Gold Prospecting Forum

Dear Gold Hog team,
I have a quick question (maybe it has been answered already, but I searched the forum and did not find anything): What is the typical lifetime of your mats? Just a rough estimate, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? Of course, assuming that I am not doing anything crazy with it.
Do you have any tipps on how to store your mats when not using them (for example, some types of rubber do not like being exposed to Sun light).
Best regards,
Rene

PS: Love your youtube channel!

The mats if stored in your garage will last until the year 4065.
Kind of a joke... but they are made from the same rubber that commercial grade roofing is made from. Only 5 times thicker. We were talking about it today in fact and joking that after humans are gone from the earth they'll find hog mats and wonder what the hell they are.

UV - (sunlight) no issues no damage.
Heat- Can take close to 300 degrees.
Cold - Can take -20
Storing - Turn upside down flat, that's it. Do not treat them with anything.
Wearing ----- in a normal highbanker / sluice that is used 20 times a year they last close to 10 years.
Large dredges start to see some wear after about 400 hours of running on larger riffled mats like Riverhog, but it's just a slight bit of rounding. Commercial ops generally get about two seasons if running full time and running bare mats. If using Yukon they should get 5-10 years.
Side tape usually needs to replaced once a season. If you have any separation of the mats at glue points, just clean, dry and re-glue. We only saw this in our large dredges that ran 40 hours a week all season long.

Think that covers it.

Hi Doc... please confirm this... in a larger dredge ...say 8 inch with up to 6 to 7 inch cobbles tumbling along the mat, you will expect to be seeing some wear after 400 hours?

I have an 8 inch triple side by side...

I ask because I am in the process of converting some "moss under large expanded mesh" to "yukon under lthe same large expanded mesh" but I am also considering say 18 inches of unprotected river hog or such at the tail end of the main sluice box... your thoughts?

First... the forum has been moved so you might want to post there.
http://www.goldandgemgazette.com/forum/
Your Yukon will not wear at all under expanded, you'll probably get 5 - 20 years out of them. If you have bare AGGRESSIVE mats... like RiverHog, then some VERY minor wear will be seen on the riffle only. We ran the same mats in out 5" and 6" all season long, 6 months, 30 - 40 hours a week, and the mats are still fine to run again. I would do Yukon under expanded at the top and then transition in to low cut riverhog and talon alternating at the end.

Thanks for the thoughts on the Mat life....I was wondering.
BTW I love the BR 2.0 in my clean up sluice... nothing gets past the first 12 inches in the 6 foot long box.

With regards to the new forum... I would love to look at it and post there, however I am at work in Laos atm and get the following when I attempt... from either my work or personal PC...

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