Got called out for my sluice box setup on a job in Florida

Was working a sand mining contract near Tampa and an older operator watched me for a bit. He straight up said, 'Kid, your angle is too steep, you're losing half your fines.' I had it set at like 8 inches of drop per foot because that's how I was taught. He showed me his rig, running at maybe 4 inches of drop with a slower water flow. Tried it his way the next day and my recovery rate jumped by at least 15%. Felt like an idiot but it worked. Anyone else have a basic setup tip that totally changed your yield?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_price17d ago

That's a huge difference in recovery. Did the older guy explain why the slower flow with less drop worked better in that specific material? Was it just about the sand size, or did the water itself have something to do with it, like being silt heavy?

white.grant17d ago

Man, that hits home. We all get stuck in our ways doing things how we were first taught. It's wild how one small tweak from someone with more miles on the clock can make such a big difference. Don't feel dumb for not knowing, you just didn't have that piece of info yet. That's why sharing these stories is so good, saves the next person the same headache.