Whether you're a beginner or an old pro, setting up your stream sluice just right takes some trial and error. It isn't hard to do, it just takes an understanding of water currents and angles to guarantee success. Try these helpful tips:
Place your sluice in the flow of a stream or river so that the water enters the flared end and flows through the sluice. If the current is strong you may need to lay some stones against the edge of the sluice to keep it from washing away. The sluice should be set at a downhill angle that allows the material to briskly flow through the sluice. The higher the volume of water available, the shallower the angle will be.
Shovel material into the sluice at the flared end as close to the end as possible so that the material is washed over the entire length of the sluice. Do not overload the sluice with material. Pace your shoveling so that the sluice box has time to clear before you add more material.
The purpose of the riffles in your sluice is to trap gold out of the stream bed materials as they are washed through by flowing water. Riffles are designed and positioned so that there is a back-pressure created that sucks water and material behind the riffles from the flow over top. When the correct water flow is directed over a riffle, the back pressure keeps the area just behind the riffle in a state of continuous fluid suspension. Therefore, the heaviest materials (gold!) will concentrate here.
When it's time to clean out the concentrates, remove the sluice from the water and tip it down into a bucket or tub. Wash as much material as possible out of the sluice into the tub and then remove the riffle tray and miner's moss or carpet and wash both of them out into the tub. (Depending on the type of sluice you are using, not all riffles can be removed, so you might only be able to remove the miner's moss).
Put the miners moss and riffle tray back into the sluice and you are ready to go again. Your concentrates and gold (assuming there is gold where you are sluicing) are now in the tub. Remove the gold from the concentrates with a gold pan or a Gold Cube or a spiral panning machine, or another fine gold recovery tool. With a little practice, you'll be a pro at using and adjusting your sluice! Shop for sluices here.
