New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

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Pans - What and How to Choose!

dettol		Posted : Friday, 21 January 2011 4:31:21 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Hey all! I would love to read your opinion on pans! How big? What brand? Plastic or metal? Once I buy mine, should I give it a boy or a girls name!? Thank you in advance!

gavin		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 2:20:04 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Administrators, Registered Joined: 20/02/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,326 Location: Christchurch Thanks: 736 times Was thanked: 535 time(s) in 287 post(s)		I personally prefer the larger plastic ones Daniel sells - http://www.paydirt.co.nz/shop/daniel-gerber.aspx They're lighter than the metal ones and have bigger ridges to catch the gold (I've only seen metal pans with smaller ridges). I've never used a smaller pan but think they tend to be used for separating the finer stuff at the end?
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Bikerman		Posted : Saturday, 22 January 2011 1:19:08 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		I'm thinking of switching from the black pans I have now to green or blue....make the cleanup a bit easier I think dettol I dont name my pans but I certainly name any spot that has me going back more than twice....My last spot was called The Broken Spoke Gold Mine lol....It gave me almost $2000.00 of gold over the last few months Edited by user Saturday, 22 January 2011 1:26:24 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

kiwijw		Posted : Sunday, 23 January 2011 8:16:17 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		My favourite is the Garrett Super Sluice. You can pan down real quick with this sucker & the green shows up the gold real well. I see there is a guy on trademe selling them. Not a bad price either. I think I paid $32 Australian years ago for mine. Didnt have a very good pic of it showing the two riffles it has but I found this one. You can see one of the big grunty riffles. This is the concentrates of black sands from a dredging run. Here is another one that shows the riffles a bit but not that crash hot either really but some nice gold. Happy hunting JW

dettol		Posted : Tuesday, 25 January 2011 5:05:55 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Thank you for the info and the link gavin. Bikerman, why do you find clean up easier on the green/blue pans? Is it the contrast with the material? "The Broken Spoke Gold Mine" sounds like a good little spot. I hope you didn't ride a bike there with a broken spoke! Would give you a hell of a sore backside hahaha Thank you very much for the pics and info kiwijw. So you recommend the "Garrett Super Sluice" with its 2 large riffles. Just curious but is it typical to call a pan a sluice? From your experience is it better to have larger but less riffles or smaller but more? Would it depend on the quantity and type of material being panned?

starflash		Posted : Wednesday, 26 January 2011 2:43:15 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: auckland, tairua Thanks: 18 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)		hi dettol im not as posh as the others, my pan doesnt even have a fancy name, i just have a black plastic pan bought from a place in greymouth, three smaller riffles, black gives very good contrast with gold, works a treat. honestly anything will do the job, you could even pan in a dogs bowl. i would go for plastic over a metal pan, ie for lightness and a meduim size rather than large, ie fit in a backpack easily. i think you should name your pan "oh shit" as i seem to say that all time when i realise theres no colour AGAIN!!! cheers starflash Edited by user Wednesday, 26 January 2011 2:44:11 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Bikerman		Posted : Wednesday, 26 January 2011 2:48:16 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 51 Location: Alexandra New zealand Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)		I would imagine with a blue or green pan, final panning would be easier in that you could pan off more black sand and that when snuffing up your gold you can see the sand easier so that you are not sucking too much of that up either.

dettol		Posted : Wednesday, 26 January 2011 4:59:17 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Hahaha! Nice one starflash! Good name for a pan! ...are you saying dogs can pan for gold too? Would that mean I would have to split my finds with him? Good point bikerman.

kiwijw		Posted : Friday, 28 January 2011 12:11:16 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Hi guys, There are times when I like the large steel pan. Usualy when the gold is quite fine. The steel seems to let the material slide around a lot more/easier, if that makes sense. Especialy when you get down to the fine material & fine gold. Plastic seems to "grip" everything a bit more than steel so the steel seems to make it easier to seperate the fine material from the fine gold when you back pan it. Steel will transfer the cold water temperature through to your hands where as plastic wont. The blue/green pans let you see the black sands more & so does aid in recovery with the snuffer bottle. Here is some really fine gold in a black pan from the coromandel. Trouble with black is that it does hide the black sands. This was a real pain to pan right down to gold only But black does show up the gold nicely Gold in a steel pan Here you have gold & black sands in a green pan. If it were a black pan the sands would be harder to make out Here the gold has been panned into a "tail" behind the black sands. At this stage you could use the snuffer bottle for sucking it up. Same pan above panned down to gold only. Using the snuffer bottle to gather it up Gold shows up well in any pan but the colour pans really let you see & make out the black sands. I like the big riffles. The secret to panning is to get the gold down to the bottom of the pan first then wash away the waste material. New comers are always way to careful & slow when it comes to panning for fear they may lose some. To name a pan "Oh Shit" is usualy when you just see a bit of gold slip off the edge back into the river. LOL :) TIP: When you have panned down to the concentrates you can always then pan off into another pan so if you do lose some gold it will be in the other pan & you can recover it. Another TIP: When you have panned down to the concentrates, spin the pan around to the smooth side with the material away from the riffles. Pan a lot more carefully now & you will be able to wash out all the black sands a lot easier. Happy hunting JW :)

dettol		Posted : Friday, 28 January 2011 12:50:54 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Great tips and info kiwijw. Very very much appreciated! Your images make it very easy to understand what you are talking about. I think the green Garret is going to be my choice but may possibly pick up a metal pan too.

kiwijw		Posted : Friday, 28 January 2011 1:05:04 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Hi there Dettol, I always use a little steel pan that I pour the contents of my snuffer bottle into when I get home. I then pan off a bit more of the black sands if need be but not all & then put the steel pan on the stove & heat up to maximum. This dries off every thing & when the pan & contents has cooled down I go outside & very carefuly blow off the remaining sands to be left with gold. Happy hunting JW :)

dettol		Posted : Friday, 28 January 2011 3:34:26 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		I had read about the dry panning technique which was also used in the old days for separating concentrates and tin. I was wondering if this however would blow some of the very fine gold dust out of the pan?

nzgold		Posted : Saturday, 29 January 2011 4:21:49 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 5/08/2010(UTC) Posts: 97 Location: New Zealand Thanks: 23 times Was thanked: 20 time(s) in 19 post(s)		Everyone has their favourites, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what pan you have, you still gotta shovel the gold into it...... Some people spend a fortune on gear, and don't know how to find the gold. Others spend virtually nothing on gear and know how to find the gold. Best to invest in knowledge than fancy gear. Knowledge is power!

gavin		Posted : Saturday, 29 January 2011 4:53:42 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Administrators, Registered Joined: 20/02/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,326 Location: Christchurch Thanks: 736 times Was thanked: 535 time(s) in 287 post(s)		Wise words indeed nzgold! :)
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dettol		Posted : Saturday, 29 January 2011 4:57:29 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Thank you nzgold, that's precisely why I'm here! I know you are the most knowledgeable and informed bunch in this regards and so here I am! I realy need to either get myself to a river that's going to show some colour or meet up with someone who's brain I can pick soon, otherwise I'm going to go gold crazy hahaha

kiwijw		Posted : Saturday, 29 January 2011 4:58:42 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Yep too true nzgold. You could use a hub cap. Been there done that. LOL :)& it works. Panning is all about technique & comes with experiance. Dry panning was done when there was no water & usually done by a true prospector who was chasing colours up a hill/mountain to trace the sheding gold to its source called "loamimg" for gold. He wasnt so interesed in recovering all the gold but to keep on its trail to where it was coming from. That was the "mother" load that he was after. Dry panning is not as efficient as wet panning. Happy hunting JW :)

dettol		Posted : Friday, 18 February 2011 1:51:05 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Ok, so I finally picked up my first pan!! I ended up getting the 15inch Garrett Super Sluice bought from Tactical Solutions in Albany, Auckland. They have a number of Garret gear including pans, scoops and detectors. Friendly and helpful. This thing is bigger, at 15 inches (38cm), and heavier, at 48 ounces (1.36kgs), than I expected but I see why it has been such a successful design. There is a lot of attention to detail and it is very sturdy and solid. Now that I have the big kahuna I think I'm going to pick up something smaller to have as a backup. I think a generic 33cm blue or green pan from an NZ supplier will suit. Thank you to you all for all your tips and help! I'm looking at being in the Nelson area in mid March for a couple of days to try my new gear out for the first time!

kiwijw		Posted : Saturday, 19 February 2011 2:53:44 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		G'day Dettol, You wont be dissapointed. They are a great pan & as you have said, very solid for a plastic pan. It will last you for years. You will have seen the instuctions printed on the back underside as to wet panning & dry panning. Good luck in your search. JW :)

simon		Posted : Saturday, 19 February 2011 3:07:33 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 7/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 789 Location: Central Otago Thanks: 33 times Was thanked: 239 time(s) in 150 post(s)		its interesting all the views on different pans. i was always told that a steel pan was the go. put it outside. let it rust a little. and all that. i now solely use a standard sized black plastic pan. these are great as: 1. they are lighter than metal so easier to lug around the mountains. downside is they do float rather easily, and gusts of wind can tip them if not weighed down with a rock. 2. they are easily sourced. lose one and get another at the local gold shop. 3. they are quite cheap. $12 i think at arrowtown museum. i have tried the larger pans. pretty heavy and bulky to carry. i have also tried the really small size - a kids toy really. ok i guess if you are heading off on a tramp and size/weight is vital maybe.
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dettol		Posted : Saturday, 19 February 2011 5:43:04 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 11/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 28 Location: Auckland Thanks: 31 times Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)		Thx JW! Maybe one day we will get a chance to go out hunting for that elusive colour :) I think im going to head down to the beach and see how much iron sand I can collect in order to practice my planning technique. Throw a few small bearings In there and try to recover the same number from the material I'm working.. If anyone knows of someone near central Auckland with a spare pan they want to get rid of let me know! Otherwise I will order one from the South Island.