Hi!

I'm new here, but have been a rock hound my entire life (52 years). I love to hike, and dig around and pan here and there, and have decided to try my hand with a sluice.

But, I don't know which one would be best. I want one that is relatively easy to carry, but it doesn't need to be as compact as folding models for backpacking if the folding models are not as productive.

I'd appreciate any suggestions and things to look for.

Thank you!

Jeff

Hi Jeff and welcome to CP!
I own a Keene A52 and am very happy with it but everyone has their own preferences. It will fit in my large backpack and/or is easy enough to carry by hand. The factory matting and riffle configuration is very good for fast water feeds and the system is easy to reconfigure or modify for slow water feeds (using different mats, carpet, or riffles, etc). Setup is simple and fast and very easy clean-up. I can typically feed it all day with screened material and only empty it once at the end of the day... or twice I guess if there's an over-abundance of black sands in the area. She holds a lot of material.
Anyhow, that's my two cents.
Good luck with whatever you choose. Let us know and don't be afraid to ask any questions. I was new to this not so long ago and this forum has brought me a long way. Lots of helpful folks here.

Thanks Swizz!

I appreciate your kind welcome and advice!

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to the forums.
I agree with Swizz, the A52 would be a good one and it's got a nice carry handle if it's not in or attatched to the pack.
You'll like that sluice set up for most anywhere. We've got an A52 (well used ) and we've always been happy with it. New ones are alot shinier than ours though.
Jobe also makes one I believe that has a carrying handle although I've not used one, but they looked like they'd be worth trying out as well.
I think the Jobe is a bit shorter length if I remember it right.

Have a great time out there and post up some pics later of your advetures.

CP

Thanks CP! I appreciate the kind welcome and thoughts.

What would you say are pros/cons between the Yellow Jacket Sluice http://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/sluicebox.html and the keene A52?

I appreciate your help!

Jeff

Also, one more question if I could... Are there any down sides to a folding sluice like this? http://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/kefoslboxn.html

The only potential downside I can see that the A52p may have is the fact that it's made out of plastic and may not be as durable in the long run, especially in frigid conditions when small parts can become brittle. Other than that... based on everything I've seen (including the A52p Keene demo vid) I think it's a clever sluice with a fantastic riffle design. The pin-type locking section connections (as opposed to conventional hinged "folding" sluices) is genius as it eliminates tedious sluice straightening while setting up, which is the main problem with most folding sluices and can lead to material loss and turbulence disturbance through sections that are not completely flush with the next. I also like the rubber-riffle design which I believe will really catch the small stuff as long as it's not over-fed or run too fast. I have some of the Keene rubber-riffle in one of my recirculation concentrator sluices and I doubt that anything gets past it. I also like the the fact that you can add sections to the A52p and it's extremely light weight.
Hard to go wrong with that one, unless the durability factor is an issue. Maybe it's not a problem at all.
Might be a good idea for them to produce an aluminum version of it in the future for guys like me that wreck stuff.
I'd also be curious to hear from anyone who owns or has used the A52p.

I will attempt to break this down:

Keene A52 $129.00
51" X 10"
8 riffles
Riffle Bar + Expanded Metal Grid + Ribbed Carpet

Yellow Jacket, Large $115.00
45" X 10"
6 riffles
Riffle Bar + Ribbed Carpet

I think that the pros and cons here are obvious. The expanded metal alone is a worthy feature that sets the Keene apart from the Jobe IMHO. Below are pics of my A52 in use. The first pic is with the normal factory configuration and the second is modified for slow water using the expanded metal grid and Miner's Moss with a Deep-V ribbed rubber mat underneath. Both setups catch gold and heavies well when set up properly and fed screened material.

This is running with the factory configuration - Riffle Bar + Expanded Metal Grid + Keene Ribbed Carpet:


Slow/Low Water Conditions - Expanded Metal Grid + Miner's Moss + Deep-V ribbed rubber mat:
I also narrowed the flow by inserting 2X4s to the inner walls of the sluice

Thank you guys!

I really appreciate the help!


Jeff

I'm also a noob looking to purchase my first sluice. I was leaning towards getting a keene A52 but have been reading about drop riffle sluices like the Le trap or angus mackirk sluice. So with all the fine gold in Colorado would these sluices capture more Fine gold than the Keene? Also are there any drawbacks to the drop riffle sluices?

Also does anyone know who is making any sluices that are modeled off of the DFS (since it appears the DFS is being sold anymore).

Thanks.

a lot of people made copys of the DFS sluice. thats why it isnt being sold anymore ! anyway thats my impression!

Hi winterstick,
I can make a few suggestions regarding your purchase.
I'm going to assume that most of your sampling will occur in Colorado for the purposes of this response.
Most of the Gold (not all) in Colorado is of the finer variety of colors. Water conditions and levels can also vary depending on time of year and areas which you are sampling. With this in mind... I suggest an emphasis on versatility when searching for a sluice that will suit your needs well. Although I'm not completely familiar with the brands and models you mentioned above, I believe that they may both operate on a "fixed" or permanent riffle configuration and may be difficult to modify for different situations (as pictured above). I prefer a hand sluice which I can modify with different riffle, width, carpet, and V-mat configurations.... which includes a "DFS style" expanded-metal grid to replace the factory (removable) riffle bars for slow water or super-fine Gold situations. There are many sluices on the market that are versatile in terms of the old switch-a-roo. I think it's an important factor to consider. Once you start developing a sampling system and encounter these different conditions... I think you'll appreciate the ability to reconfigure your sluice.

Thanks swizz. I would be using this only in Colorado (for now anyway!).

It sounds like your vote is for the a52.

Not necessarily... I do like mine and am confident recommending it, but there are many sluices out there that can be considered versatile in terms of reconfiguration. A52 is merely the one which I have experience with.

I have both the A51 and A52 and like each at different times, depending on how far I'm going to walk or what the water speed and inclination is going to be - I like the flare on the A52 for gathering slower water. Of course, you can also build wing dams with local rocks if needed. I have a preference for larger sluices as I believe they can move more material and that's what finding more color is about. I went out last weekend with a friend who recently purchased a folding sluice - lots of hassles in getting it set up properly as it kept folding at the joints at the flare and the mid-joint as he was running material. It folds nicely to be portable in a backpack, but he spent almost as much time fiddling around getting set up as running material.

Swizz makes a valid point about our cold water and brittle plastic - plastics are lighter than a good alum sluice, but my A52 is an oldie, but goodie, one of the original designs and I'm confident I could leave it to my grandkids down the road -

I've modified both my sluices and try to see what else I can do to improve recoveries, and that's part of my enjoyment of small scale prospecting - trying to get the most out of my minimal equipment. I make it a point to pan my tailings regularly while sluicing and have been pleased that I've found no color to very little which makes me think I'm not losing much out the back end.