there's a good low flow point and a good jigh fkow point in between is sketchy

Also worth pointing out gold aint gold and what works here doesn't always work there..... eldorado was a great example of that. The gold is so flat it floats so displacement via vortex is not as effective as the drop riffle system. ive captured gold in ballarat that was 1/100 the size of that gold that was easier to hold....