Gold Refining Forum Sponsored Contest

Gold Refining Forum

Help Support Gold Refining Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

4metals

Moderator
Staff member
Supporting Member
Moderator
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
6,084
Location
northeast USA
This contest is open to all forum members (except moderators), professional or amateur and the winner will be decided by the board of moderators.

We want to see your refineries and your equipment, home-made or purchased. Winner will be judged by his or her setup. Its capabilities, limitations, ingenuity of design, effective use of cash to build it, safety, and overall versatility. You can post as many or as few pictures as you deem necessary to show the details of your operation.

Please note that professional refiners can enter with their professionally bought or engineered systems, they will likely score high for their capabilities but low for their effective use of cash to build it. However, if your goal for being on the forum is to solicit work from our members, a few pictures of a fine tuned operation may get you some work.

Similarly a backyard refiner who carries out his or her digestions on a picnic table on a windy day may score high in cost effectiveness but low in other areas.

It's my guess someone in the middle of these extremes will be our winner.

The prize for the winner, in addition to the extreme sense of pride that being crowned the winner will bring, is
1, a hard copy of Hoke's book, Refining Precious Metal Wastes, signed by our founder and site administrator NOxx
2, 1 pound of gold plated pins
3, One half dozen, three inch scorifier dishes for torch melting.
4, One gram of platinum sheet
and of course shipping to wherever the winner specifies.

In addition, the owner of the lab voted for honorable mention will receive a pound of gold plated pins and a half dozen scorifiers.

The contest is starting with no posted finish date as we would like to give everyone a chance to participate so if new contestants are pouring in, the event will go on. We will however post an end date in a timely manner.

It is our hope that a good turn out of refining labs posted here will help to inspire other members to build their own labs and in the process show us all some unique ideas about building small, safe, efficient and inexpensive labs.

The decision of the judges is final, I expect we will comment as posts come in, and please refrain from removing pictures which have been posted, as we all know how happy that behavior makes the Mod's.
 
Can we post links to (youtube) videos of our equipment?
You know what I want to show,and I think a video would do it justice.Plus other members would finally quit asking where the pictures went to.
 
I am certainly not a computer or internet guru so I will defer to Steve, but one intent of this contest is to produce a thread which will remain viable where members can see good setups and learn from it. After the contest is over we can lock the thread and preserve it. If it is on youtube I don't think we can be sure it will stay there.
 
I have too hard of a time "resizing" pictures,which is why I deleted all of my pics of the ball mill in the first place,so I will humbly sit this one out.Good luck guys.
 
With this recent relocation the timing is off for me to post pictures as some of this newly planned equipment has yet to be built. My priorities are to insulate and panel my shop with upgraded wiring, then the Massey 35 is next.

I do have plans inside my pumpkin to build a hermetically sealed and heated digester with a reflux column, but by the time this gets finished this contest will have a winner. I'll be sure to keep an eye on this thread for our winner.

Best Regards
Rusty
 
I think it's important that the information be posted here on the forum and that it is an original, accurate representation of the actual equipment used by the contestant.

In other words, post actual photos of your lab and equipment, not someone else's. If you need help with sizing or uploading, there are plenty of us that would be willing to assist you.


Steve
 
Of course I would only post my equipment,besides you already know what my stuff looks like.
I certainly did not want to cause any confusion,or burden anyone.I appreciate the offers from gill and 4metals to resize the pics,but in light of this decision,I will just sit this out.However,I would be more than willing to donate some stuff,for a second or third place winner.If someone could just PM me with an address I will put some stuff together,and the mods can decide who gets what.
 
mic said:
Of course I would only post my equipment,besides you already know what my stuff looks like.
I certainly did not want to cause any confusion,or burden anyone.I appreciate the offers from gill and 4metals to resize the pics,but in light of this decision,I will just sit this out.However,I would be more than willing to donate some stuff,for a second or third place winner.If someone could just PM me with an address I will put some stuff together,and the mods can decide who gets what.

CHICKEN 8)
 
I have a suggestion for the moderators. Even tho they can't enter the contest, how about some pictures of your areas for more diversity of information?
 
Ok, my entry. I started refining I guess about 2 months ago or so. I read a few threads here on this site and did 3 batches and said "OK! I need a lab!"
I started it in a corner of my garage
bef1.jpg

bef2.jpg

I then proceeded to close it in and have a lab with 8 feet x 11 feet interior dimensions. I have a single 32" door, no windows (i now have my hood sticking out the one)
Speaking of my hood, I made it from a black and decker resin cabinet for 50 bucks, it has a $15.00 duct fac thats 250 cfm in 6" duct. The duct has been painted with engine enamel paint to prevent corrosion and so far its held up great, I also have a value village $5.00 electric frying pan for heat
hood1.jpg

hood2.jpg

My bench was in place and all I did was cover it with 125 mil walkin freezer vinyl curtain, that cost $22.00. The fire bricks were $1 each, the 1/2 gal jars were 20 bucks for 12, coffee pots are $1 each at value village, visonware was $5, hotplate was $13 and my most recent score was a 6000ml pyrex erlenmeyr flask for $30 at a flea market, it also came with 8 other pyrex beakers ranging from 200 - 400 ml. I prices them out and i would have spent $220.00 new!
ben1.jpg

ben2.jpg

beak1.jpg

I also scored this very cool plexiglass and ss fittings cabinet for $60, i keep all my acids in it and cleaned jars etc
cab1.jpg

I bought a sink on craigslist for $20.00
sink1.jpg

and then of course we saw my homemade vaccum funnel previously, i think im into it for $60 or so
vf1.jpg


I spent about $200 on meting dishes, safety equipment, filters, chemicals etc

I have an electric heater for heat and my stereo was something I previously owned too, I also already owned the oxy/acet setup since I was a welder in a past life, but thats my new (as in the words of Dexter) "killing room" and my wife NEVER wants to come out there!

mlgdave
 
Nice Man Cave...

Those Coffee Pots and utensils on the wall need a silhouette drawn around them, now that would be funny :mrgreen:
 
Hi Folks,

I've been quieter than usual on the boards due to the fact that my little e-waste recycling hobby has grown way out of proportion. I've been layed off for a little over a month and decidied to place a small ad in the newspaper offering my recycling service.

Since then I have filled my dining room, my garage, my Mother's garage and a 10 x 10 storage building and it's not letting up. Needless to say I quit my job. This Monday I formed my business corporation and leased a 3200 sq ft building and I'm in the process of moving everything in. I had a few minutes this evening so I thought I would snap some pictures and give my entry a shot.

I found this forum in July of 2010 when I was googling info on refining computer scrap. Was the best search I have ever done :mrgreen:

I built my lab October 2010 in one of my small upstairs bedrooms, approx. size is 10' x 9'. (waits till everyone is done raising there eye brows) I hate working out in the cold and we use our garage as an actual parking facility...or will again when I get all the computer crap moved out...lol. I have a window that is always cracked open and 1 of my fume hood fans runs 24 hrs. a day. You will see a picture in the following of a new piece of 1/4" plate steel I have left out in the open air since I started using my lab. It has yet to show any signs of corrosion so I'm comfortable with my ventlation set up. Also have a bathroom across the hall with a plastic sink set up for my clean ups.Lab1.jpg

Some storage shelves behind the door.
Lab2.jpg

One of my better eBay buys. 24 - 2-liter borosilicate beakers for $90.00 delivered.Lab3.jpg

3' x 3' work area beside my fume hood.Hood1.jpg

This is my fume hood. Inside dimentions are 56" long x 26" deep x 36" high. I am venting with 2 - 120 cfm (all plastic housing) bathroom exhaust fans. Each has it's own 4" vent pipe going straight up and through the roof. The hood was constructed with a 2" x 3" wood framing. Inside is covered entirely with 7/16" F.R.P. with plastic trim and plastic rivets. Outside is covered with std. 7/16" OSB. I have also installed a 4' flourscent light and the front opening is partialy covered with a hinged piece of 1/4" lexan. Total cost was less than $200.00. That was for the fans, vent pipes, roof flashings and 1/4" lexan. The remaining materials were from cut off scraps from work including the light which had a little damage.Hood2.jpg
 
Emmjae said:
This is my fume hood. Inside dimentions are 56" long x 26" deep x 36" high. I am venting with 2 - 120 cfm (all plastic housing) bathroom exhaust fans. Each has it's own 4" vent pipe going straight up and through the roof. The hood was constructed with a 2" x 3" wood framing. Inside is covered entirely with 7/16" F.R.P. with plastic trim and plastic rivets. Outside is covered with std. 7/16" OSB. I have also installed a 4' flourscent light and the front opening is partialy covered with a hinged piece of 1/4" lexan. Total cost was less than $200.00. That was for the fans, vent pipes, roof flashings and 1/4" lexan. The remaining materials were from cut off scraps from work including the light which had a little damage.

That is a beauty hood, I am definitely not as thrilled with mine the more I use it and will be building something similar to yours this spring! YOU beat me by a coutry mile!

mlgdave
 
This is the base cabinet of my fume hood. It is 8' long x 30" deep x 40" tall and has a 38" wide counter top. I had to cut this thing in have in order to get it in the room and reassemble. This cabinet assembly was left in one of our office trailers that was leased for use as a temporary bank. Total cost was $0.00. This was a custom built cabinet. Note how the doors hing and slide into the cabinet when opened. I love this feature.Base1.jpg
Base2.jpg
Drawer1.jpg

Here are my main tools in the hood. 2 magnetic stir/hotplates I bought on ebay for less than $100.00 each delivered. My standard Rival brand electric hot plate which has the heating element imbeded into a cast iron plate. It provided very evening heating. Cost was $34.00 at the local hardware. And my little sand bath dish I use when evaproating or drying my powders.Equip1.jpg
 
Here is my 1/4" plate steel I use for keeping an eye on the fumes in the room.steel1.jpg

And finally my melting and incineration equipment.Melting1.jpg
Incineration.jpg

Thanks for looking and thanks to everyone that makes this great forum possible.

Mike
 
Great looking setup Mike.

That's very intelligent of you to use that steel plate as a "canary in a cage" so to speak. I'm impressed. That's a good idea. If you keep something sacrificial around where you use most of the aggressive chemicals, it should be a great indicator.
 
4metals said:
I cant believe we have over 16,000 members and only 2 have built a workplace for their refining?

Wazzamatter? Not enough prizes?

I've got to do some house cleaning before I post my pictures. 8) I'll try to get that done next week.
 
I will be moving next month and will finally have a place to set up an indoor refining operation. I will try to remember to post pics when I'm done.
 
Back
Top