Indoor Gold Cons Cleanup - Winter Fun, wheeeeee! Options

[swizz]

I did some cleanup yesterday and thought I'd share some pics.
I plan on adding a recirculating cleanup sluice to the system (probably the new Keene Super Recirc.) this spring for the #20+ mesh stuff.... for now I'm panning that. Mesh #30 and smaller go into the Blue Bowl .
I ran two separate batches of concentrate through the system, both from our very own CP!
Each were 2lb dry bags.
The first was concentrate was sent by Dan & Denise from the shavings and grindings (panning sample) included in the incredible gold/quartz cab that I won in the CP drawing (1st item down): CP Stash
The second 2lb cons bag that I ran through was a special bag that Dan & Denise put together (which I requested) for Colorado gold (to be included in a project I'm working on). I am very grateful, exactly what I needed.
If you've got the cabin fever or just want to stay sharp with your cleanup techniques I highly recommend picking up some CP cons and gettin' busy. Me.... I'm still learnin'. I had a blast!
Here's how it went:

My indoor system is very tidy. As you can see I'm setting up shop on my nice area rug with no worries. Well, that and.... since my last girlfriend moved out there are no more rules here . I'll also be wearing a tuxedo during the entire process (the umbrella in the pic is for camera lighting)


Some of my cleanup tools:


This is my basic recirculating setup The 36 gal Rubbermaid tub contains all of the splashback. I'll be attaching the spray nozzle (for rinsing classifying screens, etc.) and the Blue Bowl to the end of the recirc hose for each process.


This is the first stack of screens - #2 mesh down to #30. Since I know I have a tendency to get these screens mixed up (and the magic marker will eventually wear off) I've taken the liberty of burning the mesh numbers into each screen rim with a rounded attachment on my woobuning tool.


Dirt


Rinsing it down trough the stack one screen at a time


Starting to see colors in the #20 mesh


#20 - #2 mesh goes to the pan. Here's the #30 mesh and smaller that went to the bottom of the bucket. It will be classified in the next stack of screens:


Next stack of screens #30 - #100. Each mesh class will be Blue-Bowled separately at different speeds.


continued....

[swizz]

I've marked the inside of the Blue Bowl with individual level indicators for each mesh:


Working like a charm:


Eureka!


Here are the results from the gold/quartz cab pannings:


Bag 2; I haven't had time to dry and sort it yet but these are some of the larger pieces that will go into my project. Many thanks Dan & Denise!


Saddle-up boys, we's a goin' inta town for sum vittles and a hot shower tonight!

[CP]

Awesome Swizz! That is a spectacular report and display of the process!
You've sure got the blue bowl down to a science too, very nice! The whole system you set up sure looks it works very well. Thanks for sharing the tips and information with everyone.

Glad those grindings from the gold in quartz cabochon worked wo well with it too. I had one heckuva' time pannin' those out of the rock dusts mushy soup. Some of them are very fine and light weight!
The new Colorado gold project is gonna' sure be cool with the history you're creating for it. Can't wait to see and hear about that soon too when completed.

Thank you for the compliments on the Colorado Prospector placer dirts too, we hope everyone finds them to be the closest thing to really panning creek side available anywhere.

Hey! I didn't see any pics of a panner in a tux though!?

[RichDColorado]

Nice setup, swizz. Thanks for posting those pics - I need to get as organized as you are to get through some of my old cons.

[Coalbunny]

I have a BB, Swizz, and I never can get it to run at a constant level. I have to watch it like a hawk and keep adjusting the water flow it seems.
Any advice?

[swizz]

I have a BB, Swizz, and I never can get it to run at a constant level. I have to watch it like a hawk and keep adjusting the water flow it seems.
Any advice?

I agree that this can be a challenge with the Blue Bowl. I think that the regulator valve could easily be improved. There's probably a Home Depot remedy in the plumbing section, I've been meaning to look for a more sensitive flow regulator.
For the valve that comes with the recirc - I start low and slow gradually working the level up to where I want it, then usually backing off a hair.... but yeah, you really gotta keep an eye on it. Requires a little bit of patience.

[russau]

Carl, surging in the water levels of the BB can be cause by spoon feeding to much material at one time. solution. make a autofeeder to maintain a constant slow feed and use a battery charger for power when cleaning up at home. plus make sure your bilge pump has a clean intake all the time. ive seen mud get into the pump and cause binding of the pump.

[Denise]

Great set up Swizz! I dont think I have ever seen the blue bowl work that good.
I dont use one myself, I have just seen them used. I like to pan, keeps the wrists good and strong. Good idea to use a woodburner on the classifiers, I have seen and heard of many people mixing them up for the same reasons.

On a side note.........Love the art work on the wall!! Just a few questions......

Whos the artist?
Those water colors?
And why do you have a woodburner?

Im thinking someone is holding back on talents here.



Thanks for the cleanup demonstration and walk through. You did a great job!!

[swizz]

Whos the artist?
Those water colors?
And why do you have a woodburner?

My dear old Mom is the artist, she's well into her 80s now but still producing works on the South Shore of Lake Superior.
Her mediums are Oil, Watercolor, and Batik. Her work with Batik is most impressive (process involves hot wax). She also likes to paint scenes on saws, old wooden chairs, and old canoe paddles... some cool stuff. My whole place is a shrine of her works.
There are two watercolors in the shot (upper) and two Batiks (lower) which are fish impressions. The impressions are from actual fish pressed onto the Batiks.
I'll pass your compliments on to her!
....and
Woodburner? oh.... that thing. My Dad is a master and teaches classes at his local community college in carving and woodburning . Unfortunately, he didn't discover this talent until I had left home for college. I'm just trying to get caught up! You'd think this stuff would come naturally for me from those two savants but I really have to work at it. Lord knows I try.........

[Denise]

She does fantastic work! I would love to see some of your fathers work also.
Im a big fan of woodburning and carving.

Ok Ok....Im done hijacking this thread. Sorry guys, curiosity gets the best of me.

[CP]

That's okay dear, you didn't highjack it too bad. Besides, that work in the background is very noticable! Killer stuff.
We added this demonstrational to the plans and tips page a few days ago, it's a great thread for anyone wishing to use the blue bowls.


Thanks again to Swizz for taking the time to put it together so well and with so much information everyone can use.

Another thought on change of flows during the running time. We've noticed in the past when running on battery power for the recirculating pumps, the change of flow begins rather quickly after running for a bit even with a fully charged batt, and then continues to slow as the battery power is used. To over come that change/slow down on the flow, we use a constant 12v power supply (battery charger) directly to the pump when possible. The charger will supply a more constant flow over the running period if you have power available like say at home, or in the field via a genny or an inverter?

CP

[YellowFever]

swizz could you please give the exact measurements that you have marked on your Blue Bowl? I would really love to have that to help out with my clean up! thanks!!!!!!

[swizz]

swizz could you please give the exact measurements that you have marked on your Blue Bowl? I would really love to have that to help out with my clean up! thanks!!!!!!

No problem - measurement from top of brim:

30 mesh minus cons: mark is at 1/4" - run waterline anywhere between top of rim and 1/4"

50 mesh minus cons: mark is at 1/2" - run waterline anywhere between 1/4" mark and 1/2" mark

100 minus mesh cons: mark is at about 7/8" - run waterline anywhere between 1/2" mark and 7/8" mark

Let me know if you have any questions, this system has been working excellent.

[OkieJon]

Great post! Bookmarking this one for future reference.

[RichDColorado]

Hey Swizz - Thanks for posting the water line indications for each classification - those levels were spot-on. I broke down and bought my blue bowl yesterday, even paid RETAIL! Wish I had gotten it a couple years ago when I started doing this gold getting stuff. Worked through some unworked -100 cons and was amazed at the amount of gold which was recovered. Also worked through the unworked -100 and -30 magnetic material I previously pulled and found a decent amount of color in those. Still have quite a bit of -30 cons which I panned through 2x by hand - now I'm curious to see jsut how much gold my fantastic panning skills left behind. This may be a fairly humbling experience.

Got me thinking of how much color I may have tossed in the past thinking there was not enough fine fine gold to mess with. So much for sorry hindsight - lesson learned for the future is to sort though every bit, no matter how fine - it all adds up in the mayonnaise jar.

Thanks for speeding up the learning curve for the blue bowl quite a bit -