prospecting gold with homemade solar powered trommel

There's gold in them thar hills!
It's crude, but works good. built with hand tools and mostly discarded / scrap items. Free power for the water pump and barrel drive motor.

[@RLZerr]

I don't have any drawings, many of the parts are unique one of a kind. the main rack is a reel cart, highly modified. The barrel is made from 2 5 gallon steel pails with stainless steel expanded metal screen brazed inside and 5 gallon plastic bucket liners. The barrel drive is a 12v motor and gearbox from a Power Wheels kids 4x4. Water pump is electric 5100gph 120vac submersible waterfall pump. It draws about 300watts depending on flow and head. Solar is 380 watts with pure sine inverter.

[@SteveaHicks]

Was I ever surprised to see a solar powered wash plant, I thought mine was the only one. I sure would like to see a few more details such as type of motor, current draw when running, gear reduction, voltage , and if you are running a DC powered pump. Looks like you did a great job, thanks for posting.

[@RLZerr]

The barrel drive motor is 12 volt DC with gear box, salvaged from a kids Power Wheels battery powered ATV. The speed is controlled with a PWM unit mounted on top of the trommel. Even when loading up the trommel with gravel the motor and PWM draws very little power. Maybe 20-25 watts max. The water pump is 5000 gph 115v AC with 1-1/2" layflat hose. 12 volt DC pump not practical. It would eliminate the need for, and losses of the inverter. But a suitable power conductor at 50+ ft for such a high current draw at 12 volts would be big, heavy copper cable, costly. Even at 115 volts notice significant loss with 14 gauge extension cord compared to 12 gauge that I now will always use. The pump would draw 300-350 watts using a modified sine wave inverter, so I switched to a pure sine inverter which improved pump efficiency to 275-325 watts depending on head. Not 100% positive of accuracy in the meter readings as I've not yet learned if the Kill-A-Watt meter readings differ between modified and pure sine wave. About 30 watts power loss in the inverter with this load. The portable solar unit on wheels is built from an industrial poly bin, lots of plastic welding, wheels salvaged from the kids ATV. This contains a 30A charge controller, inverter, and a single 100ah deep cycle battery with a 40 watt panel hinged on top. 4 other panels set up nearby and plug in for a total of 380 watts rated. Maximum measured input on a sunny cold day has been 22.3 amps which calculates just over 300 watts. This is almost a perfect balance for the trommel and pump and can run all day in full sun. Shut down and any power drawn off the battery is quickly replaced. If cloudy or dark, cant run more than a couple hours. It's a gamble running portable solar so have to have a backup.

[@rhystowse]

Hi Randolph, I'm a producer at RAW TV, we're the producers of Gold Rush and all of its spin off shows. Whats the best way of contacting you?

[@zing913945]

That is so awesome!!!! It's just the thing for getting way off the grid and eliminating the need for a gas powered generator or water pump. There are times when it would be great to get away from the crowd and be able to quietly prospect. I like having several options available and this is a good one to add to the tool bag!!!!! Nice Work

[@RLZerr]

you have to love solar power to make this practical, because it's not :) Lugging around 200 lbs extra weight of solar panels, heavy lead battery and components, setting it all up in a place you can reach the pump with your cables, tracking the sun, not breaking the glass panels, and actually getting enough sun to run is something you will always have to deal with. But yes, no gas, no fumes, no oil, only noise is the water blasting away, rocks tumbling, the whine of the gearbox, and cursing the clouds. It takes a lot of electricity to equal the power of a small gas engine.

[@SteveaHicks]

RLZerr Solar power can be practical, especially for intermittent sampling. I power a 450 pound Denver Gold Saver trommel with a 1 HP 24 volt motor. The Gold saver only needs 5 gallons per minute, that is supplied with a 1/4 HP 24 volt motor. When both are running, I'm pulling 40 amps. On a sunny day, my 160 watts of solar panels will keep the batteries up. The dependability of my DC motors sure beats messing with gas engines.

[@PlayerCokeHero]

well many thoughts first off what state or area are you in and how much dirt did you move? and how long did you work to get that if you worked 8 hours for just that you could expect more

[@greatbasingoldrush]

Cool

[@rodneydolman1]

Neat tromel .. Did it survive ? Did it pay?.

[@RLZerr]

Thanks, it hasn't been used in 3 years last time in Idaho. video shown in Alabama, went across the country and currently now in storage in Nevada ready for action except there's very little water here.

[@sitealive]

Love your setup but would you be willing to share your design with me?

[@willissimpson7888]

Did you use Gold Hog mat?

[@RLZerr]

yes

[@romeliapolly2520]

I made it myself thanks to INPLIX website