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Trommels: where to buy

A trommel is a rotating drum fed with water, and it comes in two quite different kinds. A screening trommel is a perforated drum set at a slight tilt: spray bars inside wash the gravel and break up clay as the drum turns, the fine material falls through the holes onto a sluice or another concentrator, and the big rocks roll out the far end. It is a washing and classifying machine that feeds the next step.

A reverse-helix trommel works like an Archimedes screw. A spiral riffle runs along the inside of a solid barrel, and as it turns, the heavy material, gold included, is carried up to the front of the barrel while the water washes the light material out the back. It does not screen, it concentrates, and it cleans itself as it runs, so there is no sluice to stop and clean out. Small reverse-helix models run on a 12-volt pump with a tub of recirculated water, can feed a spiral wheel panner directly, and work best with material screened to about half an inch first.

Hobby trommels are small and portable, and commercial plants use the same ideas on a much larger scale. When comparing them, look at the drum size, the screen opening or the helix, the drive and how much water the machine needs, and check the local rules on motorized equipment.

1 shop across the US that sell trommels, 1 of them building their own. Each one links to its own website, so you can compare them one by one.

• Camel Mining Products

  Builder · Online or by order · Quartzsite, Arizona · Ships nationwide

  Makes: Desert Fox and Pro-Camel 18/24 automatic spiral gold panners; Mountain Goat and American Buffalo reverse-helix trommels

  Builds the Desert Fox spiral panner, made in the USA since 1969

  Quartzsite maker of fine-gold recovery equipment since 1969: the Desert Fox automatic spiral gold panner, the larger Pro-Camel 18 and 24, and the Mountain Goat and American Buffalo reverse-helix trommels. Made in the USA.

  Also sells: Fine gold recovery

  desertfoxspiralpanner.com ↗Eureka listing →

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