DIY Fluid Bed Sluice Box Magnetic Gold Trap Experiment

I turned my sluice box into a fluid bed magnetic gold trap. I put the fluid bed at the top of the sluice box then added four 95 pound pull magnets to trap the black sand and gold. I can't wait to give this a try when I am out gold prospecting as soon as the snow melts.

[@Wyrm1701]

One trick here is to use to fluid bed to get rid of the lighter material, and use magnets to hang onto the magnetite a little further on. Done like that, the magnetite acts like a semi-fluid riffle material which allows gold to settle out, but not anything denser than the magnetite. What you end up with at the end of the run is a mixture of magnetite and gold; you need a clean-up stage like a blue bowl to separate those two, but the bonus is that such a method even catches micro-gold.

[@wayneroberson3069]

Thanks for all the great ideas Allan.Many of us depend on less expensive equipment and you provide ways to keep the cost down.

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks Wayne I am glad you find some of my ideas useful. Good luck to you this year. Thanks for watching.

[@bobcansee]

That works pretty good Alan. First fluid bed Ive seen like that. Leave it up to you to come up with things and ideas. I love watching you come up with something new to invigorate my mind. Thanks Alan!

[@davidvilla3243]

Allan try cutting down your stop fence to cut out the build up of tailings,the gold and gems should stay put in your first chamber.Idea is great ,keep up the great job you are going after and you will get it.

[@alanrobertson2510]

Hi David this was a fun experiment and it worked OK. I think I am done with the fluid bed for now they are hard to run with a recirculating setup.

[@hackdaddie5676]

Nice design Alan! Really like the liquid bed and idea to try to segregate the black sand out before it makes its way through the rifles. :)

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thank you this thing worked pretty well.

[@jimfausset8122]

Great to see you again Volvo at the end of the season hope all is well hope your health is well can't wait to see the next one

[@michaelzapp5011]

Love the idea of the fluid bed up front and magnets underneath... should increase the efficiency of the sluice box considerably. Great job!!

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thank you Michael, It needs some fine tuning that's for sure.

[@303prospecting7]

There's nothing wrong with experimenting with your equipment love it keep it up.

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks David I had a lot of fun trying different ideas that I had this spring. Thanks for watching.

[@billy56081]

You make some really neat videos. Great entertainment while I am still frozen in in Minnesota.

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks Billy Man I hope spring gets here soon it's been a long hard winter for a lot of people this year stay warm and thanks for watching.

[@fsbirdhouse]

Alan, I'm adding a 12 volt tumbler vibrator similar to those demonstrated as DIY on videos and a motor speed control to bring agitation down to only moving the black sands that have a specific gravity of around 6 vs gold at 19.3 and just a 'trickle' of water to aid that difference of specific gravity in moving the sands. Also, try putting a washer on a digital scale and lowering your magnet very slowly over the washer. Just as a test of the following concept. The recorded weight of the washer will decrease dramatically long before the magnet captures the washer, theoretically to 'almost' zero weight before the magnet captures the washer, and it will do the same with the magnetite sands. The combination of the vibrator and magnets mounted over the sluice box plus a tiny bit of water at a far less grade of box will move both hematite and magnetite if all is balanced to that end. You may need to mount magnets atop sheet magnets to provide additional lift of magnetite unbroken down length of the box. Be sure all mount high enough to NOT catch black sands, but only provide the lift required for the low flow of the water, AND the vibration to move those sands. Decrease of both water flow and grade of box to catch the fines is my target.

[@bashkillszombies]

It's a boiler box, we've been using them for nearly a century. And this guy got it right, the boiler box rides up front.

[@ProspectorJohn101]

Looks good but I think to make it clear out the light material better you want a current running across the top yours is only blowing material around and some is moving out very slowly. Even a 10 inch run of water up to the field would help move the material better.

[@hackdaddie5676]

One tip on the water supply that I've used that's helped me because the water going down the sluice looks pretty muddy....I got one of those heavy duty storage bins, my sluice folds out and hangs off the edge. I added a material screen using plexiglass to segregate the sluice water from the section the pump pulls from (think of it like a settling pond). It was like instaclear water. Another thing I'd recommend is actually from my homebrewing setup (it's funny how much useful equipment can be used for both beer making and gold mining, lol). Anyways, the sluice, beer pump, and hoses all fold into the storage bin for easy storage whenever I'm not using it. I've got a ball valve at the bottom of the bin that controls the water supply. For hoses, I've got flexible silicone hoses w/ quick connects that make setup a breeze :) I'm working on some videos that shows everything, so give me a return subscribe! They should be posted soon :) If you have any ideas for rifle designs you'd care to share, I'm all ears. I've got a 3D printer and I can print 6" wide sluice inserts w/ various rifles. Best of luck finding the motherload!

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks for the tips and I will have to check out your channel. If you have a printer you can do like I do and print the molds and then make the mats silicone that the gold will stick to.

[@utahavalanch]

Good Video. That's the best place to put a fluid bed as the finer gold is the lighter material that gets dumped and you have the mat below to catch it. A new sluice I'm working with is kind of the same way, you can use the main water well as a fluid bed and the mat is below it to catch the fine gold that gets blown out. It will be interesting to see how this works out in the field.

[@alanrobertson2510]

It will be interesting to see how it works out in the hills and see if I can keep the holes from plugging up. I wish all of this snow would melt good luck on your build.

[@jimfausset8122]

Doc with gold hog has a similar idea but not really nothing to do with a sluice. a great idea the whole thing is awesome looks like it should work well. You need to classify get the big rocks out of there everything else comes out of the box accept the gold magnets are a good at dishing great idea

[@charlesjohnson6426]

I’m wondering about a similar design, but using something like some Magic Bits instead of stationary magnets. In the resulting slurry, the magnetic sand would be trapped, but moving as the Magic Bits rotated, allowing the gold to flow through to be caught in the sluice riffles.

[@alanrobertson2510]

I think that is a good idea. Good luck with your project.

[@aliennash6231]

good fishing man congratulations you are good teacher

[@geoffc1694]

Very nice experiment thankyou for sharing Im looking through concepts of magnetic fluid beds right now, going to add one to my goldcube. I never thought of one quite like yours, it would be easy for me to do one at the start of my cube, rather than fit it on the end. The flow rates convenient too. I run about 1100gph

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks that would be interesting to see a fluid bed on a gold cube. Good luck on your build and thanks for watching.

[@invictusfarmer7188]

this is genius. at the very least its a gold trap with a sluice catch lol. how did it run in the field?

[@pnwprospecting]

That’s pretty cool! Nice experiment!!

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks that was a fun project.

[@lynnreem8900]

Great video, very informative

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thank you Lynn, I need to do some fine tuning but I sure like the way it's starting out.

[@rastamanralph6670]

I would try having 3 pipes going into the box with the splitter on the outside.that's what the river one's are like.I think the holes are pointing down also,not sure! I'm thinking of making one too!

[@alanrobertson2510]

I agree with you having three tubes with the manifold on the outside should work a lot better. I think that i am going to try the holes out to the side and see what happens good luck with your build can't wait to see it.

[@djpitr]

Cool project

[@alanrobertson2510]

Thanks for watching It was a fun way to spend some time waiting for spring.

[@ericluscombe3272]

hey been awhile hope are good now that gold season is among us. curious over time how do u like this 1 did it work okay or not really

[@RAPTURE5770]

Alan nice video... QUESTION do u have a drawing of the fluid bed you built... hard to figure out the construction by just watching the video...

[@alanrobertson2510]

Sorry I don't even have it anymore. Just playing around. Merry Christmas.

[@bobgontarek6207]

Good video, yes i can see a few tweeks also that it could use. BTW, Home Depot sells sand with gold and gems? What was the sand you have there called?

[@alanrobertson2510]

I have no idea what sand that was it was a few years ago.

[@johnruckman2320]

I was thinking of putting some of those hardware store bar magnets near the bottom of my sluice box. What do you think?

[@alanrobertson2510]

You never know. I say give it a try.

[@kevinerickson2595]

105 I use a clean gold sluice. Similar to what your doing. I have seen people use long magnets in various areas of sluice box. We're I prospect there's so much black sand I found clean gold dosnt load up on me.

[@watermain48]

Great project. Some lead shot might be a good test instead of risking your gold...thanks for sharing it.

[@alanrobertson2510]

That's not a bad idea with the lead shot. We just got home from busting bed rock all day I should have the video up in a day or two. Thanks for watching.

[@xenaguy01]

He's not _"risking [his] gold."_ The tailings are all going into a catch bucket, and he can always pan through that later.

[@spartanchirho]

If only you had weighed the gold, garnet, and sapphires before so could compare to what you sluiced out.

[@alanrobertson2510]

This was so long ago I don't remember what I put in there.

[@billcoley8520]

Bravo. You actually use your brain. Now maybe you’ll try this idea of mine which will help you find any gold you might have located, it will also save you from toting a trommel to the creek... HERE GOES TAKE A 5 GALLON BUCKET AND FIX A WATER HOSE I DUNNO 6 INCHES FROM THE BOTTOM. TURN THE WATER PRESSURE UP ENOUGH TO WHERE THE WATER BOILS / ROLLS IN THE BUCKET.. THE SAND, THE DIRT, THE ROOTS, THE ROCKS UP TO A CERTAIN SIZE WILL ROLL RIGHT OUT THE TOP OF THE BUCKET LEAVING THE HEAVIES IN THE BOTTOM. SO FAR YOU ARE AGREEING, YOU HAVE TO BE NOW WHEN YOUR DONE WITH YOUR DIRT LET IT ROLL SOME MORE , BUT PLACE YOUR BUCKET ON MAGNETS THAT YOU HAVE PLACED IN ANOTHER 5 GALLON BUCKET SO THEY DONE LOOSE CONTACT WITH YOUR BLACK SAND... AND POOR THE GOLD OUT. LET ME KNOW HOW IT PANS OUT

[@alanrobertson2510]

That sounds like a fun experiment to try. I think it would work for the most part I don't know about pouring out the gold I think it would just get hung up in the black sand for the most part. I do think it would be fun to try and see how much of the gold could be caught in the bucket. Thanks for the idea.

[@said.skopal]

sir Alan,did you try this idea?

[@Goldwaschen-mit-Tom]

I am flat. great ideas. What for the winter.Greetings Goldjunge Tom

[@alanrobertson2510]

Hello Tom Well for the winter I still want to make a miller table and probable run some dirt in my ice house.

[@bryanisensee2867]

A 2,000 gallon a hour pump. “Trust me”

[@longnamenocansayy]

i want to see someone use the anti magnetic properties of gold combined with the magnetic properties of black sand. as as now, the fine gold is being held in place by the black sand. you could do the same thing by dragging a big magnetic thru the sand. one particular you tube video shows someone doing that, and it saves him time and effort. if you attracted the black sand with a magnet, and repelled the gold with the same magnet, you would have a pretty good system.

[@alanrobertson2510]

I would like to see that to. Thanks for watching.

[@Chuckmbfl]

Gold is not “repelled” by a magnet.

[@kevinerickson2595]

Has it been two years already

[@alanrobertson2510]

It has. Almost forgot about this one.

[@garyconway1073]

Here is a idea for you , maybe good maybe not. Instead of magnets on the bottom, why not on the top to keep the black sand in the water flow longer.

[@alanrobertson2510]

Hi Gary honestly I am not sure on how that would work I did try to use the magnets on top one time to pull the black sand out of the water flow and the black sand would not break the water surface at all. Thanks for the input.

[@jasonsparks818]

More flow

[@s.a2094]

Hacı bu sistem iyi olmamış

[@halmatosman6977]

Hi

[@alanrobertson2510]

Hello