The Shor FiltraGold Gold Recovery System includes:
Make sure the pump is not sitting on its side (otherwise the float switch won't work). You can significantly increase the life of your filtration system's pump and or reduce the maintenance on it by placing a brick, crucible rest or similar item under the pump so that it rest above the bottom of the tank and somewhat off to the side of the filtermesh bag. This will reduce the amount of polishing compound that accumulates on the pump so that it will need to be washed less often
If using a Standard Sink for your washout, remove the "u" trap from under the sink. Place the tank under the sink so that the water from the sink's drain falls directly into the filter bag. Place the hose from the recovery system's filter chamber into the drain in the wall. Plug the pump into any standard 110 v outlet.
If Using a Washout Sink with (A) Barrel(s) Underneath, first drain the barrel in which the system is to be placed. Run a hose from the sink's drain to the filter bag. Run the hose from the system's filter chamber to the drain in your wall or floor. Plug the pump into any standard 110 v outlet.
Just wash your hands as normal, ignoring the system. As the water passes into the system's tank, the float switch will automatically activate the pump. When the tank is empty again, the pump will shut off. If recovering from an ultrasonic, first drain the water and sludge into a bucket. Give the sludge about ½ or more to settle. Pour the water into the sink but leave the sludge behind in the bottom of the bucket. Leave the sludge in the bottom of the bucket to dry overnight or longer. When the sludge has become a caked powder remove it from the bucket and put it aside for refining. Consult Shor's "Polishing Sweeps Reduction to Metal" to turn this material into a button of gold.
Never dump alkaline or acid solutions into the recovery system. This system is not designed to recover dissolved gold from cyanide solutions and acid solutions (like pickling and investment remover solutions). In addition, these solutions will damage the pump and void the warrantee on the pump. For information regarding this kind of recovery, consult the Precious Metals Recovery web page.
How often you recover gold and perform maintenance on your recovery system will depend upon your use of the system and your preferences. We provide you with recommendations based upon average use. You should use these recommendations as a guide but tailor the recovery and maintenance to your particular needs.
Once a week, remove the filtermesh bag, turn it inside out and brush out the particles of gold, the gems and the debris. Leaving the bag inside out, restore it to the cap and put the cap back on the tank.
We recommend replacing the filter cartridge (inside the filter chamber) once a month or more often if you find that it backs up because it becomes clogged. It is unusual to need to replace it more than once per 2 weeks.
To remove and replace the filter cartridge, first disconnect the hoses that are attached to the filter chamber. Remove the filter chamber from the tank and unscrew the chamber's cover. The filter cartridge slips right out. Put a new filter cartridge in the chamber and replace the chamber in the tank. The old filter cartridge should not be discarded. It is laden with gold impregnated polishing compound. Put this with your paper sweeps to be refined.
We recommend, though it is not essential, that you recover the gold laden polishing compound that has settled to the bottom of your tank whenever you change the filter cartridge. To do this, first remove the tank's cover by slipping a flat head screwdriver between the lid and the tank and prying up. The lid will pop off very easily. Don't worry about any slight distortion that may have resulted from this prying. It'll return to its original shape. If there is polishing compound floating suspended in the tank water, give it a few minutes to settle and then pour off the water. Wipe the compound out of the bottom with a paper towel or allow the compound to dry overnight or over a weekend and then wipe out the caked rouge.
To turn the caked polishing compound into a button of metal consult Shor's refining instructions for this material.
We strongly recommend washing any rouge that may have accumulated on the pump whenever you replace the filter cartridge or recover the gold laden polishing compound from the bottom of the tank. Keeping the pump clean will insure that the float switch does not stick and the pumps impeller does not clog. A sticking float switch and/or clogged impeller could result in overflow of the tank or damage to the pump.
Give the pump (especially the pump's float switch) a rinse with tap water at least once a month. If you not using a brick or similar standoff to raise the pump off the bottom of the tank, we recommend rinsing the pump more often-- at least once per week.
In the unlikely event that you have a problem with this recovery system, that problem will be overflow (the inability of the pump to move water out of the tank as fast as it enters). There are several possible causes of an overflow problem: