OldSalt 1 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Gents, Ventured out this weekend with my new drywasher and the first time I used one. I had a good time and recovered a happy amount of gold; however, I forgot to pack my dust mask. Anyway, I think I am going to classify next time instead of shoveling directly into the unit. I know shoveling directly into the unit is fun, but I think I will recover more gold by classifying first. I did not run my header pile through twice, and I don’t think I will need to if I classify, unless of course the ground is damp. I ran into some clay down by the caliche and just bypassed it. Maybe I will look at it at a later date.Can’t wait to go back out again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
homefire 2,581 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 You haven't lived until you ran a pile of dry Clay through a dry washer! people can see the cloud for miles. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,139 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Congrats Old Salt! Still hav'nt got much of a chance to use my drywasher i bought from Frank C. I dried some dirt out on the woodstove just to play with it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campbell954 18 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 It was a beautiful weekend for drywashing!!! I was out Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Had the sleeping cot set up in the back of the truck and slept under the stars.I stack a 1/2“ classifier on a 1/4“ classifier. I toss the +1/2“ and make a nice little pile of the -1/2“. I run the GB II over the -1/2“ at the end of the day. The -1/4“ goes through the drywasher. My dirt was a little moist, so I ran the drywasher (Keene 151) tailings into a plastic cat litter box. I then dumped the litter box back into Homer buckets and ran everything a second time. First time I had done things this way and it worked great, without much fuss.- Joe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OldSalt 1 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Joe, Please explain the litter box method you mentioned. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campbell954 18 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 OldSalt,The litter box just makes for an easy container to catch the tailings as they run off the drywasher.As you know, the Keene 151 pulls its air from around the motor, which warms it. This really helps to dry out the moisture in the material being run. My dirt is dark (moist, but not wet) as it first enters the riffle tray, but lightens in color as it moves towards the end of the box - as it dries. But it was still clumping up a little when I grabbed a handful of the tailing and squeezed them in my hand. So, I am simply using the litter box as an easy way to catch these tailings as they run off the riffle tray. I dump the litter box back into a 5 gallon bucket as the litter box fills. I do this until I have run all the material through one time. I also place a small rock on top of the dirt in these buckets to mark them so I know which have already been run once. I then do my second run. There is more dust in the air on this second run (drier dirt) and little, to no clumping, when I squeeze a handful of the tailings.This last weekend was the first time I had tried this. Running twice worked so well that I am confident I can work a couple spots that I had been avoiding due to even moister dirt. I know that I am not re-inventing the wheel here, there has been a lot of good advice in regards to running twice – I just found the litter box an easy way to catch these tailings. It also makes for a great container to dump the riffle tray into at clean-up time.I hope this helps,-Joe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hcc 0 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 OldSalt,The litter box just makes for an easy container to catch the tailings as they run off the drywasher.As you know, the Keene 151 pulls its air from around the motor, which warms it. This really helps to dry out the moisture in the material being run. My dirt is dark (moist, but not wet) as it first enters the riffle tray, but lightens in color as it moves towards the end of the box - as it dries. But it was still clumping up a little when I grabbed a handful of the tailing and squeezed them in my hand. So, I am simply using the litter box as an easy way to catch these tailings as they run off the riffle tray. I dump the litter box back into a 5 gallon bucket as the litter box fills. I do this until I have run all the material through one time. I also place a small rock on top of the dirt in these buckets to mark them so I know which have already been run once. I then do my second run. There is more dust in the air on this second run (drier dirt) and little, to no clumping, when I squeeze a handful of the tailings.This last weekend was the first time I had tried this. Running twice worked so well that I am confident I can work a couple spots that I had been avoiding due to even moister dirt. I know that I am not re-inventing the wheel here, there has been a lot of good advice in regards to running twice – I just found the litter box an easy way to catch these tailings. It also makes for a great container to dump the riffle tray into at clean-up time.I hope this helps,-JoeCould you post a picture of your dry washer or point me to a forum topic describing how they work? Thanks!HCC Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campbell954 18 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 HCC,I found this clip of the 151 on Youtube. When you open this up and you are on the Youtube site - look at the clips listed to the right and you will find several more. -Joe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Gilmore 6 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 do not classify...just buy some screen and shovel through the screen.wrap the screen over the hopper.The more material you shovel the more gold you find. wasting time screening by hand will reduce the total amount you can shovel. I have tried it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OldSalt 1 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Joe, sounds like we need to make somehting that removes moisture from dirt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OldSalt 1 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Jim, Interesting concept. You just shovel directly into the hopper and do not run twice? Do you still recover very fine gold? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Gilmore 6 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 do shovel twice....but the time taken to classify is a lot slower than shoveling straight even twice through a screen.do not forget to scan yur tailings for bigger stuff that has not gone into the tray. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campbell954 18 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Yep, that would be great OldSalt. You invent it and I will buy it. Untill then, I will be out of the drywashing business for a while. That storm we got last weekend got things pretty wet. Time to start getting the highbanker and dredge ready for water!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Gilmore 6 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 find a cheap black tarp and spread it out and throw your dirt on it to dry first. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OldSalt 1 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 I am heading back out on the 8th/Sat and hope the dirt will be dry enough. Will bring my little falcon as a back up plan. I typically do not have time to place dirt onto tarp and wait for it to dry. Probably be ok if I was camping out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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