Sluice Boxes

If you have ever watched a program such as Gold Rush, then you will have heard about sluice boxes. This may make you inadvertently believe that they will involve large pieces of equipment and an even larger bank balance, but that’s not the case.

Instead, a sluice box can vary in size quite considerably. That being said, there are various components that you need to be aware of before you go ahead and invest in a brand new sluice box for gold prospecting.

How a Sluice Box Operates

The structure of a sluice box is simple and yet highly effective. The basic idea for gold sluice boxes is that it consists of a straight channel with slow spots at specific intervals. These slow spots are made by riffles, which then create a backflow of water. This, in turn, allows for any gold to drop and settle allowing you to extract the gold from the original material.

However, you need to consider the water flow. If there is too much water, the gold will be carried higher up in suspension, so it will effectively be swept away and not separated. If there is too little water, not only will the gold drop down too fast, but so will a lot of lighter material. This will block those slow spots, so if there’s any gold it will end up being carried out of your sluice box with you being unable to extract it.

Obtaining the perfect water flow may initially sound complex and difficult to achieve, but the various sluice boxes for sale on our website are all designed to make life as easy as possible.

Professional or Homemade Sluice Boxes

You may have viewed homemade sluice boxes and thought about building your own or even contemplated buying a used sluice box for sale, but let us explain why that is not a good idea.

First, the positioning of the slow spots needs to be precise. The space between them will be designed to perform their job perfectly and a homemade sluice box won’t have that same level of perfection.

The same logic applies for any used sluice boxes for sale. The riffles could be damaged, so they will become blocked in a shorter time frame. Considering the potential for missing out on that gold, you might decide it’s worth buying a new, professionally made sluice box.

Wet or Dry Sluice Boxes

So far, we have mentioned water sluice boxes, but there is also the option of dry sluice boxes. This option uses air flow to effectively do the same thing as a water sluice box. If you are unable to hook up to a water supply, then this may be the best option for you.

The Best Portable Sluice Boxes to Buy

At Kellyco, we stock a number of Keene sluice boxes ranging from hand-held to the Keene super sluice box designed for dealing with a larger volume of material. Of course, the best sluice box will be the one suited to your needs and, no matter what they may be, we would be happy to assist.

One option is to purchase a complete package. With this, you get everything from the sluice box itself to jets, the pump, the engine, and other items that will help you get started. This option comes in different sizes, while we also supply adjustable support legs to provide you with a stable platform to operate from. However, if this sounds overwhelming, then an item such as the Keene High Production Hand Sluice is also a great option. This has a wider design to increase the flow allowing you to pass through even more material in a shorter time frame.

The best sluice box to buy is undoubtedly dependent on how often you want to go gold prospecting and the amount of soil you plan on digging up. This is the kind of tool that will end up paying for itself, so if you are serious about this as a hobby, then investing in a gold sluice box with a powerful motor to drive it will be essential.

Buying a sluice box doesn’t need to be stressful or confusing, but we here at Kellyco know that you may have a number of questions before making your purchase. If that is the case, then you can contact us via our customer care department where a member of our expert team of gold prospectors and detectorists will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.