Finding a sluice in Australia

[bicter]

Hi all,
I want to tap the wealth of knowledge on the forum ;D
I want to research and buy a good sluice for weekend work in North East NSW around Drake.
What online suppliers, preferably in Australia, have a good selection of sluices? I've had a look at keenes and Anguss mcKirk at Nuggets from Downunder but unfortuantely not a lot stocked
Something like the field n stream but preferably with a width of 6 - 8 inches, 4 foot long, more than 5 riffles, a good slick plate & lightweight (plastic?).
Having a tapered throat to increase water flow would be a bonus.
Any recommendations or thoughts from the experts?

Thanks in advance

[curtislowe]

Hi Bicter,

I'd recommend getting an Angus Mackirk Grubsteak sluice. I'd also recommend the online store listed below, I'd done business with them on several occasions and they always provide a great service.

Cheers,

www.prospectingsupplies.com.au/category/72-sluices.aspx

[bicter]

Curtis,

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. With regard to Nuggetsffrom downunder, I've also found them good to deal with, it's purely the lack of choice on sluices that is causing me to look elsewhere.
What are your thoughts on the AU Trap "Recon" ?

Regards

[starry]

hi bicter , heard some good reports on au sluice in the chatroom here last night ,try to get on there , there are a couple of guys using them , I will be meeting up with another member in near future who has one , will be good to check one out in action




cheers starry

[bicter]

Starry,
Nice unit.
Unfortunately it appears to be out of stock at both nuggets and prospectingsupplies..... as well as being a little more than I'm happy to pay

Regards

[hereskip]

Hey Bicter have a look at casluicebox they have some nice looking gear and they have a dealer in NZ I haven't used their gear but looks like it works ( I really like the look of the bucket classifier).
I have the angus mackirk grub steak it is a great unit but you will need to classify, but it will catch the fine gold and hold black sands but by no means is it quick.
sorry I just reread the post and you were asking for Australian suppliers forgive my stupidity. ;D
Cheers
Skip

[bicter]

Thanks Skip,
Yes, quite correct, looking for aussie supplier for ease of delivery, stuff is taking ages from US.

[elbowgrease]

i might also jump in on this topic while its hot.

just wondering if anyone can offer advice on the pros and cons of varying models in the angus mackirk range.

obviously the bigger the more it can process at once, but there are a bunch load of models and doesnt really seem to be a whole heap of difference between them all except their capacities.

the one thing i am particularly looking for is the ability to retain really fine gold, this being because really fine gold is about all i've been finding to date. having said that if there was bigger stuff around you wouldn't want it falling out either.

in the angus mackirk range is any one sluice better than the others at retaining fine gold? also given that at best i'll only be a weekend warrior and up until now i've been panning everything by hand, is it fair to assume that any of these, regardless of how small, is going to be a lot faster than doing it the old fashioned way???

lastly i don't have a preference to brand so if anyone has suggestions if there is anything "more suitable" in a similar price range i'm all ears.

p.s. the reason i'm looking to buy and not build is because i don't have the tools needed to put one together myself

thanks heaps, any info would be super helpful

adam (elbowgrease)

[hereskip]

Elbowgrease angus mackirk's are suposed to hold down to 200 mesh size gold www.showmegold.org/news/Mesh.htm but like all equipment its to do with flow and angle. but it held fine gold and caught a lot of black sands.

The casluice models seem interesting as you can add other parts to convert to a highbanker down the track and clean out is quick. I was going to get this type till I started build my own gear which I think is the only true way of getting what you want but its not easy to do if you haven't got access the tools.

After seeing the gold hog mats that I have bought ( but not tested ) I'd look into a sluice that I could change out the matting miners moss under expanded mesh has been good to me but it required more clean ups during the day as once the mat is full I would see gold in the angus mackirk grub steak I would put at the end of the high banker. thats the reason for the gold hog mats but its not cheap and not local.

as for speed using a $15 standard black pan as the starting point a grub steak sluice is 5 times quicker and a highbanker 20 times quicker per kg of material thats my opinion others may say different. Hopefully some one else jumps in with different models of sluices for comparison.

After all that he who dies with the most gold catching gear wins. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cheers
Skip

[AG MAN]

Apr 27, 2012 6:51:02 GMT 10 hereskip said:

as for speed using a $15 standard black pan as the starting point a grub steak sluice is 5 times quicker and a highbanker 20 times quicker per kg of material thats my opinion others may say different.

I'm a recent Highbanker sluice convert...

I have a river sluice, but it seems tricky at times to find the ideal or even suitable spot to set one up. Then not allways are you digging close to where the sluice is set up.
I'm not bagging out the sluice at all, but they are limited.


A highbanker on the other hand can be ran from a drum of water, big puddle, dam or stream & placed right where you're digging.

It's more costly, because you need a pump, hoses etc, but these can be got cheap from eBay or 2nd hand( as I just did).

Maybe put a post in the "Wanted" part of the forum, looking for a complete highbanker set up. You never know, someone might be thinking of selling up.

I've seen 2nd hand HB's go for around $100 & complete 2nd hand set ups with pump go for around $200+

No classifying - just shovel material into the hopper. I'm loving it!

My 2cents

[elbowgrease]

at the moment i've been digging and classifying into a tub then parking on a rock to pan it all out.

there are plenty of spots out on the creek i think you could set it up even if it meant digging and classifying elsewhere and bringing it back to where the sluice is set up. i'd guess the end result would still be a hell of a lot faster than panning.

as much as i'd love to get a highbanker (and i'm sure one day i will) for now I'm happy to slowly graduate up the ranks. one thing i can definitely say is that by being limited in what I can process by hand, it has forced me to think harder and smarter about where to look so I've learned a lot in that respect.

hereskip
i checked out the mesh size charts and from what i can read the micron size conversion should mean the gold this thing claims to catch is incredibly small, but as you correctly mentioned its largely going to come down to getting the angle and flow right

i also checked out the casluice's you mentioned, they also use a drop method for catching gold, and not terribly expensive either. i wonder how they would stack up against each other.

[rc62burke]

Hi Elbowgrease
Approx what price range are you looking at? If you go with a river sluice that's okay because when you ready to upgrade to a highbanker you can use the same sluice tray. I made myself a 6" wide x 2' long sluice, I used an old street sign, ribbed rubber matt & expanded mesh it works fine for less than $60.
have fun
Lee

[phish]

ive got a angus mcgurk "eureka"...
if anyone want to meet up and have a go with it , im keen.... sundays or mondays...

cheers phish

[elbowgrease]

hi phish

where abouts?


also what is your opinion on it?

[phish]

im in oberon....

i like the sluice... cleanup is super easy but it does take a wee bit of effort to get it running right. i have no experience with other sluices so i cant make comparsions but it seems to catch fine gold no worries.

cheers phish