My highbanker sluice mods and upgrades

[20x]

Hi all,
Didn't get down to my spot till after lunch today but was enough time to run a lot of tests. I set the 1st sluice at 50mm of dip/fall per 600mm with a 600 level and the 2nd sluice at 40mm per 600mm(will use a 1m level tomorrow to work out the percentage or degree of angle).

I ran about 50 shovels of crappy overburden, 1st sluice caught nearly all the gold, the 2nd sluice caught very few micro colours and NO gold at all in the tub at the end. Really happy with the pump I got for it, just above idle and approx 2 meters of head is feeding it really well.

Expanded mesh riffle behaviour was keeping liquification and blondes rolling and spinning out well. Just got to add some rubber flaps on both top ends of sluices to flatten and settle the water surface. Thinking I might need to extend the height of the box above spray bars to contain the water blast from feeding it. Im also wondering if fine gold is blown out with the water?

Advice on any of this would be greatly appreciated?

cheers scott

 

[gcause]

Nice setup Scott but not sure about the design of that front sluices hopper, it's using gravity and the angle of it and the water to clear itself. I would be testing the tailings pile it generates for nuggets bigger than the mesh size. Wouldn't want to miss one of those. And like you say it may be washing find gold out with the water. Also in clay areas there is nothing to stop the rocks with clay coating them from just falling out the end without all the clay being washed off first. The gold is often found in this clay so washing the rocks first before discarding them pays off. I would modify it so the hopper sits level and parallel to the ground and put a riffle on the very end to prevent the rocks from falling out. This would then have to be manually cleared so you lose the convenience of the auto clean out but you would increase your chances of retaining all the gold.

Here is my setup so you can see what I mean about the hopper:

[video=480,360]http://youtu.be/XKOrywNTP5o[/video]

 

[20x]

Nice setup Scott but not sure about the design of that front sluices hopper, it's using gravity and the angle of it and the water to clear itself. I would be testing the tailings pile it generates for nuggets bigger than the mesh size. Wouldn't want to miss one of those. And like you say it may be washing find gold out with the water. Also in clay areas there is nothing to stop the rocks with clay coating them from just falling out the end without all the clay being washed off first. The gold is often found in this clay so washing the rocks first before discarding them pays off. I would modify it so the hopper sits level and parallel to the ground and put a riffle on the very end to prevent the rocks from falling out. This would then have to be manually cleared so you lose the convenience of the auto clean out but you would increase your chances of retaining all the gold.

Hi mate,
EXCELENT points made and exactly what I needed to hear. You are totally spot on with what else needs to be done.
im allways going to be working gullys and wanted this design highbanker particularly for the 1 ive started working now. its a really eroded gully with clay, top soil, coluvial wash(jaggered), and smooth rounded river rock. Wot I found most interesting is trying to read the different combinations of wash and soil layer directions caused by wall cave-ins from heavy rain.
I actually slowed my feed rate heaps today and worked each shovel full by pushing it back up the hopper about 3 times. I only did that to get a more clearer test result actually. Might use a coarse broom cut down to fit between the spray bars to work material more thoroughly as you have suggested.

thanks heaps for your reply mate. much appreaciated

ps. the word SLOW doesn't go well with me when I have a shovel in my hands :lol:

 

[Horse]

Looks nice mate...that has to catch the goods
Little Blue has been revived

 

[20x]

Looks nice mate...that has to catch the goods
Little Blue has been revived

:lol: your on to me :lol:

 

[20x]

Gave the new set-up a solid half day run today and its catching really well, no gold has escaped. I laid the hopper down nearly flat and that changed things big time. Now its like a boiling spa bath, no spray or water over the sides. I through a shovel of material in and just wait for the water to come clean and scrape the talings off. processes 1 shovel every 15 seconds quite thoroughly.

the gold from this run..

 

[Goldtarget]

Artistic pan pic there. Id frame it on the wall. Good share.

 

[pjg100]

Hello Scott,
I have one these HBs' from the same supplier, like what you have done with the removal of the riffles to the blue expanded mesh. I have what could be called the version before yours.

Would like to send you a PM with some questions about your mods to this unit.

Peter.

 

[G0lddigg@]

Youve certainly turned that highbanker into a ripper piece of equipment mate good job. Only advice I would offer is consider cutting the expanded in the first sluice to make a slick plate tgis should speed the water up which will move larger rocks throught your system faster. Nice gold

 

[aushunter]

Nice show of gold there, that setup wont fail you at all.
gcause that is a bruce special banker and you filmed that down at the "Circuit". That water hole was pretty well bare last time I was there and I destroyed my finger scraping out the last lot of dirt to put thru my green beast when she was running.
There is some chunky stuff in the gullies around Glendon but the gully you are in always holds enough water to run a banker.
Might see both of you guys out that way one day,
Cheers
Brad....

 

[20x]

Artistic pan pic there. Id frame it on the wall. Good share.

thanks mate...depending on dip and how decomposed the bedrock is...don't stop till you go through it! :lol:

 

[20x]

Hello Scott,
I have one these HBs' from the same supplier, like what you have done with the removal of the riffles to the blue expanded mesh. I have what could be called the version before yours.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1890/1397660861_first_run_hb.jpg

Would like to send you a PM with some questions about your mods to this unit.

Peter.

would prefer you ask here but if that's the way you roll ok mate

 

[gcause]

Glad the changes paid off for you. But you might want to find a better spot as there isn't enough gold showing in that pan....lol

 

[gcause]

Nice show of gold there, that setup wont fail you at all.
gcause that is a bruce special banker and you filmed that down at the "Circuit". That water hole was pretty well bare last time I was there and I destroyed my finger scraping out the last lot of dirt to put thru my green beast when she was running.
There is some chunky stuff in the gullies around Glendon but the gully you are in always holds enough water to run a banker.
Might see both of you guys out that way one day,
Cheers
Brad....

Yes that is a Bruce special and it's a ripper, always catches the gold even the flour stuff. I know that area as nuggety gully cause it always produces small nuggets. Look forward to catching up sometime. Won't be for a whie though I'm heading up north for three months. Best of luck with the job hunt.

 

[pjg100]

Hello Scott,
I have one these HBs' from the same supplier, like what you have done with the removal of the riffles to the blue expanded mesh. I have what could be called the version before yours.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1890/1397660861_first_run_hb.jpg

Would like to send you a PM with some questions about your mods to this unit.

Peter.

would prefer you ask here but if that's the way you roll ok mate

Hey Scott,
Just have a few questions about your HB mods;
1. What size pump are you using and what flow rate?
2. The expanded mesh, where did you get this from?
3. Are you still using the rubber and miners moss supplied?
4. Overall, the HB looks very flat, not the angle suggested by the manufacturer.

I am using a Genquip pump with a 200 l/m flow rate but at the recommended angles I am losing more colour than collecting. The riffles are clogging up very quickly under this system. I have been thinking about doing a similar mod but did not know where to start until I saw your post.

Peter.

 

[20x]

Hello Scott,
I have one these HBs' from the same supplier, like what you have done with the removal of the riffles to the blue expanded mesh. I have what could be called the version before yours.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1890/1397660861_first_run_hb.jpg

Would like to send you a PM with some questions about your mods to this unit.

Peter.

would prefer you ask here but if that's the way you roll ok mate

Hey Scott,
Just have a few questions about your HB mods;
1. What size pump are you using and what flow rate?
2. The expanded mesh, where did you get this from?
3. Are you still using the rubber and miners moss supplied?
4. Overall, the HB looks very flat, not the angle suggested by the manufacturer.

I am using a Genquip pump with a 200 l/m flow rate but at the recommended angles I am losing more colour than collecting. The riffles are clogging up very quickly under this system. I have been thinking about doing a similar mod but did not know where to start until I saw your post.

Peter.

HI PETER,
1. Honda gx 160/Davey single impellor firefighter pump.
2. an engineer factory in albury(cant remember the name)
3. yes still using v-mat/miners moss under expanded in first sluice. second sluice is v-mat and an experimental mat from bunnings under the expanded.
4. no matter what I tried I did not like where the material holds and drops using the riffle rack supplied AT ALL and got the same results as you!

scott

 

[20x]

this is yet another modification im thinking of...

the hopper box may need moving back another 50mm, less holes in spray bars or downsizing the bars themselves to increase pressure without increasing revs on pump and burning more fuel, more height adjustment to the downside of the classifier rack, alloy angle support around the whole rack, hopper box height extension to stop spray and possible fine gold blown out when a larger rocks are fed into it.(the water and air here is freezing and im getting wet even by keeping a shovel handle distance away from it).
opinions and suggestion?

scott

 

[pjg100]

Hey Scott,
I was thinking of downsizing my spraybars but with them being all glued togther time and money is the issue now so that will happen after Tuena this weekend.
As for fine gold getting blown out, would it be better to have the water spray not crossing over each other? I am even thinking about clssifying down before load up the spray area.
Getting wet from the spray bars is an issue that I think is common for this design.
I am going to trial the bread crate with the mat/Bunnings carpet @ Tuena. I am going to use a bucket at the end to see if I am pushing any gold out the end, which would be a combination of flow/angle.

I have never got anything but fly poo specks but than again I have only ever been to Oallen, so Tuena will be another lesson with possible bigger sized specks.

Like your idea about having that extra spray bar at the back for water flow.

Peter.

 

[20x]

Hey Scott,
I was thinking of downsizing my spraybars but with them being all glued togther time and money is the issue now so that will happen after Tuena this weekend.
As for fine gold getting blown out, would it be better to have the water spray not crossing over each other? I am even thinking about clssifying down before load up the spray area.
Getting wet from the spray bars is an issue that I think is common for this design.
I am going to trial the bread crate with the mat/Bunnings carpet @ Tuena. I am going to use a bucket at the end to see if I am pushing any gold out the end, which would be a combination of flow/angle.

I have never got anything but fly poo specks but than again I have only ever been to Oallen, so Tuena will be another lesson with possible bigger sized specks.

Like your idea about having that extra spray bar at the back for water flow.

Peter.

I think the gold has to be in the ground in the 1st place to increase your results. i sample pan, sample pan, sample pan, everywhere and remember the amount of colours from everywhere i sample to narrow down the areas of concerntrations to make it worth even setting up my highbanker(ive only set it up 3 times so far). I get colour nearly everywhere it should be BUT I also sample pan where it shouldn't aswell as ive learnt that's its just as important to know where it isn't and sometimes it is there to. I even test pan dirt roads particularly roads that have been carved up and wheel rutted that make those mini water falls(if colour present its allways at the top). I do this because dirt roads if running across the face of a hill act as loaming catchments like water or tail races, my thinking is by doing this I can eliminate large area's faster and or zoom in on the source thats feeding the flour. this spot and results above are a prime e.g of all of this.

I think depending on how much time you have where you are going, spend atleast half of it panning first.

I work alone...I don't like the thought of someone telling me where gold is as it wont teach me anything

 

[josh086]

interesting talk about the mods for this HB, what did you not like about the riffle rack?? i know what you mean about getting a bit wet i run the same HB and its starting to get cold here so im looking into something to help out with that but as far as catching gold and the way it works i find this a good unit as is.. its designed to catch both gold and saphires/gemstones im pretty sure from memory thats why the riffles are so high. what mods have you done to the hopper? like the idea of cut down firm broom to work material i never thought of using one of them