Gold Pans!

Gold Pans!

There are so many gold pans on the market today it is so hard to find the one that is right. So lets have a look at a sample of pans which can be obtained through you local dealer and second hand.

 The Tin dish. This pan is made of tin and will hold it’s blue it is light and very easy to use.
 The mild Steal pan. Very much like the tin dish, but the mild steal pan will not hold it’s blue and weighs a bit more than the tin dish but is easy to use.
 The Fibreglass range of pans are very good. But there is a problem with fibreglass pans. That is they will chip easily if big rocks are dropped into them. And if you accidentally drop them it will more than likely break or chip. The weight is another factor most are heavy.
 The Plastic range of pans on the market today is very good. These pans are light weight low maintenance and very easy to use. But they must be seasoned before using them in earnest. To season a plastic pan you can rub them over with a bit of very fin wet and dry sandpaper or use them for a day out in the field as a sampling pan. I find the sand paper trick is the way to go. As with the Fibreglass and Plastic pans you must give them a wash out with biodegradable dishwashing liquid to remove any oils or grease which may be in the pan. Heat will also effect a plastic pan and care must be taken with the pan.
 The leading range of pans on the market today is the Garret range. They are the most used in the field today by prospectors, and the Garret Super Sluice the most popular out of that range.

What I look for in a pan.
I use two types of pan the Garret Super Sluice for finishing off and a cheap black plastic pan for general sampling. Before each trip I wash and clean all my equipment including the pans with biodegradable soap to remove any oils.
When the time comes to replace a pan, say I am going to replace my finishing pan this is what I look for. A colour which will make the gold and black sands stand out, green or blue are the best for this. I then need a pan with a wide bottom which makes the separation of the gold and black sand so much more easier. The narrow bottom pans will drive you nuts, when you try to separate and if you are using a black pan forget it the gold will stand out but the black sand will be hidden.
Cheers.
© J.B 14/3/2011

My finishing pan at the end of a good trip.



Typical clean up.

This PDF book is about gold pans it's good. cheers

http://www.mine.mn/WPJ6_1_gold_pan.pdf

How long do you get out of a pan? What do you think of the octigone ones?
Jamie

jarrahrules wrote:How long do you get out of a pan? What do you think of the octigone ones?
Jamie

Jamie mate my pans i have had for ever it feels like, if you look after them they will last a very long time. The Octigone pans I have never used so I can'y say sorry mate. cheers
James 101

jarrahrules wrote:How long do you get out of a pan? What do you think of the octigone ones?
Jamie

ive had my Garrett pans for 30yrs now --I think its about time I retired mine and get some new ones !! can somebody tell me why I should do that?? there is a reason

Murachu wrote:

jarrahrules wrote:How long do you get out of a pan? What do you think of the octigone ones?
Jamie

ive had my Garrett pans for 30yrs now --I think its about time I retired mine and get some new ones !! can somebody tell me why I should do that?? there is a reason

Let me guess? They havn't found you enough gold to retire!!!!
Jamie

Garret Super Sluice is my pan of choice, its heaver then other plastic pans and wont crack like the thin plastic ones that have become common, and with the very deep riffles its easy to use and not worry about loosing gold!

jarrahrules wrote:

Murachu wrote:

jarrahrules wrote:How long do you get out of a pan? What do you think of the octigone ones?
Jamie

ive had my Garrett pans for 30yrs now --I think its about time I retired mine and get some new ones !! can somebody tell me why I should do that?? there is a reason

Let me guess? They havn't found you enough gold to retire!!!!
Jamie

nope !!








Its because the sharp edge of the riffle is gone -- you can only sand them back so many times

Murachu wrote:

jarrahrules wrote:

Murachu wrote:

jarrahrules wrote:How long do you get out of a pan? What do you think of the octigone ones?
Jamie

ive had my Garrett pans for 30yrs now --I think its about time I retired mine and get some new ones !! can somebody tell me why I should do that?? there is a reason

Let me guess? They havn't found you enough gold to retire!!!!
Jamie

nope !!








Its because the sharp edge of the riffle is gone -- you can only sand them back so many times

That is some very impressive finds. I am envious.
So what is the reason for getting rid of it.
Jamie

Its because the sharp edge of the riffle is gone -- you can only sand them back so many times!!

See you learn somthing new every day. I didn't even know you had to sand them. When is it time to. When the edges arn't sharp enough to cut you.
Jamie

well over the 30 yrs ive done it about 10 times and I mean you have to use fine wet and day paper ok don't go mad!!! not too sharp but you dont want a round edge --- and may i say I have put many many kilos of cons through those pans !!

Thanks for the advice

you are very welcome ! any time "the only silly question is the one not asked"

Murachu wrote:you are very welcome ! any time "the only silly question is the one not asked"

You have told me that before but i have asked numorous times on different forums. I think you know which one. And i had my head bitten off and feed to the lions. So now i am more carfull not to step on toes. Not that i should be.
Jamie

all's good in here --usually!!-- some ,me included get a little testy with people asking "Put me on the gold" without as much as a bye or leave LOL! as I always say "Its not easy ,you do have to listen and practice over and over then you get some more info and do the same ,I suppose its like some people think that just because they spend $6000 on a detector that the gold SHOULD jump up from the ground and land on the coil!!! But generality you will find someone in here to answer a question because lots of these people have been prospecting for many years

YellowFever wrote:Garret Super Sluice is my pan of choice, its heaver then other plastic pans and wont crack like the thin plastic ones that have become common, and with the very deep riffles its easy to use and not worry about loosing gold!

How true is that post spot on. I also like the Garret Super Sluice more so when they look like this!








© 2011

come on guy stop braging. I'm drowning in droul.

jarrahrules mate no braging but a heck of a lot of hard work went into them pans. cheers mate
James 101

Speaking of pans --I notice a lot of newbies are using black pans and I'm wondering if its because of price? or because it was the only one on offer in the store ? I was lucky i was given a 16'' Garret as my first pan

This pan I got in from America a few years ago, it turned out to be a bad choice. After the demise of my last Gold King gold pan my thinking was the sunken arrow would work in the same manner as the drop section in the Gold king not so. At that time the black pan was reported as the preferred clean up pan in the U.S. I learnt you do not believe every thing you read in reports as been 100% true.




This cheap Black plastic pan has served me well as a testing pan. But they have a tendency to split but as a test pan there tops. But only as test pans they do not have the wide bottom which a clean up pan must have. The wide bottoms will let you work the water in such a fashion to draw the black sands away from the gold.

OldMogo wrote:

jarrahrules wrote:

Murachu wrote:you are very welcome ! any time "the only silly question is the one not asked"

You have told me that before but i have asked numorous times on different forums. I think you know which one. And i had my head bitten off and feed to the lions. So now i am more carfull not to step on toes. Not that i should be.
Jamie

Hey Jarrahrules, Mate I think you would be quite shocked to know who one of those people on the other forum was that was biting ya head off.
Ahh yes Ta be sure, Ta be sure. hey Mur Murph

Why are you telling me this?
Jamie

HI, The aim of posting these and the above photos is to show that wet water prospecting can be and still is a very profitable way to prospect, provided you know what your doing. Murachu and I have been posting information on the site that will assist you in the art of wet water prospecting.  It dose not matter at what type of gear you are using weather it be detector or wet they are only tools to help in the quest for gold. The more tools you have in your arsenal the better the chance of finding payable gold. The trick is to know your equipment inside out. Here on this site golddetecting. 4umer we have tried to explain and show the best we can. Please enjoy and I only hope you will pick up a tip or two. I must also thank Admin for their support and help in setting up these pages. On this web forum you will find people who will assist and help in you in your quest weather it be detecting or wet water. The knowledge base on site is second to none and they know what there talking about. 
 
Cheers James 101 
© J. B 2011

Love the art work.

wish i could do that. I know paitents young grashopper.

Are the smaler amounts what you would get out of one sluice cleaning?
Jamie

jarrahrules wrote:Love the art work.

wish i could do that. I know paitents young grashopper.

Are the smaler amounts what you would get out of one sluice cleaning?
Jamie

Jamie mate how you doing?
Yep but I only do one full clean up in a day. At times the gold will run much less and at times it will be much better. If I was working Oallen Ford these days I would be flat out pulling 2 gram a day due to the amount of activity the area has seen of late. But at that same area a few years ago 7 gram days were not uncommon. What is becoming more evident these days is that people do not want to walk. If they cant park their car right on top of where they want to work then they could not be bothered. In a nut shell if an area is easily approachable then it has been flogged as a rule of thumb.
Cheers
James 101

i have the same theory.
That is why i like to walk up the creek. Going to Russell creek tomorrow with a mate. Mainly paning not slucing yet. waiting on my pump to be fixed. So no great masses of gold but a good time to find a good area.
I might throw in the detecor for fun.
Jamie

I wish you the best of luck mate, yep it takes a bit to get to know an area and panning is the best way to start. It may take me quite a few trips to an area before I hit on the right spot. cheers

Gotta love those Garrett pans. A cluey bloke bloke put me onto them ages ago & I've never regretted it since. Worth every $.
Yep, the artwork displayed by James101 & Murachu is impressive and does make one drool.
My artwork efforts as a result of 'listening' to those who know!

Twitch! twitch! ooohhhh the gold!