Finally finished my Walbanker, keeping as close to Wal's specs as i could i am happy with the final product.
The only real difference is that i clamp my spray bar on with an F clamp.
This was because i couldn't get a spray bar long enough to fit through the hopper.( the day before it's first run )
So i headed west last weekend and found a good looking spot. Set up the walbanker for its first time and cranked up the Honda. I put the suction hose into a bucket on its side and submersed it, this was to prevent the pump drawing in any gravel.
I took along a small pocket level and levelled up the sluice and gave it a nice amount of fall.
A few shovel loads through i decided it needed more fall and a little more water ( just under half throttle at a guess )
With the banker working well i fed it some hard packed dirt and fist sized rocks, cleaning everything well before scraping it off with my rigid plastic garden fork/pick.
I would of only put around 2 buckets of actual dirt and quite a few good rocks through when i wanted to see if i had any colours in the top of the banker.
Lifting the classifier tray is like christmas.
After a quick look in the expanded mesh boiler box section i saw a nice piece of colour.
It was nice little picker!
Instantly happy i grabbed it with the tips of my fingers and that's when the heart paused
Like an iceberg only the tip of this "picker" could be seen.
This picker soon turned into a flat nugget as it slid out of the gravel in the box.
I can compare the feeling to landing a prize fish.
Somehow it missed my pick, my shovel and managed to fall through the slots in the classifier.
It went like this :/ :|
I did a full cleanout and got some nice chunky specs and later another nice picker
When i got home i gave my sister the smaller nug as she has wanted a "nugget" for a while.
The flat nugget registered 2grams on the kitchen scales, but i am waiting for a accurate digital scale to arrive.
I had a great time using the Walbanker, thanks again Wal for sharing your specs on a great bit of gear.
Let's hope the nuggets keep coming.
The only real difference is that i clamp my spray bar on with an F clamp.
This was because i couldn't get a spray bar long enough to fit through the hopper.( the day before it's first run )
So i headed west last weekend and found a good looking spot. Set up the walbanker for its first time and cranked up the Honda. I put the suction hose into a bucket on its side and submersed it, this was to prevent the pump drawing in any gravel.
I took along a small pocket level and levelled up the sluice and gave it a nice amount of fall.
A few shovel loads through i decided it needed more fall and a little more water ( just under half throttle at a guess )
With the banker working well i fed it some hard packed dirt and fist sized rocks, cleaning everything well before scraping it off with my rigid plastic garden fork/pick.
I would of only put around 2 buckets of actual dirt and quite a few good rocks through when i wanted to see if i had any colours in the top of the banker.
Lifting the classifier tray is like christmas.
After a quick look in the expanded mesh boiler box section i saw a nice piece of colour.
It was nice little picker!
Instantly happy i grabbed it with the tips of my fingers and that's when the heart paused
Like an iceberg only the tip of this "picker" could be seen.
This picker soon turned into a flat nugget as it slid out of the gravel in the box.
I can compare the feeling to landing a prize fish.
Somehow it missed my pick, my shovel and managed to fall through the slots in the classifier.
It went like this :/ :|
I did a full cleanout and got some nice chunky specs and later another nice picker
When i got home i gave my sister the smaller nug as she has wanted a "nugget" for a while.
The flat nugget registered 2grams on the kitchen scales, but i am waiting for a accurate digital scale to arrive.
I had a great time using the Walbanker, thanks again Wal for sharing your specs on a great bit of gear.
Let's hope the nuggets keep coming.
