Types of Gold Pans

There are many types of pans or bowls for gold in the markets nowadays. Before getting into detailing each one, I might as well better provide you with their main characteristics and their advantages and disadvantages. From there on you can decide which one is the most useful for your purposes.

Plastic pans are mould with space era plastic, which are most of the times unbreakable, although in the market there are some that will easily break. The easiest way to check if it is an unbreakable plastic is by folding it with both hands. By doing this, and by observation and touch one will have an idea whether the pan will continue to fold or if it will break if one adds some more strength into the action. Be careful to apply to much strength and break one that is unbreakable!

Steel pans will fold, but it will take lots of strength to do it, like for example throwing it from a steep slope or being run over by a car. For the most you will not have to worry about endurance be it because it is a plastic pan or a steel one.

Plastic pans are lighter than those of steel. If you are planning a super long and difficult trip to take samples, it could make a difference. However, those that prefer the steel pans over the plastic ones say weight is not an important factor so as to change.

Plastic pans for gold generally float, while the steel ones sink to the bottom, unless you put on the water in such position that it can float like a boat. These factors can turn out to be advantageous or disadvantageous, depending on the circumstances under which the pan is being used. For example, if you are looking for gold in deep waters and your pan slips from the shore and sinks, it probably means that you will have to get into the water and dive to recover it or you could just leave it behind.

Most plastic pans float and you could fish it with a long stick or wade across to recover it. However, if the stream is fast as where the rapids are, and if the plastic pan slips from your hands, one will have to be very fast to catch it back. The steel pan in most of the cases will sink and lay at the bottom. Plastic pans do not rust, while steel ones do; especially when humid because of the concentrates of the recovering system that have not been cleaned up well from the pan and dry out.

But even so, some miners insist that rust in their pans for gold help recover fine gold. Other gold seekers prefer a smooth surface for the bottom of their pans. In all depends on each ones taste and preference. Just in case, a way to prevent the pan from rusting is to clean it and put it upside down when not in use.