Thanks Aqua! It’s definitely and improvement and I really got some great feedback from folks, so I may do one more with their ideas and see how it does! I hope you have a great holiday weekend my brother!
Thanks ClassicallyNamed! I really appreciate the support and comment! Welcome back to part 2! We’ve had a bit more success, so much so that people want a third video, which I’m in the process of doing. In the next video I’ll put some user suggestions to the test so it should be a lot of fun. Remember, this is just for fun and I don’t really think this is practical for everyday prospecting, but having said that… if this does work and you’re at an area with little to no water… this may be the way! Anyhow, thanks again and thanks for being a part of the community! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Heavy Pans!!!
Hey Stoney, big big improvements in the system, good job. A few suggestions to make it perfect in this message for ya. Hope you consider them. In the first vid for this you mentioned putting in some gasket material around the rim of the lower bucket, YOU NEED TO DO THAT! All of those holes you drilled in the side of the top bucket are completely useless. They are pressed up against the lower bucket, nothing can go through them. Adding a couple layers of foam (or cut a piece of a "pool noodle" the round foam with a hole in the center, that would be perfect, cut to size, slit one side, glue to hold) to the rim of the bottom bucket would keep the classifier bucket up higher and allow material to go through the side holes. It would also leave more than 2 inches at the bottom for material to settle in, if it is working perfectly, you will have more than 2 inches of classified material. Lastly, although it would be perfect if this was completely automated, you could just spin the upper bucket once in a while like you would when manually classifying. But just finding a way to keep the upper bucket up another 2 or 3 inches would be 1000% better than it is now. By the way, (second lastly, I guess😁), it doesn't have to be air flowing through the system water would do the same and there are small gas-powered pumps that could be easily brought out to the stream. I really think you are on to something that could not only work but could be sold. Enjoyed watching, thanks for sharing.
Bob! I super appreciate your very thorough comment! I believe you are correct in all aspects and I do plan on incorporating a lot of what you and others have said. I know it's been a while since I visited this but I'm not done tinkering on this idea. Work just got in the way... so yea, life happens. Having said that, I jotted some of your notes down for the next time I visited this. Oh and about me using air. The rules in my state (Washington) don't allow engines of any sort or water pumps. That's why I used the air compressor, even though that was "illegal" to use as well probably. But yes, having water run through it would be my preferred testing substance. Thank you again Bob! I appreciate your support and I'll see you around! Have a great rest of your weekend!
@Stoney Creek Sparkchaser i had a perhaps genus idea. that could make its consept much easier . just take the hoses off and push top bucked up and down . would work best if you could dig a hole to put both buckets under the serfice so it would wash away a lot of the light cons in the buckets.
Holy crap Ramses! That is a definite light bulb moment and probably the best idea I’ve heard. I’m really digging that. And it’s so simple as well. Although it won’t be on this next video, if I do a third, you can bet I’ll be trying that. Thanks for the feedback big dawg! Let’s go!!!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser thanks for the stickers and nice note! always glad to help when i can. now i kinda wish i still lived in the town you live in.
@ramsessilent I’m so glad you received them today! Awesome! You’re an absolute pleasure and I appreciate your support more than you know… I wish you did too, I’m always looking for a prospecting buddy :) I’ll see you in a few minutes hopefully :)
@StoneyCreekSparkchaser Here's what you do. Get yourself a 11 inch tall bucket. Use that for your classifier. Drill all the holes in it. Raise your air system up as far as they will go with that bucket inside of the other bucket and that solved every probably have. And make sure all your holes in the PBC is shooting up.
This will work. It uses the same fluid and material forces that a regular classifier uses. But that top bucket will get heavy. So be sure you use 2 buckets that slide well and don’t lock up… Prying them apart with 20+ lbs. of rocks in them could ruin your day!
Thanks An Arm And A Greg! It’s definitely coming along, still not perfect, but it is working. I have some more thoughts… we just have to see if they’ll work!
Thank you David, believe it or not, but I'm actually still working on this design. I'm trying to get it to work, even though it's really impractical, hahaha. Thanks for the comment my friend :)
Instead of introducing air from the bottom of the bucket, try putting an air wand in from the top and stirring it around. You should get more of the gold to drop through your classifier as you stir and blow air in from many different directions.
I like that idea, I’m gonna try and make that wand here in a future video. I really love that idea Sasquatch. Then the gold will settle in the bottom bucket and wham-o! Good to go!
Thanks Moe. I appreciate that. I’m really trying to do it right and show everything I’m doing… besides the 10 minutes of sluicing, panning and shoveling. So be honest with me… should I keep going or run this over with my truck and forget about it??? Asking for a friend.
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I have yet to actually finish watching the tape , but if you caught 20 pieces in the bucket then you keep it up. I just been thinking though , If air is coming through the holes in the top bucket , how does the gravel get past that rush of air ? Is the air actually rushing through the holes on the sides and the weight of dirt prevent air getting in the bottom holes and allowing that dirt to fall through dur to stratification ?
Yes and yes. That’s what I think is happening and what I want to happen. Air comes out of the bottom bucket, goes up through the bottom of the second bucket with all of the holes and that air agitation is actually liquifying the material and allowing it to settle in the bottom bucket. In the first video, I wasn’t getting that action because I had too much material in there. In this video, all of the material in the top bucket was basically clean as if I used a real classifier. Although not perfect, I’m making some progress and I think with a little more tinkering… it’ll actually work and classify with air pressure. Pretty neat if you ask me :)
I did aeroponics many years ago for cherry tree cuttings. Running air through submerged soaker hose makes millions and millions of microbubbles. In my opinion your air bed is just crazy violent that the gold never got to settle.
Patrick! Hey man! Thanks for the comment! I completely agree with your statement on my experiment. I know there are tons of bubbles and I know the golds just bouncing all around and having a hard time to settle. I guess I'm "hoping" it'll settle in the bottom bucket, but it's obviously not, hahaha. I'm still trying to get it to work and when that happens, I'll do a third test and show new developments. Thanks again and I appreciate your support!
Thanks dude! It’s not the best but we’re slowly getting there. My ultimate end goal is to be able to concentrate a bucket worth of material in 30 seconds. For every test failed is knowledge learned so I’ll do another video with some viewer suggestions and see where it goes. Thanks brother and I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Cant wait to see what you do with it, the whole idea is very interesting and the improvements you have made in just two videos are crazy! Your a smart fella!
Hey Don! Now that’s a great idea! I’m thinking this could be most useful if water is super scarce and you had very little to work with. I know it’s not perfect and the science is kind of there but nonetheless, it’s fun and I like the community engagement! Thank you so much for the comment and support! You Rock!
Good video you get lots points for experimenting and building something new, the air has to be going before you put any material in there , the air should be on the entire time. Air has been used by miners and still is in more places than some can imagine. In particularly dredges. i think you need to pan both the airscreened and the waste material one shovel at a time, this would be a little slower but very accurate and instant results. The very last experiment with 1/16 inch air holes for smaller bubbles and 3/16 just to observe the difference. One of those could even work better or not. The bad thing is air compressors are heavy and require lots of power, keep it up the results you got are good so far.
Thanks Peter and you hit every note on this experiment. I'd love to do everything you say but you know the problems I'm encountering. You're right, the unit is heavy and super impractical. I'm lucky with this being on my property so power is no problem, but other than that it's the only plus. Hahah. I'm still experimenting with it because I believe it can work. I'm already incorporating some of your ideas and I can tell you that it's working. I plan on posting another video once I feel like I have it nailed down. One thing for sure, this video gathered some good and and attention but I really enjoy doing it. I like thinking outside the box and trying something new. Thanks again for your support and the thoughtful comment. It really made my day! Cheers Peter :)
WHAT I SEE is an engineer over complicating the process: KISS by placing your 3/16-1/4" seive over your sluice flair else feed direct from shovel and send pay-dirt down your sluice. Pan the sluice concentrates to find gold... KISS is good advice.
Hahaha, I agree Douglas… nothing beats a normal classifier with pan or a bucket. This is for fun, but also trying to just experiment with air pressure and what have you. My ultimate goal is to be able to fill an entire bucket worth of material, throw on some air and have it concentrated down into a 2.5 inch space in a matter or 30 seconds or time . And in all seriousness, if you were this in real life with a classifier and bucket, it would take a good 15-30 minutes… so why not just give it a go. The worst that could happen is it doesn’t work and I get to run it over with my truck (sounds fun right?!?! lol) Anyhow, that’s the reasoning and trust me, I’m not an engineer. I’m just a simple electrician and completely understand how something can get over complicated and have the maintenance be a nightmare. It’s just for fun my friend :) thanks for the support and comment Douglas. I appreciate it and hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend my friend :)
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser Raw run gold comes in ALL SIZES... unless you classify you only collect the largest and blow the dust out... buoyancy is by displacement weight and shape (corey factor ~1.25x) so unless you control these two variables you only get what is a gross force... not acceptable mining recovery. Good luck!
@douglaspohl1827 thanks Douglas. It is cool learning about all of the science behind gold capture. I normally just classify some material into a bucket at 1/8”, run it through my sluice and pan it out. But I’m actually finding some joy experimenting so yea, I’m going to take your advice and do some more research on fluid dynamics with gold and see what I can come up with. I know there are already so many designs out there and gold capturing has been refined and basically doesn’t need any further study, but it is fun. Thanks again and happy prospecting to you as well! I hope you strike it rich Douglas! Heavy Pans :)
Thanks Joseph… it’s getting better. I really did get tons of suggestions on here and want to test them out as well so we’ll have it go one more time! I hope you’re having a great Memorial Day weekend!!
I think as a classifier which doesn't require your manual labor, this works. If there's a denser liquid that you could use, you might be able to separate out the dense from lighter materials (not just classifying by size) but the moment the bubbles stop, the lighter material would drop down. What I think you should try doing is take your concentrates bucket and vibrate it with a concrete vibrator and then carefully scoop out the top 50% of concentrates and see if it has less gold than the bottom 50%. As you vibrate it, the heavies will migrate downwards.
Hey Kevin and those are some great tips. I like the vibrating idea, just not sure how I’d apply that out in the field currently. And yes I can try scooping the material off the top. I definitely know this isn’t perfect and to be honest, my overall goal is to have an entire bucket classified to a 2.5 inch concentrate in 30 seconds or so… so we’ll see. This is mostest so for fun and just to experiment with something new. I’m glad you can comment and give some advice… that’s why I like doing this. Anyhow, I hope you have a great weekend and thanks again for the comment and support!
That’s awesome Kevin and I completely agree. I like when others do things like this as well. It’s fun thinking outside the box. I also understand that this hobby has so many gadgets and a lot of them are perfected already to get you the best result. I just love to experiment, have fun and try something new. If this fails, it’s all good, I’ll just have fun running it over with my truck! Win win! Thanks again Kevin! Keep being awesome and good luck in whatever you create. There are no failures!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser One of the problems with this system is that there is so much turbulence, fine particles of gold will have a difficult time dropping out of suspension while the larger gravel particles displace them. That kind of defeats the purpose if you're trying to maximize recovery, because to get the best results you'd still have to classify before putting the material in. Kevin's right that a denser fluid (like water) would help agitate the material, but fine gold will still have a hard time settling. Since you want to use air to classify, maybe you could attach some air tool with motion like an air hammer to the inner bucket. It removes the fluid bed aspect, but should help with recovery. If you want to process a whole 5 gallon bucket of material at a time, you're probably going to need a bigger classifier system, like a gardener's soil screener and a tub or wheelbarrow (and a strong back).
@christineedwards4865 thanks for the awesome comment and I completely agree with everything you and Kevin have stated. It’s definitely a work in progress and it’s just for fun but I’m going to still try and see if I can get it to work better. I know it’s going to fail, but I’ll get it a college try just to say I did it! Thank you so much again for the comment and support. Everything you said I agree with :)
I hope you drilled from inside out or the burrs will keep the stuff at the very bottom from going through the holes. You want a sieve and not a bucket which block a lot of the area even with those holes. The best would be a gated funnel. That would allow you to get the gold to the bottom, close the gate and discard everything higher than the bottom few mm. The air volume also needs a specific setting to where it is too weak to lift the gold but lifts sand.
Hey Excited Box! Thanks for commenting and the support! So I did drill from the outside in but noticed that the plastic holes are pretty clean with little to no jagged raised edges. Where there was, I took some sand paper and smoothed it all out, so we are good on that. As for the air pressure, yes, I have to figure that out a bit better or have a constant flow of air as I introduce the material. Either way, this is a fun experiment and I’m enjoying the feedback from the community. I plan on working on it this week and hoping for a more refined better working product. Thanks again and I hope you had a great weekend! I’ll see you soon!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I received them today! They are fantastic thank you. Yours should also be arriving anytime. I’ve been working on the air pressure fluid classifier idea you have since I watched the first episode. I’m trying it with three buckets with the air flow In The center and a leaf blower for the air. lol 😂
I have an air compressor and generator in back of my Polaris side by side right now. Been waiting for some help lifting out the heavy Generator. I think your idea could work anywhere the side by side could get close to.
Heh Michigan Prospector! Thanks for swooping on it! Now that’s not a bad idea to use your Polaris and yea this is just for fun, but I think there’s something behind it. I actually received a lot of good feedback on this, so much so, that I’ll do a third video with some recommendations… anyhow, I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend and if your going out to prospect… I hope your pan is loaded to the point you’ll need the Polaris to carry it back home! lol! Cheers
Here we have mostly light specks ...i have actually seen gold (in sunlight) floating in my bucket...maybe some surfactant to keep it down. Hope ya have a great weekend 🫡
Thanks for coming by dude! I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend as well buddy! and I agree with you on the surfactant… I just wouldn’t use it near the crick :)
@StoneyCreekSparkchaser we need to take it away and do it...can't believe the RPE catches it, then when we wash it out in a bucket it all floats ....crazy. First Memorial Day off in a few years...Sunday going to visit Brian to do some dredging 🫡🤙
Definitely not wrong in that aspect. I want to do a controlled experiment where I run this is a tub and with the stuff that comes out, I want to pan and see if there is any gold in it. It would be a good indicator of what's coming out. Hmm... 🤔
I like it and yes watching that air bubble the water is fun lol. Also no I have not heard of anybody else doing something like this so I think that’s really cool. And good job sir. Here’s a thought. Instead of hauling a air compressor out , f you have a gas powered water pump instead of air push water into the exact same set up and it should pretty much do the same thing. What do you think.
Kyle my brother! What’s happening? I hope you’re having a great weekend. Thanks for the comment! It is fun and I’m learning something along the way. I know this isn’t really practical but where I think it would shine, is if you had almost zero water and no ability to run a sluice, so basically you can gather a lot of concentrated and then be able to bring it home and run it there. As for running water instead of air. That would be ideal and I like you think you’d have better success. Unfortunately with the laws here, I can’t use a water pump so im limited using this (and this is probably illegal as well). Anyhow, thanks again and I really appreciate the support! I’ll do a third video with viewer ideas and see how that goes.. I want this to work and prove to people that we can use air pressure. 💪😎👍
I suggested in your other video that you use water instead of air, and this second video reinforces that belief. To explain my thinking - The ideal fluid medium would be something with a density between gold (20ish) and the overburden (3ish) to allow the fluid to float the overburden away and leaving the gold. I pursued this idea for a while before considering a fluidised bed of lead shot and discovering that Gold Jigs were a thing. Water, at a density of 1 is not ideal, but it is plentiful and good enough that with careful introduction and flow control could have enough momentum imparted upon it to separate the lighter material from the heavies. Pursuing this line of thinking allowed me to discover that Fluid Bed Concentrators and Hydraulic Riffles were also a thing. Air has a density 1000 x less than water which means it immediately floats to the top and all it does is violently agitate the slurry. With even more careful introduction and flow control, it may prove useful but I can't see any benefits over water. However, if you completely removed the water and fluidised the paydirt with vibration then carefully introduced air with the correct momentum to remove the lighter materials, you'd have discovered the "dry blower". Air + water + light materials + heavies is just too many variables.
That’s a great explanation and write-up Mick and I appreciate the time it took for you to explain that. It all does make sense to me and I couldn’t agree more. There are tons of variables as you state which further complicates a working model. I really want to use water and pump it through but I really can’t as per the rule here. Having said that, I could run water that is gravity fed through a funnel or water but in my belief, I wouldn’t get any agitation so it’s not going to work. Now I do have a fluid bed sluice which works ok but even with that, I have to have the right conditions for it to work, and most of the times when I use it, the fluid bed trap just gets clogged because the water flow isn’t enough so I basically use it as a lawn ornament right now. And yes, I did hear your suggestion from the last video but I already had this one filmed and lined up for release. I do want to try the water thing, but I can’t film it or I can but I’d have to do it at my house and not at the creek. And honestly, me using an air compressor is probably illegal as well. I am going to do a third video on this with viewer suggestions because I actually got a lot of positive feedback on this. And if worse to worsts, I’ll just have a fun time running it over with my truck and throwing it away. All in the name of science right. Thank you again for the comment and explaining everything. I’m not a very smart person so I have to fail a bunch of times before I have little successes :) Have a great weekend :)
I assumed you had filmed this video before releasing the last one, I was just taking the opportunity to elaborate. :) I have seen the "Fluid bed sluices", but have not looked into how they work. The process I was referring to has been used in a commercial product named "Quicksand Concentrator", which uses the exact same process as your original inspiration video but with water and sand instead of air and sand. As for your pump legality, you can put a few buckets or large container up on the bank to make a reservoir to supply your gear. Sure, you have to fill it manually, but check your local restrictions on pumping water for temporary storage. (And then using that storage for process. A legal stretch, but you never know) And keep doing what you're doing, it's always good to try new things and the worst that can happen is that you learn something. :)
@MickTee2k Thanks again Mick! And I understand completely that you were just trying to make it make sense! Lol. The bucket reservoir could work, hmm… That’s where 2 people would really be nice! And yea, I’ll keep it going. Having the community engaged is what really excites me about this and now I get to incorporate what they think will work. Wish me luck and I’ll catch you on the next one… later Mick!
Been watching this from day one, huge improvements bro, i must say i'm very well impressed with it, those buckets have outer ridges , make 3d printed clips to be able to clip the bottom bucket to the top bucket ( saves you holding them ) ok you lost 3 specs but did you add jet dry ?, once the bottom bucket is at full level, adding a perforated lid could help with the wash process, overall fantastic job and does save you a lot of work, That was a success nice one Stoney. Edit: The nozzle thingy majiggy is called an atomiser 🤣
Scotland!!! You legend! Thank you! Yea it’s been fun and I’m learning something new so this is well worth it. I like your clip idea… I just need to buy a 3d printer now :) hahhaha. As for the adding jetdry. I definitely could do that, but I wouldn’t do it on the creek, so no I haven’t tried that yet. I’m going to probably do a third video with viewer suggestions. I really like the atomizer wand idea… that may be the hot ticket! Thanks again dude! And I hope you have an amazing weekend! Hopefully it’s full of gold!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser my weekend will be full of wallpaper 🤣, i should be at the Gold Panning Championship but real life calls, it's very workable as it is, but could be fine tuned to perfection, i know you will succeed, excellent job bro.
@AuProspecting-Scotland thanks Scotland and I totally understand about real life! My back gave out yesterday so I can’t do anything :( and I definitely don’t envy you and wallpaper…. That can be such a drag but good on you for tackling that. I’ll keep tinkering and see what we come up with next! I’ll catch you soon buddy! Keep staying awesome!
Honestly I think you might be onto something. Maybe try having some pressure flowing ( boiling water) while your adding your material for more or less instant classification... Just a thought
@CrazyChipmunk78 hey Alvin! I hope you’re having a great weekend so far! I like the idea of having a constant water flow. I’ll play with that in the future, it is hard though because I don’t have a large air reservoir to deal with. Also, your bucket clasps are a genius idea! I’m trying to find something that will work but I’m having trouble finding them. I’m not even sure they make clasps that can hold 2 buckets together. If you have a link, I’d love to see it but if not, then I’ll keep looking. Thanks again and I’m hoping I can get this thing to actually work. It would be awesome!
Hey Moe! All good points you bring up and I’m trying to stay focused on what I’m making. Aaron suggested (he’s on your videos) to make a wand that’s hooked up to the compressor and stick it down there and use that to stratify the material. I really like that idea. As for where I’m getting the air from. I have a little 165psi pancake air compressor on the bank about 40 feet away. So to be honest… this was just for fun and an experiment but I’ve received well over a 100 comments on my first video on how to make this better and work, so I think the interest is there and I’ll keep tinkering. I like doing that anyway so it’s not a waste of time for me. It’s pretty cool having all of this support to be honest! Oh and I’ve been patiently waiting at my mailbox for your gold! I can’t wait my friend!
Hey Jason! I think you're right. Others said the same as you and I'll definitely work on that. I'm trying to come up with a better system, so anything ideas are welcomed! Thanks again for the comment and support!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser just had a thought, if someone doesn't have an air source then a water pump like one used for a high banker would work real well.
Hey Joseph! Thanks for the comment and support and yes, you can’t use any type of power for prospecting in Washington without special permits and even then, those are flaky at best. I’ve tried getting an HPA for working the beaches with. Recirc pump etc and still haven’t been approved. It’s been over 2 years. And I knew using air would be a problem, but I’m just testing and I’m not hurting anything. This is on my property and I’m very respectful with what I’m doing and I know you’re not accusing me of anything, so don’t take that the wrong way. I understand Washington’s rules but IMO they are a bit outrageous. You know what I’m talking about. Lol Anyway. I’m glad you came back and checked this out. I know it’s completely impractical but I still want to see it work so I’ll do one more with other improvements. I’ll see you then Joseph :)
Mate I’m struggling to come up with any significant performance changes, but I can think of a couple of additions to perhaps improve the desire to use it 😂 1. Put 3 “shop vac” buckles on to alleviate the need to hold it down. 2. Attach a stubby/can holder for your beer 😂 I’m out of ideas now, Cheers 🍻🍻😂👍🇦🇺
lol Aaron! Thanks man! I think the beer can holder is the hot ticket…. Commencing build now! Thank you again for coming by. I had fun doing it and have a few more ideas, but I think it’s basically done. It’s working with how impractical it is… hahaha
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser in regards to the holes you drilled, I think you may have missed your true calling as a surgeon or engineer. The accuracy of those holes is phenomenal 😂 Always a pleasure brother, cheers 🍻🍻🍻🇦🇺
@Aaron_Hanson lol! Thanks for the compliment! I’ve always been like that. I strive for perfection in most things when it actuality it doesn’t make anything work better or easier… just pleasant on the eyes. You’re the man Aaron! I really mean that!
It certainly looked much better than test #1 but I don't think those 3 pieces were blown back up into the classifier. I think the air was giving the impression of a fluidized bed. It could have created channels that gave the violent movement of water but the larger rocks could have been sitting still with only part of whatever was stuck to them being washed off because a good amount came off them and made it through the smaller classifier. I mean if a piece of gold has a hard time making it over a 1/4 inch groove in a sluice mat it isn't going to jump the 4 or so inches from the bottom of the fluid bed bucket, which probably had something closer to a fluidized bed going on, back into the classifier bucket.
You make some really good points there amadeoap! I think you’re right, but as you seen, we are getting better. Now I got some incredible feedback on this with some really cool ideas, so I’m gonna do a third video with those suggestions and see what happens. I agree with you, that water being pushed instead of air, is the way to go, but I can’t because I can’t use water pumps here… so we’re stuck with air right now. Anyhow… if this becomes a complete failure.. which it may, you get to watch me run over it either way my truck. So we’ll have fun either way! lol. I hope you have a great weekend my friend!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser After thinking a bit about it I realized why you call it a classifier, I did read through some of the comments and saw some of the ideas. Someone mentioned using a wand but, from experience, it might be difficult to move around in a bucket of material. I also saw someone mention lifting and dropping the top bucket. Since your hands are already on the top bucket just turn back and forth like a regular classifier with the air on. I'm sure that would clean the rocks better and it would let you do the bucket of material to the small amount of concentrates you are after. No need to modify the rig, just the technique. Ever seen a fluid bed sluice?
Thanks amadeoap! Yea I guess it’s a classifier but I’m trying to make it a classifier/concentrator. So essentially I’d like it to become a device where if there is little to no water, you could just dump material in, have the heavies settle at the bottom and continue the process while dumping the “lighter” stuff in the upper bucket off to the side and repeat, with always having the gold at the bottom. That way you can bring up a super concentrated mix of material and run in at the house or something where you have water. So I like the wand atomizer idea and I’ll give it a shot. I agree, it could be hard to move around in there. I also like the pumping action of the bucket up and down or side to side to help. I’m definitely not lazy when it comes to classifying but classifying really is the most strenuous part so I’ll keep going with this and see how easy I can make this. That is the whole point anyway, make it easy, although it’s already getting pretty technical! Lol. Thanks again, and I hope to have more answers on the next video when I showcase this. I want to make sure and do it right… even if it continues to be a failure :) Thanks again for the great comment!
Oh and I almost forgot, yes I’ve seen a fluid bed sluice and I actually have one but I’ve never been able to get it to work properly. It always seems like there’s not enough pressure to keep the fluid bed fluidized this making the trap fill and the gold rolls right out. So basically I just never use it. The idea is cool though, just not sure I trust it, especially with the fluid bed not being pressurized… it’s just the water running pressure which is basically nothing and not being forced at all when it comes out the nozzle.
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I get that classifying is the strenuous part, which is why rotating back and forth with the lip of the bottom bucket supporting the weight would be better than pulling the entire weight of a bucket of material up and down, while still allowing you to wash the gravels better. As for the wand, I have my doubts but if you do use it you should probably keep the main inlet at the bottom to help loosen the material but I don't actually see that being any better than just rotating the top bucket. Don't know how big the gold grows in your area but you might also think about reducing the size of the holes in the top bucket. IMO, the biggest obstacle to the 2-in1 idea is that a concentrator usually has an outlet for the lighter material to flow out and if it is just a hole a few inches from the bottom of the concentrator bucket then the classification part has no water. Maybe a simple valve could solve that? Closed when classifying, turn off the air and take out the top bucket and dump the bigger material then open the valve and let material above the valve drain out with the water remaining in the top section. Close the valve and rinse and repeat for as long as your back can take it. In theory the gold will be in the bottom 1/8" of the concentrator.
Based on your numbers, you're losing 25% of your gold. I'm not sure I'd call that a huge success. I think you'd be better off building a similar contraption that uses air to agitate your material rather than air to blow through. Air blowing through causes turbulence that the gold can stick to and float back out of the bottom of the bucket. Keep on experimenting! I love the innovation.
Thanks Donorcyclist and I completely agree that it’s not a huge success. But it’s slowly getting there. This started out as just a fun experiment and I know it’s impractical, but many have said to keep going and trying. I think this could really help if there was little to no water available where you want to prospect. You could do this for a while, gather a bunch of cons and then run it at home or what have you. Next im going to apply some user suggestions because they are smarter than me and want to help make it work. I’d love to get rid of the air altogether, but I legally can’t use a water pump here which forces me to use air. Thanks again for the positive feedback and we’ll see what happens. In the end, if it doesn’t work, I’ll just run it over with my truck! Thanks again
That’s awesome! And thanks for commenting and supporting the channel. I really appreciate it and good luck to you. These are fun little things to work on for sure!
The second bucket is completely unnecessary. Just get a basket style classifier and classify the material into the water-filled first bucket. If anything, you could devise some sort of catchment device that could be inserted into the first bucket, so that when you turn on the air, only the material that rises to very near the water surface, is captured by the catchment device. Then discard that material and repeat. This process would get rid of much of the heavies and speed up the whole process.
I like where your head is at Andrew and I’ll be sure to give this a go! Thanks for the feedback. I plan on doing another test video where viewer suggestions are put to the test! Should be a good one. I’ll see you then my friend :)
I completely agree with that statement. I just can’t because of these stupid rules here… I even think my air compressor is “illegal” but I said the heck with it and did it anyway. Having said that though…. I think that would work way better and be a lot more practical. So yea, I dunno.
That's the thing moustache Mike? Maybe a battery powered one? I know it's basically impractical but I was just experimenting around and trying to make classifying easier. Yea classifying isn't hard, but after a few buckets, I'm pretty much over it. I'm still playing with this design and a lot of people have me some advice, so once it's "perfected" I'll post another updated video. I still think it has promise. We'll just have to see. Thanks for commenting and the support! I really appreciate it!
Leave the air running. Stick the classifier on top of the second bucket and get rid of the bigger rocks. It took millions of years for Gold thats in the rivers to concentrate into the areas its found. 10 seconds of air is a joke. Keep it fed and the air on until the water runs clean
Hey Don’t Ask! Thanks for commenting and stopping by! I like the air running constantly idea. My little compressor wouldn’t keep up with that though, so I have to turn it on and off. I am going to make an atomizer wand that I can stick down there and help stratify it more. It should work. And i agree 10 seconds isn’t a long enough time but my overall goal is to be able to stratify a whole bucket worth of material to a concentrate in the bottom bucket in 30 seconds or so. I think that would be pretty cool and worth another go at this. Thanks again… this is for fun but I’m still learning something. I’ll catch you on the next one and I hope you have a great weekend! Heavy pans!
Suggestion: Fill Your Orange Classifier Bucket with Water. Place 1/4” Classifier on there and you won’t have boulders interfering with the Mixing Action.
![Summer Walker - Heart Of A Woman [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFddctbZzw8/mqdefault.jpg)
Very smart thinking my friend! Aqua Donkey Prospecting approved❤🎉🎉❤
Thanks Aqua! It’s definitely and improvement and I really got some great feedback from folks, so I may do one more with their ideas and see how it does! I hope you have a great holiday weekend my brother!
I subbed for the 1st time for part one. Super pumped for part two and didn't even know this guy existed!
Thanks ClassicallyNamed! I really appreciate the support and comment!
Welcome back to part 2! We’ve had a bit more success, so much so that people want a third video, which I’m in the process of doing.
In the next video I’ll put some user suggestions to the test so it should be a lot of fun. Remember, this is just for fun and I don’t really think this is practical for everyday prospecting, but having said that… if this does work and you’re at an area with little to no water… this may be the way!
Anyhow, thanks again and thanks for being a part of the community! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Heavy Pans!!!
Just amazing work fam. Cool setup indeed. Keep on having fun getting that Au and living the dream. Gold Squad Out 🤠
Thanks Dude! We’re getting somewhere man! Every test we learn something new!
Awesome idea how about running a cheap battery powered tire compressor....a lot less baggage to carry....keep up the great work..
Hey Mike! It could work my friend. As long as you can build enough pressure. I'm still working on some testing. I really want it to work :)
I believe you are on the right track... maybe put the air bubbles at an angle creating a vortex instead of straight down . Best of luck to you
@mikew2046 thanks Mike! And I like that idea. A vortex makes more sense. Forcing the gold down easier... I like it thumbs 👍
Great sharing video
Thanks Fey! I appreciate that!!! Still having fun and learning something new at the same time! I hope you have a great weekend!
Hey Stoney, big big improvements in the system, good job. A few suggestions to make it perfect in this message for ya. Hope you consider them. In the first vid for this you mentioned putting in some gasket material around the rim of the lower bucket, YOU NEED TO DO THAT! All of those holes you drilled in the side of the top bucket are completely useless. They are pressed up against the lower bucket, nothing can go through them. Adding a couple layers of foam (or cut a piece of a "pool noodle" the round foam with a hole in the center, that would be perfect, cut to size, slit one side, glue to hold) to the rim of the bottom bucket would keep the classifier bucket up higher and allow material to go through the side holes. It would also leave more than 2 inches at the bottom for material to settle in, if it is working perfectly, you will have more than 2 inches of classified material. Lastly, although it would be perfect if this was completely automated, you could just spin the upper bucket once in a while like you would when manually classifying. But just finding a way to keep the upper bucket up another 2 or 3 inches would be 1000% better than it is now. By the way, (second lastly, I guess😁), it doesn't have to be air flowing through the system water would do the same and there are small gas-powered pumps that could be easily brought out to the stream. I really think you are on to something that could not only work but could be sold. Enjoyed watching, thanks for sharing.
Bob! I super appreciate your very thorough comment! I believe you are correct in all aspects and I do plan on incorporating a lot of what you and others have said. I know it's been a while since I visited this but I'm not done tinkering on this idea. Work just got in the way... so yea, life happens. Having said that, I jotted some of your notes down for the next time I visited this.
Oh and about me using air. The rules in my state (Washington) don't allow engines of any sort or water pumps. That's why I used the air compressor, even though that was "illegal" to use as well probably. But yes, having water run through it would be my preferred testing substance.
Thank you again Bob! I appreciate your support and I'll see you around! Have a great rest of your weekend!
@Stoney Creek Sparkchaser i had a perhaps genus idea. that could make its consept much easier . just take the hoses off and push top bucked up and down . would work best if you could dig a hole to put both buckets under the serfice so it would wash away a lot of the light cons in the buckets.
Holy crap Ramses! That is a definite light bulb moment and probably the best idea I’ve heard. I’m really digging that. And it’s so simple as well. Although it won’t be on this next video, if I do a third, you can bet I’ll be trying that. Thanks for the feedback big dawg! Let’s go!!!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser thanks for the stickers and nice note! always glad to help when i can. now i kinda wish i still lived in the town you live in.
@ramsessilent I’m so glad you received them today! Awesome! You’re an absolute pleasure and I appreciate your support more than you know… I wish you did too, I’m always looking for a prospecting buddy :) I’ll see you in a few minutes hopefully :)
@StoneyCreekSparkchaser Here's what you do. Get yourself a 11 inch tall bucket. Use that for your classifier. Drill all the holes in it. Raise your air system up as far as they will go with that bucket inside of the other bucket and that solved every probably have. And make sure all your holes in the PBC is shooting up.
This will work. It uses the same fluid and material forces that a regular classifier uses. But that top bucket will get heavy. So be sure you use 2 buckets that slide well and don’t lock up… Prying them apart with 20+ lbs. of rocks in them could ruin your day!
Stoney, Your APFB is Genius!! Way to go, thinking outside the box. Have an awesome Memorial Weekend!!! TNT MP....
Thanks TNT! I hope you have a great weekend as well! If you’re going to go prospecting… I hope you strike it rich brother!!!
Nice improvements.
Thanks An Arm And A Greg! It’s definitely coming along, still not perfect, but it is working. I have some more thoughts… we just have to see if they’ll work!
Neat deal, enjoyed it
Thank you David, believe it or not, but I'm actually still working on this design. I'm trying to get it to work, even though it's really impractical, hahaha. Thanks for the comment my friend :)
Instead of introducing air from the bottom of the bucket, try putting an air wand in from the top and stirring it around. You should get more of the gold to drop through your classifier as you stir and blow air in from many different directions.
I like that idea, I’m gonna try and make that wand here in a future video. I really love that idea Sasquatch. Then the gold will settle in the bottom bucket and wham-o! Good to go!
Hey, thanks for another great video Stoney. I must’ve just got the tail end of your live stream.😅
No worries Boomer! Thank you so much for stopping by. I don’t even mind if it’s for a few seconds. I always appreciate you
What an excellently put together tape - Thank You for going to the effort
Thanks Moe. I appreciate that. I’m really trying to do it right and show everything I’m doing… besides the 10 minutes of sluicing, panning and shoveling. So be honest with me… should I keep going or run this over with my truck and forget about it??? Asking for a friend.
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I have yet to actually finish watching the tape , but if you caught 20 pieces in the bucket then you keep it up.
I just been thinking though , If air is coming through the holes in the top bucket , how does the gravel get past that rush of air ?
Is the air actually rushing through the holes on the sides and the weight of dirt prevent air getting in the bottom holes and allowing that dirt to fall through dur to stratification ?
Yes and yes. That’s what I think is happening and what I want to happen. Air comes out of the bottom bucket, goes up through the bottom of the second bucket with all of the holes and that air agitation is actually liquifying the material and allowing it to settle in the bottom bucket. In the first video, I wasn’t getting that action because I had too much material in there. In this video, all of the material in the top bucket was basically clean as if I used a real classifier. Although not perfect, I’m making some progress and I think with a little more tinkering… it’ll actually work and classify with air pressure. Pretty neat if you ask me :)
I did aeroponics many years ago for cherry tree cuttings. Running air through submerged soaker hose makes millions and millions of microbubbles. In my opinion your air bed is just crazy violent that the gold never got to settle.
Patrick! Hey man! Thanks for the comment! I completely agree with your statement on my experiment. I know there are tons of bubbles and I know the golds just bouncing all around and having a hard time to settle. I guess I'm "hoping" it'll settle in the bottom bucket, but it's obviously not, hahaha. I'm still trying to get it to work and when that happens, I'll do a third test and show new developments. Thanks again and I appreciate your support!
Thats awesome brother! Thats a great recovery rate honestly.
Thanks dude! It’s not the best but we’re slowly getting there. My ultimate end goal is to be able to concentrate a bucket worth of material in 30 seconds. For every test failed is knowledge learned so I’ll do another video with some viewer suggestions and see where it goes. Thanks brother and I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Cant wait to see what you do with it, the whole idea is very interesting and the improvements you have made in just two videos are crazy! Your a smart fella!
@Rockbottomadventurez thanks man! Well just see where it goes… I got a lot of really good feedback so I’ll take a crack at some of those.
Thanks for the great video
Thanks Ed! It’s a slow but sure process… we’re gonna get it eventually! On the next one I’ll try some viewer suggestions… pretty excited about it :)
Great idea. You could use a scuba tank so you're not tethered to your compressor.
Hey Don! Now that’s a great idea! I’m thinking this could be most useful if water is super scarce and you had very little to work with. I know it’s not perfect and the science is kind of there but nonetheless, it’s fun and I like the community engagement! Thank you so much for the comment and support! You Rock!
Good video you get lots points for experimenting and building something new, the air has to be going before you put any material in there , the air should be on the entire time. Air has been used by miners and still is in more places than some can imagine. In particularly dredges. i think you need to pan both the airscreened and the waste material one shovel at a time, this would be a little slower but very accurate and instant results. The very last experiment with 1/16 inch air holes for smaller bubbles and 3/16 just to observe the difference. One of those could even work better or not. The bad thing is air compressors are heavy and require lots of power, keep it up the results you got are good so far.
Thanks Peter and you hit every note on this experiment. I'd love to do everything you say but you know the problems I'm encountering. You're right, the unit is heavy and super impractical. I'm lucky with this being on my property so power is no problem, but other than that it's the only plus. Hahah.
I'm still experimenting with it because I believe it can work. I'm already incorporating some of your ideas and I can tell you that it's working. I plan on posting another video once I feel like I have it nailed down.
One thing for sure, this video gathered some good and and attention but I really enjoy doing it. I like thinking outside the box and trying something new.
Thanks again for your support and the thoughtful comment. It really made my day! Cheers Peter :)
Awesome!!!
Thanks Eric! And why is it so crappy this weekend! WTH dude?!?! Good seeing you!
You did good. Great information. Blessings
Thanks Todd! I really appreciate the comment and support! We’re definitely gaining some traction on this 👍👍👍
WHAT I SEE is an engineer over complicating the process: KISS by placing your 3/16-1/4" seive over your sluice flair else feed direct from shovel and send pay-dirt down your sluice. Pan the sluice concentrates to find gold... KISS is good advice.
Hahaha, I agree Douglas… nothing beats a normal classifier with pan or a bucket. This is for fun, but also trying to just experiment with air pressure and what have you. My ultimate goal is to be able to fill an entire bucket worth of material, throw on some air and have it concentrated down into a 2.5 inch space in a matter or 30 seconds or time . And in all seriousness, if you were this in real life with a classifier and bucket, it would take a good 15-30 minutes… so why not just give it a go. The worst that could happen is it doesn’t work and I get to run it over with my truck (sounds fun right?!?! lol) Anyhow, that’s the reasoning and trust me, I’m not an engineer. I’m just a simple electrician and completely understand how something can get over complicated and have the maintenance be a nightmare. It’s just for fun my friend :) thanks for the support and comment Douglas. I appreciate it and hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend my friend :)
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser Raw run gold comes in ALL SIZES... unless you classify you only collect the largest and blow the dust out... buoyancy is by displacement weight and shape (corey factor ~1.25x) so unless you control these two variables you only get what is a gross force... not acceptable mining recovery. Good luck!
@douglaspohl1827 thanks Douglas. It is cool learning about all of the science behind gold capture. I normally just classify some material into a bucket at 1/8”, run it through my sluice and pan it out. But I’m actually finding some joy experimenting so yea, I’m going to take your advice and do some more research on fluid dynamics with gold and see what I can come up with. I know there are already so many designs out there and gold capturing has been refined and basically doesn’t need any further study, but it is fun. Thanks again and happy prospecting to you as well! I hope you strike it rich Douglas! Heavy Pans :)
How did I miss this upload
It’s YT brother! Lol! Thanks for coming in though! I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend dude!
Liked, shared and commented 🍻🤴🏻🗽
Thanks Joseph… it’s getting better. I really did get tons of suggestions on here and want to test them out as well so we’ll have it go one more time! I hope you’re having a great Memorial Day weekend!!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I’m doing great. Hoping I don’t work today. Cause I’ll b mining here today if I’m free
Nice job
Thank you Ron! I appreciate the comment and support. We’ll get it working better :)
I think as a classifier which doesn't require your manual labor, this works. If there's a denser liquid that you could use, you might be able to separate out the dense from lighter materials (not just classifying by size) but the moment the bubbles stop, the lighter material would drop down.
What I think you should try doing is take your concentrates bucket and vibrate it with a concrete vibrator and then carefully scoop out the top 50% of concentrates and see if it has less gold than the bottom 50%. As you vibrate it, the heavies will migrate downwards.
Hey Kevin and those are some great tips. I like the vibrating idea, just not sure how I’d apply that out in the field currently.
And yes I can try scooping the material off the top. I definitely know this isn’t perfect and to be honest, my overall goal is to have an entire bucket classified to a 2.5 inch concentrate in 30 seconds or so… so we’ll see. This is mostest so for fun and just to experiment with something new. I’m glad you can comment and give some advice… that’s why I like doing this.
Anyhow, I hope you have a great weekend and thanks again for the comment and support!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser your experiments get me thinking!
That’s awesome Kevin and I completely agree. I like when others do things like this as well. It’s fun thinking outside the box.
I also understand that this hobby has so many gadgets and a lot of them are perfected already to get you the best result. I just love to experiment, have fun and try something new.
If this fails, it’s all good, I’ll just have fun running it over with my truck! Win win! Thanks again Kevin! Keep being awesome and good luck in whatever you create. There are no failures!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser One of the problems with this system is that there is so much turbulence, fine particles of gold will have a difficult time dropping out of suspension while the larger gravel particles displace them. That kind of defeats the purpose if you're trying to maximize recovery, because to get the best results you'd still have to classify before putting the material in. Kevin's right that a denser fluid (like water) would help agitate the material, but fine gold will still have a hard time settling. Since you want to use air to classify, maybe you could attach some air tool with motion like an air hammer to the inner bucket. It removes the fluid bed aspect, but should help with recovery. If you want to process a whole 5 gallon bucket of material at a time, you're probably going to need a bigger classifier system, like a gardener's soil screener and a tub or wheelbarrow (and a strong back).
@christineedwards4865 thanks for the awesome comment and I completely agree with everything you and Kevin have stated.
It’s definitely a work in progress and it’s just for fun but I’m going to still try and see if I can get it to work better. I know it’s going to fail, but I’ll get it a college try just to say I did it!
Thank you so much again for the comment and support. Everything you said I agree with :)
I hope you drilled from inside out or the burrs will keep the stuff at the very bottom from going through the holes. You want a sieve and not a bucket which block a lot of the area even with those holes. The best would be a gated funnel. That would allow you to get the gold to the bottom, close the gate and discard everything higher than the bottom few mm. The air volume also needs a specific setting to where it is too weak to lift the gold but lifts sand.
Hey Excited Box! Thanks for commenting and the support! So I did drill from the outside in but noticed that the plastic holes are pretty clean with little to no jagged raised edges. Where there was, I took some sand paper and smoothed it all out, so we are good on that.
As for the air pressure, yes, I have to figure that out a bit better or have a constant flow of air as I introduce the material.
Either way, this is a fun experiment and I’m enjoying the feedback from the community. I plan on working on it this week and hoping for a more refined better working product.
Thanks again and I hope you had a great weekend! I’ll see you soon!
Oh yea! Nice indeed bud.👍😎🎩⚒️
Thanks brother! Btw! Your stickers should be delivered here shortly if not already!!! Let’s go!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I received them today! They are fantastic thank you. Yours should also be arriving anytime. I’ve been working on the air pressure fluid classifier idea you have since I watched the first episode. I’m trying it with three buckets with the air flow In The center and a leaf blower for the air. lol 😂
@Gentleman-Prospector nice dude! I’m excited to see your contraption… I hope it works better than mine!!! Glad you like the stickers as well!
🎉🎉🎉Great job Stoney 😊
I have an air compressor and generator in back of my Polaris side by side right now. Been waiting for some help lifting out the heavy Generator. I think your idea could work anywhere the side by side could get close to.
Heh Michigan Prospector! Thanks for swooping on it! Now that’s not a bad idea to use your Polaris and yea this is just for fun, but I think there’s something behind it. I actually received a lot of good feedback on this, so much so, that I’ll do a third video with some recommendations… anyhow, I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend and if your going out to prospect… I hope your pan is loaded to the point you’ll need the Polaris to carry it back home! lol! Cheers
I wonder if somehow , you could utilize the bottom buckets handle to hold down the top bucket.
Bend it , Shape it , replace it.
Here we have mostly light specks ...i have actually seen gold (in sunlight) floating in my bucket...maybe some surfactant to keep it down.
Hope ya have a great weekend 🫡
Thanks for coming by dude! I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend as well buddy! and I agree with you on the surfactant… I just wouldn’t use it near the crick :)
@StoneyCreekSparkchaser we need to take it away and do it...can't believe the RPE catches it, then when we wash it out in a bucket it all floats ....crazy.
First Memorial Day off in a few years...Sunday going to visit Brian to do some dredging 🫡🤙
@a3skywarrior929 yes that float gold is horrible at times. Sweet man! Enjoy your weekend then… tell Brian I said wassup :)
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser 🤙🫡
maybe miners moss at the top to catch spill over ..seams like you might loose the lighter stuff as its bubbling over...just a thought...
Definitely not wrong in that aspect. I want to do a controlled experiment where I run this is a tub and with the stuff that comes out, I want to pan and see if there is any gold in it. It would be a good indicator of what's coming out. Hmm... 🤔
I like it and yes watching that air bubble the water is fun lol. Also no I have not heard of anybody else doing something like this so I think that’s really cool. And good job sir. Here’s a thought. Instead of hauling a air compressor out , f you have a gas powered water pump instead of air push water into the exact same set up and it should pretty much do the same thing. What do you think.
Kyle my brother! What’s happening? I hope you’re having a great weekend.
Thanks for the comment! It is fun and I’m learning something along the way. I know this isn’t really practical but where I think it would shine, is if you had almost zero water and no ability to run a sluice, so basically you can gather a lot of concentrated and then be able to bring it home and run it there.
As for running water instead of air. That would be ideal and I like you think you’d have better success. Unfortunately with the laws here, I can’t use a water pump so im limited using this (and this is probably illegal as well).
Anyhow, thanks again and I really appreciate the support! I’ll do a third video with viewer ideas and see how that goes.. I want this to work and prove to people that we can use air pressure. 💪😎👍
NEVER lose sight of the whole point.
Otherwise you veer off the path and going in circles back to where you started from.
I think you need a good bit larger screen on top of your 1/4 screen to catch the bigger stones and get them out of the percolation process
Hey Regular Guy! Others had said the same thing and it make complete sense. Thanks for commenting and your support :)
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser your welcome, us genius types need to stick together brother 😎
@regularguy8592 you got that right! Haha! Thanks man!
I suggested in your other video that you use water instead of air, and this second video reinforces that belief.
To explain my thinking -
The ideal fluid medium would be something with a density between gold (20ish) and the overburden (3ish) to allow the fluid to float the overburden away and leaving the gold. I pursued this idea for a while before considering a fluidised bed of lead shot and discovering that Gold Jigs were a thing.
Water, at a density of 1 is not ideal, but it is plentiful and good enough that with careful introduction and flow control could have enough momentum imparted upon it to separate the lighter material from the heavies. Pursuing this line of thinking allowed me to discover that Fluid Bed Concentrators and Hydraulic Riffles were also a thing.
Air has a density 1000 x less than water which means it immediately floats to the top and all it does is violently agitate the slurry. With even more careful introduction and flow control, it may prove useful but I can't see any benefits over water. However, if you completely removed the water and fluidised the paydirt with vibration then carefully introduced air with the correct momentum to remove the lighter materials, you'd have discovered the "dry blower".
Air + water + light materials + heavies is just too many variables.
That’s a great explanation and write-up Mick and I appreciate the time it took for you to explain that.
It all does make sense to me and I couldn’t agree more. There are tons of variables as you state which further complicates a working model.
I really want to use water and pump it through but I really can’t as per the rule here. Having said that, I could run water that is gravity fed through a funnel or water but in my belief, I wouldn’t get any agitation so it’s not going to work.
Now I do have a fluid bed sluice which works ok but even with that, I have to have the right conditions for it to work, and most of the times when I use it, the fluid bed trap just gets clogged because the water flow isn’t enough so I basically use it as a lawn ornament right now.
And yes, I did hear your suggestion from the last video but I already had this one filmed and lined up for release. I do want to try the water thing, but I can’t film it or I can but I’d have to do it at my house and not at the creek. And honestly, me using an air compressor is probably illegal as well.
I am going to do a third video on this with viewer suggestions because I actually got a lot of positive feedback on this. And if worse to worsts, I’ll just have a fun time running it over with my truck and throwing it away.
All in the name of science right. Thank you again for the comment and explaining everything. I’m not a very smart person so I have to fail a bunch of times before I have little successes :) Have a great weekend :)
I assumed you had filmed this video before releasing the last one, I was just taking the opportunity to elaborate. :)
I have seen the "Fluid bed sluices", but have not looked into how they work. The process I was referring to has been used in a commercial product named "Quicksand Concentrator", which uses the exact same process as your original inspiration video but with water and sand instead of air and sand.
As for your pump legality, you can put a few buckets or large container up on the bank to make a reservoir to supply your gear. Sure, you have to fill it manually, but check your local restrictions on pumping water for temporary storage. (And then using that storage for process. A legal stretch, but you never know)
And keep doing what you're doing, it's always good to try new things and the worst that can happen is that you learn something. :)
@MickTee2k Thanks again Mick! And I understand completely that you were just trying to make it make sense! Lol.
The bucket reservoir could work, hmm… That’s where 2 people would really be nice!
And yea, I’ll keep it going. Having the community engaged is what really excites me about this and now I get to incorporate what they think will work. Wish me luck and I’ll catch you on the next one… later Mick!
Been watching this from day one, huge improvements bro, i must say i'm very well impressed with it, those buckets have outer ridges , make 3d printed clips to be able to clip the bottom bucket to the top bucket ( saves you holding them ) ok you lost 3 specs but did you add jet dry ?, once the bottom bucket is at full level, adding a perforated lid could help with the wash process, overall fantastic job and does save you a lot of work, That was a success nice one Stoney. Edit: The nozzle thingy majiggy is called an atomiser 🤣
Scotland!!! You legend! Thank you! Yea it’s been fun and I’m learning something new so this is well worth it.
I like your clip idea… I just need to buy a 3d printer now :) hahhaha. As for the adding jetdry. I definitely could do that, but I wouldn’t do it on the creek, so no I haven’t tried that yet.
I’m going to probably do a third video with viewer suggestions. I really like the atomizer wand idea… that may be the hot ticket!
Thanks again dude! And I hope you have an amazing weekend! Hopefully it’s full of gold!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser my weekend will be full of wallpaper 🤣, i should be at the Gold Panning Championship but real life calls, it's very workable as it is, but could be fine tuned to perfection, i know you will succeed, excellent job bro.
@AuProspecting-Scotland thanks Scotland and I totally understand about real life! My back gave out yesterday so I can’t do anything :( and I definitely don’t envy you and wallpaper…. That can be such a drag but good on you for tackling that.
I’ll keep tinkering and see what we come up with next! I’ll catch you soon buddy! Keep staying awesome!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser Not good , Take it easy bro and rest, get better soon.
Honestly I think you might be onto something. Maybe try having some pressure flowing ( boiling water) while your adding your material for more or less instant classification... Just a thought
Maybe add a couple buckle clasps to the classifier bucket to hold it under pressure while it's running and your adding material....
@CrazyChipmunk78 hey Alvin! I hope you’re having a great weekend so far! I like the idea of having a constant water flow. I’ll play with that in the future, it is hard though because I don’t have a large air reservoir to deal with. Also, your bucket clasps are a genius idea! I’m trying to find something that will work but I’m having trouble finding them. I’m not even sure they make clasps that can hold 2 buckets together. If you have a link, I’d love to see it but if not, then I’ll keep looking.
Thanks again and I’m hoping I can get this thing to actually work. It would be awesome!
I forgot to pay attention to Part 1 - Where are you getting this endless supply of air pressure from ?
Hey Moe! All good points you bring up and I’m trying to stay focused on what I’m making. Aaron suggested (he’s on your videos) to make a wand that’s hooked up to the compressor and stick it down there and use that to stratify the material. I really like that idea.
As for where I’m getting the air from. I have a little 165psi pancake air compressor on the bank about 40 feet away.
So to be honest… this was just for fun and an experiment but I’ve received well over a 100 comments on my first video on how to make this better and work, so I think the interest is there and I’ll keep tinkering. I like doing that anyway so it’s not a waste of time for me.
It’s pretty cool having all of this support to be honest! Oh and I’ve been patiently waiting at my mailbox for your gold! I can’t wait my friend!
Use multiple buckets with larger to smaller hole size to classify to smallest without cloging a single bucket with just 1/8 inch holes
Hey Jason! I think you're right. Others said the same as you and I'll definitely work on that. I'm trying to come up with a better system, so anything ideas are welcomed! Thanks again for the comment and support!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser just had a thought, if someone doesn't have an air source then a water pump like one used for a high banker would work real well.
@jasonthomashorn4794 another great idea Jason! Yes I think that would work really well :)
In Washington you need a permit to use power to move water no high banking etc
Hand power only
Hey Joseph! Thanks for the comment and support and yes, you can’t use any type of power for prospecting in Washington without special permits and even then, those are flaky at best. I’ve tried getting an HPA for working the beaches with. Recirc pump etc and still haven’t been approved. It’s been over 2 years.
And I knew using air would be a problem, but I’m just testing and I’m not hurting anything. This is on my property and I’m very respectful with what I’m doing and I know you’re not accusing me of anything, so don’t take that the wrong way.
I understand Washington’s rules but IMO they are a bit outrageous. You know what I’m talking about. Lol
Anyway. I’m glad you came back and checked this out. I know it’s completely impractical but I still want to see it work so I’ll do one more with other improvements. I’ll see you then Joseph :)
Mate I’m struggling to come up with any significant performance changes, but I can think of a couple of additions to perhaps improve the desire to use it 😂
1. Put 3 “shop vac” buckles on to alleviate the need to hold it down.
2. Attach a stubby/can holder for your beer 😂
I’m out of ideas now,
Cheers 🍻🍻😂👍🇦🇺
lol Aaron! Thanks man! I think the beer can holder is the hot ticket…. Commencing build now! Thank you again for coming by. I had fun doing it and have a few more ideas, but I think it’s basically done. It’s working with how impractical it is… hahaha
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser in regards to the holes you drilled, I think you may have missed your true calling as a surgeon or engineer. The accuracy of those holes is phenomenal 😂
Always a pleasure brother, cheers 🍻🍻🍻🇦🇺
@Aaron_Hanson lol! Thanks for the compliment! I’ve always been like that. I strive for perfection in most things when it actuality it doesn’t make anything work better or easier… just pleasant on the eyes. You’re the man Aaron! I really mean that!
It certainly looked much better than test #1 but I don't think those 3 pieces were blown back up into the classifier. I think the air was giving the impression of a fluidized bed. It could have created channels that gave the violent movement of water but the larger rocks could have been sitting still with only part of whatever was stuck to them being washed off because a good amount came off them and made it through the smaller classifier.
I mean if a piece of gold has a hard time making it over a 1/4 inch groove in a sluice mat it isn't going to jump the 4 or so inches from the bottom of the fluid bed bucket, which probably had something closer to a fluidized bed going on, back into the classifier bucket.
You make some really good points there amadeoap! I think you’re right, but as you seen, we are getting better.
Now I got some incredible feedback on this with some really cool ideas, so I’m gonna do a third video with those suggestions and see what happens. I agree with you, that water being pushed instead of air, is the way to go, but I can’t because I can’t use water pumps here… so we’re stuck with air right now.
Anyhow… if this becomes a complete failure.. which it may, you get to watch me run over it either way my truck. So we’ll have fun either way! lol.
I hope you have a great weekend my friend!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser After thinking a bit about it I realized why you call it a classifier, I did read through some of the comments and saw some of the ideas. Someone mentioned using a wand but, from experience, it might be difficult to move around in a bucket of material. I also saw someone mention lifting and dropping the top bucket.
Since your hands are already on the top bucket just turn back and forth like a regular classifier with the air on. I'm sure that would clean the rocks better and it would let you do the bucket of material to the small amount of concentrates you are after. No need to modify the rig, just the technique.
Ever seen a fluid bed sluice?
Thanks amadeoap! Yea I guess it’s a classifier but I’m trying to make it a classifier/concentrator. So essentially I’d like it to become a device where if there is little to no water, you could just dump material in, have the heavies settle at the bottom and continue the process while dumping the “lighter” stuff in the upper bucket off to the side and repeat, with always having the gold at the bottom. That way you can bring up a super concentrated mix of material and run in at the house or something where you have water.
So I like the wand atomizer idea and I’ll give it a shot. I agree, it could be hard to move around in there. I also like the pumping action of the bucket up and down or side to side to help. I’m definitely not lazy when it comes to classifying but classifying really is the most strenuous part so I’ll keep going with this and see how easy I can make this. That is the whole point anyway, make it easy, although it’s already getting pretty technical! Lol.
Thanks again, and I hope to have more answers on the next video when I showcase this. I want to make sure and do it right… even if it continues to be a failure :) Thanks again for the great comment!
Oh and I almost forgot, yes I’ve seen a fluid bed sluice and I actually have one but I’ve never been able to get it to work properly. It always seems like there’s not enough pressure to keep the fluid bed fluidized this making the trap fill and the gold rolls right out. So basically I just never use it. The idea is cool though, just not sure I trust it, especially with the fluid bed not being pressurized… it’s just the water running pressure which is basically nothing and not being forced at all when it comes out the nozzle.
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser I get that classifying is the strenuous part, which is why rotating back and forth with the lip of the bottom bucket supporting the weight would be better than pulling the entire weight of a bucket of material up and down, while still allowing you to wash the gravels better.
As for the wand, I have my doubts but if you do use it you should probably keep the main inlet at the bottom to help loosen the material but I don't actually see that being any better than just rotating the top bucket. Don't know how big the gold grows in your area but you might also think about reducing the size of the holes in the top bucket.
IMO, the biggest obstacle to the 2-in1 idea is that a concentrator usually has an outlet for the lighter material to flow out and if it is just a hole a few inches from the bottom of the concentrator bucket then the classification part has no water. Maybe a simple valve could solve that? Closed when classifying, turn off the air and take out the top bucket and dump the bigger material then open the valve and let material above the valve drain out with the water remaining in the top section. Close the valve and rinse and repeat for as long as your back can take it. In theory the gold will be in the bottom 1/8" of the concentrator.
Jet dry dawn
Based on your numbers, you're losing 25% of your gold. I'm not sure I'd call that a huge success. I think you'd be better off building a similar contraption that uses air to agitate your material rather than air to blow through. Air blowing through causes turbulence that the gold can stick to and float back out of the bottom of the bucket. Keep on experimenting! I love the innovation.
Thanks Donorcyclist and I completely agree that it’s not a huge success. But it’s slowly getting there.
This started out as just a fun experiment and I know it’s impractical, but many have said to keep going and trying.
I think this could really help if there was little to no water available where you want to prospect. You could do this for a while, gather a bunch of cons and then run it at home or what have you. Next im going to apply some user suggestions because they are smarter than me and want to help make it work.
I’d love to get rid of the air altogether, but I legally can’t use a water pump here which forces me to use air.
Thanks again for the positive feedback and we’ll see what happens. In the end, if it doesn’t work, I’ll just run it over with my truck! Thanks again
I’m currently working on a Fluid Bed Concentrator of a completely different concept. Challenging.
That’s awesome! And thanks for commenting and supporting the channel. I really appreciate it and good luck to you. These are fun little things to work on for sure!
try running less air pressure, liquify versus boil
You got it Eric! I’m working on the third and final test. It’s gonna be good :)
The second bucket is completely unnecessary. Just get a basket style classifier and classify the material into the water-filled first bucket. If anything, you could devise some sort of catchment device that could be inserted into the first bucket, so that when you turn on the air, only the material that rises to very near the water surface, is captured by the catchment device. Then discard that material and repeat. This process would get rid of much of the heavies and speed up the whole process.
I like where your head is at Andrew and I’ll be sure to give this a go! Thanks for the feedback. I plan on doing another test video where viewer suggestions are put to the test! Should be a good one. I’ll see you then my friend :)
👀🤠👍🏽🤙🏽
Let’s go brother!
Maybe try use your set up hooked to a water pump rather than an air pump
I completely agree with that statement. I just can’t because of these stupid rules here… I even think my air compressor is “illegal” but I said the heck with it and did it anyway. Having said that though…. I think that would work way better and be a lot more practical. So yea, I dunno.
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser Do You have a Link to those Stupid Rules ?
@goldsluicetinkerer let me know if this works…
wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02150
@goldsluicetinkerer page 12-17 basically. America… land of the free… yea right, not with the crap.
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser yup - works fine - thank you
how to make it portable ???..peace
That's the thing moustache Mike? Maybe a battery powered one? I know it's basically impractical but I was just experimenting around and trying to make classifying easier. Yea classifying isn't hard, but after a few buckets, I'm pretty much over it. I'm still playing with this design and a lot of people have me some advice, so once it's "perfected" I'll post another updated video. I still think it has promise. We'll just have to see. Thanks for commenting and the support! I really appreciate it!
So this system does not use any form of hydraulics interesting
Leave the air running.
Stick the classifier on top of the second bucket and get rid of the bigger rocks.
It took millions of years for Gold thats in the rivers to concentrate into the areas its found. 10 seconds of air is a joke. Keep it fed and the air on until the water runs clean
Hey Don’t Ask! Thanks for commenting and stopping by! I like the air running constantly idea. My little compressor wouldn’t keep up with that though, so I have to turn it on and off. I am going to make an atomizer wand that I can stick down there and help stratify it more. It should work.
And i agree 10 seconds isn’t a long enough time but my overall goal is to be able to stratify a whole bucket worth of material to a concentrate in the bottom bucket in 30 seconds or so. I think that would be pretty cool and worth another go at this.
Thanks again… this is for fun but I’m still learning something. I’ll catch you on the next one and I hope you have a great weekend! Heavy pans!
@@StoneyCreekSparkchaser
Have a safe weekend.
@dontask8979 you too my friend!
Suggestion: Fill Your Orange Classifier Bucket with Water. Place 1/4” Classifier on there and you won’t have boulders interfering with the Mixing Action.
Hey, I had others suggest that as well. I’m going to do a third video here in the next few weeks with other users suggestions. Should be fun :)