Gold Rat Highbanker Modifications

Some simple modifications I made to my 12 inch Gold Rat Highbanker.
- Clay Claw
- Spray Bar (1.5" Plumbing)
- Crash Pad
- Bubble and turbulence reducing flap
- Big Rock as a reverse riffle
All these work very well and have vastly increased my Gold capture results.
Thanks are given to particular people at the end of the video.
You can see me using this highbanker in terribly muddy conditions here: • My Gold Rat 12 inch Hi...
Cheers,
Ken

[@Doc314]

G'day Ken. I know I've missed heaps of fines while sluicing in a little creek off the beaten track. Gritty blue clay, like glue with small gold in it that would just roll out the sluice in little balls....even after some intensive classifying. I've just purchased the 12" Gold Rat because of your video, I am confident after doing your modifications my return will be much higher. Your a legend mate ! There's already folks out there posting you-tube videos claiming the mods as there own. Thanks again and happy hunting brother

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thank you Paul. You will really enjoy using the Gold Rat. I believe whoever designs a modification deserves the credit. That's why I credit them at the end as they deserve it. I just pass along their ideas 😆👍

[@chewyfingers1288]

That’s a tight set up you have. 👍

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Chewy 😄

[@haroldishoy2113]

Good show and a good kit. The Clay Claw would have some good use in certain areas. Heavy pans!

[@2Qwk2C]

You're a legend! I was thinking something was missing from the Gold Rat mini Hi-Banker. You've put it all together for me. Great vid and many thanks. Regards :)

[@Ken_James_SV]

Glad to help. I got my ideas from others. I'm just passing them along 👍

[@2Qwk2C]

@@Ken_James_SV Thank you for sharing :)

[@DunkyandtheRav3n]

Ken that Highbanker set up is the best ive ever seen! That claw in the hopper keeps the rock and clay tumbling about until it breaks down. Then when it drops through onto the crashpad you have that miners moss to catch anything (boosted by the pooling from the secret weapon big rock). The rubber mat overlay keeps the water running smoothly and bubble free for maximum capture. Those are some well thought out modifications to a beast of a highbanker :)

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks heaps. Hopefully both of you will join me one day and see it in action or even use it for the day 👍 You aren't far from me.

[@DunkyandtheRav3n]

@@Ken_James_SV that would be awesome! Can't wait for this quarantine to lift... We watched a heap of your videos today and loved them. We really liked the rocker video with the bloopers at the end. It's good to know im not the only bloke who throws his gold out of the pan then falls in a hole. I had cleaned up a bunch of gold then forgot it was in there and threw it out. Then a minute later I ripped a hole in my pants 🤣

[@Ken_James_SV]

@@DunkyandtheRav3n 😄 glad you enjoyed them.

[@realaussiemale567]

You’ve covered every possibility for trapping as much gold as u can, whilst making the Highbanker run very efficiently.

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Ross. I don't want any fine Gold slipping out the front, so I've made sure I trap as much as possible 😄 It seems to work well 👍

[@dfox3076]

Way too slow for that rig

[@mohammednovalija]

Looks like what you pretty much have done is taken some good ideas from the Gold Hog and fitted them to the Gold rat. Love the punch plate idea - grizzly bars tend to block up causing water to back up and are also harder to clean.

[@Ken_James_SV]

Yes Mohammed, I took ideas from a few sources and mention them in the credits at the end of the video. I believe anyone copying other people's ideas should give credit to that person. Some don't. I totally agree that the Grizzly bars were a pain! The punch plate clears easily and hasn't blocked up on me yet. The bars always blocked up.

[@mohammednovalija]

@@Ken_James_SV Wonderful belief - may that God bless you even further , and your family.

[@AppalachianProspect]

Sure is a lot of clay in that material mate, I like your high banker set up, I really like how your water bars are set up and I like how the damper sits on the same bar that the box sits on.

[@highcountryoutdoors4929]

Love the setup mate, ive done very similar on my gold rat 12". I like the crash pad and mat hanging down. It would help stop any bubbles that mine seems to struggle with. Thanks for sharing your tips!

[@Ken_James_SV]

Cheers Westy. I find the crash pad essential. It collects what the top mat misses so well that often I run without the Dream Mat. I did it that way again today actually and I also made sure I collected everything that went over the front and at the end of the day there were only 2 fly specks in the tub! That shows that the top mat and crash pad collect ALL the gold. I don't use a rock any more as my reverse riffle though, I made an aluminium reverse riffle which bolts on where the Dream Mat usually does. Works a charm. Cheers, Ken.

[@benjarvie1072]

@@Ken_James_SV Hey mate any chance of seeing the reverse riffle you have put in the unit now? im doing some final tweaks to a trommel/banker build running 8 inch dream mat.. love the build mate.

[@PetesGoldAdventures]

Hi Ken, The highbanker is working well, looks like if Jacob changes the angle it will flow better, all come with experience I guess. Subbed to your channel, I'll keep an eye out for your next video. Cheers, Pete

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Pete, I appreciate your input 👍

[@loganmcginn8368]

Love the sluice buddy, building mine right know and im modeling it verry simillar to yours,cheers🍻

[@goldluckvictoriaadventures7508]

Sweet set up bro.. love the spray bars😆

[@Ken_James_SV]

LOL! thanks for the idea 👍 I hope you noticed I gave you credit at the end of the Video 😄

[@dynomania]

Great mods mate that's a really interesting recovery record in the upper area's. Just goes to show you really don't need highly a sophisticated riffle box to catch the gold.

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks David. It's great for sampling. Throw in about 10 shovels of material and check the top mat. Nothing there, shovel from another spot. It's like doing about 5 test pans in one hit 👍

[@dynomania]

@@Ken_James_SV Awesome, I wish we had some gold creeks in the Midwest :)

[@CandSMINING]

Thanks for sharing this video. I believe some of these changes will apply to mine.👍👍👌

[@Ken_James_SV]

Glad to help 👍

[@xenaguy01]

Watching on my phone, I kept moving my fingers off the screen til I figured out they were yours. 😂🤣😅

[@Ken_James_SV]

That's funny 😂 Thanks for watching 👍

[@xenaguy01]

@@Ken_James_SV Funny, yes. But I actually *_did!_* 🤣😂

[@RedmanOutdoors366]

Nice Mat Nice Modifications Runs Good Bro Way Cool Great looking Gold Wow 💯🔥😎👍🦅⛏️🇺🇸

[@Ken_James_SV]

Cheers Redman, thanks.

[@christophermartin2031]

Excellent modification.

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Christopher. They really improve the capture rate.

[@mickelwoodman738]

Looks great!! Got a few ideas from you, thanks for a great vid

[@Ken_James_SV]

Happy to help mickel. Just passing on ideas that others have shown me over time 👍

[@reidogarimpo1691]

WOW ! Send a Highbanker for me mate! Rei do garimpo from Brazil!

[@arniebowie2572]

Good stuff man good luck this season!!

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Arnie. Had a good day yesterday. Going out again next week if this heatwave has finished by then.

[@arniebowie2572]

Send some of that heat this way!! got some serious snow to melt.....lol

[@Gippslandgolddigga]

Great video mate well explained mods👍🏻 in my next video you’ll see mine in action we ran for 2 hours and only got a few specks in the dream mat but 2 of us on shovels just throwing material at it💪 it handled the load no worries. Cheers Steve

[@Ken_James_SV]

Cool Steve, I've only run mine with two of us shovelling into it on two occasions and it easily ate the material. I normally do it by myself. I run mine every week, sometimes a couple of times a week, and I rarely ever get anything in the Dream mat so I am going to leave it at home. But I will still check to see if I am losing any gold out the front. I've subbed so I will see when you run yours again 👍

[@aussiedadto6kids815]

great vid u have it set up well💪👍

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks. All trial and error to get it just right 👍

[@aussiedadto6kids815]

@@Ken_James_SV that's it mate takes a little bit to get them running the way you want👍

[@emmakrause1049]

doing a good job & like this

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thank you Emma

[@BacGold]

Muito bom bonito de mais 💯👏👏🤝👍

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thank you 😃

[@dustinmcmurray488]

great video mate :) love it

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Dustin 😃 As you can see your highbanker is doing its job wonderfully 👍 Cheers, Ken

[@mohammednovalija]

@@Ken_James_SV In fact it is hardly his highbanker any more. You have done so many modifications to it that the only recognizable part is the sticker.

[@juliepaquette2024]

Nice setup but your feed rate is way way too slow. You should be using shovels not scoops

[@sari6929]

Great job sir.The only thing i wanted to know what should be the length of frontal legs(smaller) from the ground????and similar the back legs length near crash????i guess proper slope plays a huge role capturing gold.similarly tell me what should be the length of legs of the feeding box???from the ground

[@Ken_James_SV]

Hi Sarwar, the legs can be any length you want. They are adjustable so you can set the sluice at your desired angle on sloping or flat ground. Many people set their sluice angle around 9 - 12 degrees, but I like mine at about 5 degrees. The top box angle depends on what you are feeding into it. Clay soils need a lower angle on the top box to give the clay material more time to break down. Sandy or gravelly material can be at a steep angle to clear the top box faster. The leg lengths don't really matter. I've seen people sit the unit on sloping ground with no legs.

[@sari6929]

@@Ken_James_SV appreciated sir,may be you have a sluice angle setter digital apparatus??? I don't have .therefore setting your sluice at 5 degree kindly measure for me both the frontal and legs near near the crash from the ground. These measurements will determine my 5 degree slope.

[@Ken_James_SV]

@@sari6929 I use a levelling App on my phone. 😅

[@sari6929]

@@Ken_James_SV 😂😂ok sir

[@mohammednovalija]

So 20% of your gold is caught in the crash pad , with a Big Rock asisting. How many percent is caught in the crash pad without the Big Rock ? I would have thought that any gold not caught by the assistance of the Big Rock would surely be caught in the dream mat

[@Ken_James_SV]

- A reverse riffle is a well tried and tested method of allowing superfine gold to fall into the crash pad mat rather than be washed away in the water flow. Even the Dream mate doesn't catch all the superfine gold. Some of it floats out with the heavy water flow needed to make a Dream mate work at its best. By slowing the water to almost a stop at the crash pad allows it all to drop into the mat. Some days I don't even use the Dream mat and I've tested many times for losses and there are none. But the Dream mat does do its job for people that don't use other pre-mats. But for best results, it's good to run all of them. I don't use a rock any more, I made a proper aluminium Reverse riffle.

[@mohammednovalija]

@@Ken_James_SV Any danger of perhaps putting some film of your more professional backward riffle in a future tape ?

[@Ken_James_SV]

@@mohammednovalija Yes, I can do that. Hopefully I will make another video soon 👍

[@rastamanralph6670]

Areet man.I love that high banker! How much do they cost? Ps I always put my fingers in front of the camera too😂👍

[@Ken_James_SV]

Cheers Ralph 🙂 The prices are on Dustin's website: highbanker.com.au/collections/pioneer-highbanker-series 👍

[@Famo59]

Hi Mate. I have subscribed to your channel.. Number 490.. Let your subscribers keep growing strong 💪 Cheers Famo59.👍🤓🍺⛏

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Tony, cheers mate. Keep ya Coil to the Soil and ya Sluice in the Juice 😄 See you out there one day. 👍 Cheers, Ken.

[@myplace357]

Hey Ken good job are the good for working at home

[@Ken_James_SV]

Thanks Glenn. Back out bush again now but with a Minelab GPX6000. All Highbanking is done at home.

[@Blazinupytb]

Hi mate where do I get the clay breaker from for the box cheers

[@Ken_James_SV]

You have to make it yourself, or get someone with a welder to make it for you. They aren't commercially available.

[@Blazinupytb]

@@Ken_James_SV too easy I’m happy to weld it. What flat steel Do I need and bars like urs

[@Ken_James_SV]

@@Blazinupytb - I used 20mm x 3mm flat mild steel for the frame and 1/4 inch mild steel round for the bars. To get the shape right I made a cardboard mock-up of the frame first, and when I was happy with the shape I bent the flat steel bar to match. Good luck with it 👍

[@Blazinupytb]

@@Ken_James_SV thanks mate

[@TheAustinn17]

Hey mate where did you get the clay claw from?

[@Ken_James_SV]

I made up a mock up of exactly what I wanted and had a friend weld it up for me. To get the correct shaped mock up I used a 1 inch wide strip of thin Galvanised tin and just bent it to shape. I hope that helps.

[@cr62silvermore60]

Thanks for sharing. CR

[@TheAustinn17]

Ill subscribe if you make a video on how to make the clay claw :)

[@MakkaTomPakka]

Found that video you were talking about this morning, looks as though it works a treat. Was great catching up and having a chat, Cheers Tom.