advice on spray bar setup

Hi all Ive got a couple of questions if someone knows a bit and might be able to help Ive got a high banker Ive been using a single spray bar 35mil started with drilling 2.5 mil holes three rows length of the bar had blockage problems so was advised to instead make new bar but angle grind cuts to spec the length of the bar around half inch wide 2 inch long spaced about ten to twenty mil apart i cant think of top of my head exactly what they were but any way it works a lot better Ive had no blocks now. But i am just seeking advice on what type of setup would be good for breaking clays up and best for pressure and when i brought it i didn't know what type of hosing to run so i brought (35 mil lay flat 5mtr/35 mil suction hose 3.5mtr) its reduced at pump inlet and outlet from 50mil to 35 Ive been told it may affect pressure but it works alright. But will it damage the pump at all? im just running a Chinese 6.5 hp pump eBay 300 dollar special but is quite a good pump i haven't been sluicing for long and am not to familiar with it so if any one has any advice on if i should make any mods to it or how i can improve it at all please feel free to comment as it would be much appreciated thanks deedee-1
 

Hey DD
Looks like you have plenty of water, the slots or holes, are not your issue with blockages it is your pump inlet you need to address as this is where it all starts.
The issue you have with the single bar setup is poor spread of water over the classifier plate, this will not aid in breaking up the clay.
Have a look at this link it will give you a lot of info, then ask more ??? when you have them, hope it helps.

https://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t3854-updated-banjo-highbanker-plans

thanks rc62burke that spray bar set up looks pretty good with what you were saying about pressure should i upgrade to the 50mil lay flat and suction hose or just the spray bar would it damage the pump at all it say its 5mtr max suction and 30mtr head but i don't fully understand the complexity of flow rates and what not now if im running pump at max suction and then max head then that would stress the pump yes? but now Ive got 2.3mtr suction and 5mtr but reduced to the 35mil at inlet/outlet but not exceeding pumps capability's should it be ok? is my question and again thanks mate appreciate it

The suction should be as short as possible and the lay flat  either 11/2 to 2 inch (40 to 50 mm) it will not affect the pump but can I say that I find any thing over 2.5 hp a waste of petrol and if you are using over a 5 hp pump in some areas the rangers don't like it ! BUT I don't know the situation that you are prospecting in so I make those observations reservedly!


In order to combat the Victorian clays the banjo uses a combination of 1.6 to 2.0 mm holes to punch holes in the clay and then puts it into suspension and then down your sluice !




This works well on the pickup !

Lee, that would have made me cry if I saw ya unedited post  

Deedee, stick with the banjo link, she's a gooden  
and like Lee said, a screen for the pickup is a must must must must have!

I had blocking issues not because of the intake but because when drilling the holes in the pipe the bits of plastic inside the spray bar end up blocking the holes

Deburring those little pesky bits on the inside of the tubes is also a must must must must have - to do!
a bottle brush works well, but it still takes a few goes, brush, re drill, re brush from opposite direction, re drill, re brush, blar blar blar  

Um yeah, just realized some people have been making and gluing the spray bars before they drill the holes    "Don't be doing that"  

I would go one step further & say don't glue the spray bar just push it together & secure it right, this will give you some adjustment.

 Lee

hi guys thanks and some good tips i did have blockage problems but then i went from drilled holes to cuts instead so to allow any matter that dose get through to be blown out of the bar with the pressure of the water now after this topic two things i have upgraded the hosing to 50mil from 35 as this was incorrect sizing and i have thought of the u type spray bars like what was shown in the link up further towards the top of this topic and think that will be a lot more suitable so i plan to change from the single bar to the u type setup thanks rc62burke was right i think in poor spread of water in the hopper i have a miner note to any inexperienced highbanker and yes i know you may laugh at me but pls make sure as to get correct hosing the 35 layflat and suction i was using was definitely not any good it was because i didn't realize that you need 50 mill lay flat now i understand and am up to date a bit better my bad lol i can see the difference now and i only have the pump a bit less than half throttle and more pressure then before i haven't been able to get out for a bit but hopefully soon and thanks again to all best of luck         

Good step forward but I'm not a fan of the slot as it doesn't drill a hole into the clay as a drill hole spray does ! It tends to scrub the outside of the clay and takes so long to do the same job .

hi all thanks i will defiantly be going with the u type bar and drilled holes thanks just wanted to let all know i don't take any soils  or clays home i only recirculate in shed and just water to refine setup and if need to test just use dirt from backyard any way thanks to all and 50 mil hose works a lot better hears just a few pics of setup out bush




happy prospecting and good luck to all  :

Good for you !, well done and I like the way you work !

thanks ark and mate if you ever do spot something that i may be doing wrong in some way or have overlooked than pls fell free to say mate its all about learning looking after what environment we do have left no not a greeny lol  and some good old constructive criticism lol    cheers i think im getting my set up pretty good now just a few more adjustments and still nutting out the recirculate for out bush

Your welcome!!! One thing ,,,retire that big heavy pump ASAP lol! 



2.4 hp with a p90 snail pump ! You will search for a while to get one of these but if you find one ,buy it !
The Chinese flea bay transfer pumps ( 4 stroke ) are not bad buying and are a lot lighter ! Give them a lot of TLC and they are ok . 
The reason for the camo on all my stuff is not of any illegal activities !! But sometimes you trek a long way and you are going to be working an area for a few days ,if you can't leave your stuff set up you can hide most of your gear in the bushes !!!

You can see the action of the spray bars and mate believe me that clay you could make pottery from it !!

Ark wrote:You can see the action of the spray bars and mate believe me that clay you could make pottery from it !!

Hey Ark
Mate that is a great photo to get an appreciation of the spray pattern & also the water flow down the sluice, looks perfect.

Thanks Lee ! Yes that is the best one I've got on those points but I think Whiskers has a post in here about those very points !!! I liken the flow of the water as " flowing like a ribbon"

ooey gooey  

just noticed ya got a round hole classifier!!??  

Where?

This is the hopper classifier ? 10 mm x 3 mm gal punch plate

hi all   hey ark 2.4 you reckon how do you go on the pressure i know obviously not bad by the look of your pics nice sluice mate but what would be the main dif from 2.4 to the 6.5 hp i mean that's a big drop in hp and what do think of your classifying plate do you think the round holes as opposed to the square one that im using would be better for gold recovery ? do you think the size and length hose im running would be ok to use on a 2.4 or would i have to reduce? thanks for the advice hears hoping i can get it to chew through the clay in no time lol

You only have to worry about the lift of the water ! If you are only working among the creek line the 2.4 is fine .the pressure is about 20 psi and as you are filling a 40 mm lay flat and then necking it down to 20 mm the lay flat acts as a manifold so there is plenty of volume . 
The classifier you have is fine sq ,round ,oblong it doesn't matter much ! But the matting under your riffles does .
I have run 130 m of lay flat with no problems ,

thanks ark ill have to look int to that ill dig out the matting out of the shed tomorrow and put up some pics as im unsure on what type it is at the end of the day it catches gold  but it is always good to refine and i wasn't sure on the spray bar setup so its better to upgrade it because of preformance im working creeks at moment but don't get out much hoping to soon ive been also working on a recirculate setup for going out bush where there is no water but still a work in progress.  im still learning but it is a good hobby and one day may even be a serious thing but thank you to all for suggestions as it has been helping and is very much appreciated cheers deedee-1

Your very welcome deedee !  Have you looked at the posts about building a banjo? If not read them a few times ! Whiskers has put IMO the definitive posts on building and using a banjo . Well worth printing out and taking them with you to read again and again whilst in the field .

thanks ark i don't have a printer at moment but will try to get it printed out cheers yea i have read the topics on hear just wanted peoples opinion on what would suit my setup and you don't know if you don't ask i say this is some pics of the matting you were talking about im unsure on what it is actually called i know its miners moss i think but what grade? as i said it dose catch gold but just a couple of little thing need upgrading like the spray bar and im also having a bit of problems with water of the back of the hopper run and when recirculating you cant afford to be losing water as you would know Ive got the rest of the sluice water tight no drips or leaks any where but at the back
 
cheers deedee-1

Oh! You have that system !! Lol! Sorry can't help ya ! It's been designed as a compromise between a gem and gold catcher ! Some people over think there sluices and worry to much about all the science in regards of how things work in a Controlled environment !  In the field you have so many variables so it's always governed by the KISS rule(keep it simple stupid)


The person who is pushing this type of catch system is I see now selling the units ! But in his run up to doing that he made a statement that other sluice systems he heard about were rubbish and the door mat system would NOT catch gold ! Well I'm going to have to throw all my gold back into the river !!!!! 

The object of a catch system is to catch the max percentage of gold with the least amount of heavy cons . So let's say a given area has 3 grms of gold and you dig that with your sluice you will  end up with The 3 gms of gold but  a kilo of heavies! But if I dig the same ground I will get the 3 gms of gold but with maybe a 100 gms of heavies !! Clean up will be a breeze for me ! You ?? Maybe not lol! 
This is the reason I see so many people taking home BUCKETS of cons to try and get their gold out of .
Now on this forum you can see some pics of the gold I get but I'll put a few in here just to prove a point that the door mat system does work and work well !!! Yes the miners moss works and the ripple mat works and the bread crate works and the expanded metal works !   Just tread your own path ,, don't be afraid to experiment with various things you see !!! It's all part of the art of becoming a prospector because if you don't go down that road you will remain a fossicker ! 











Mate sit down have a coldie and think about what I've said .  All the best out there !

  oh   your a funny bloke ark what system and will i be ok with it is it any good i was afraid of this   oh no Ive been trying not to show advertising that's on it for a reason i don't know the history of the bloke that sold it to me he seems like a good bloke though i got it second hand a couple of months ago i don't want to go down that path and if any one has any qualms with him pls leave me out of it im just a bloke that brought it second hand i don't make any statements that this is better or that is better i just want to get my machine running good on that note thanks a lot mate i really do appreciate any suggestions you do give NOW THAT'S THE KIND OF GOLD YOU WANT lol you done well there i know its all about the effort and research and that but that's what im hoping to build towards getting see i only get dribs and drabs is that because of my machine or matting or just do i have to be in the wright spot what i mean is if it is catching the smaller stuf would it be logical that anything bigger would be right beside it ?? i don't know and yea i get a decent amount of cons for so little gold so you see my problem ahh

Good post Ark and yep me and the kiss principle had an argument right from the start   

Back to the water over the back at the back  

this little strip works a treat. the one not quite at the back, just back from the back   
Was a tad sceptical putting it where it is, thinken it'd be a hindrance, but it ain't, you don't even realize it's there!

thanks someday and your rocks and waste still roll over that lip and of the back fine? and i know they say like low and slow for smaller gold and hard and fast for coarse gold but should there be a specific degree like 45 degree angle of the hopper and sluice tray? i know they say factory setting but as you can tell mine is not factory lol