A soil sifter, or soil sieve, is an easy-to-use tool that helps you separate gravel from dirt. Sifting soil is essential for a number of projects, including construction and decorative landscaping.

A well-maintained sifter can enhance the appearance and functionality of your project. However, it is important to understand the common problems that can occur with sifters.

1. The Screens Are Dirty

Gravel is a beautiful, functional landscaping element, but over time it can become clogged with sediment, making it difficult to walk through and a perfect home for weeds. Regularly refreshing your gravel paths, driveways, or garden beds is essential to preserving their look and functionality. To keep your gravel clean, you can either rinse it with water or sift it.

To sift gravel, lay down a tarp next to the gravel bed and set up your soil sifter on top of it. Shovel gravel onto the sifter two or three shovelfuls at a time and shake the screen gently from side to side. The dirt and debris will fall through the sieve and land in the bucket or wheelbarrow below. Repeat as needed until the bucket or wheelbarrow is full of sifted gravel.

You can purchase a soil sifter at most home improvement stores or create your own by nailing together a frame out of wood planks in the size you want to build your sifter. Then roll out a sheet of hardware cloth or other mesh and secure it to the frame with screws, poultry net staples, or nails. This technique prevents the mesh from slipping out under the weight of all the dirt, compost, or sand you're sifting through it.

2. The Screens Are Damaged

Screens can get damaged by improper use or natural wear and tear. You can fix this by rescreening the sifter or reattaching the screens with new hardware cloth or other mesh that is more suitable for your needs. Consult with your sifter supplier for recommendations on the best materials and shapes for your specific application.

If the sifter has been used for some time and the material that you are trying to separate is still stuck to the mesh, this may indicate that the holes in the screen are too small and that the screen is not closing tightly enough. You can correct this by rescreening the screen with wider holes.

Another common cause of material back-up is that the screen size order in the sifter has been changed or is not positioned correctly. Check the screens for proper placement and that the largest size is on top of the smaller.

Worn rotary airlock or conveyor components can also prevent the material from flowing smoothly through the sifter and out the outlet. Repair or replace these components as needed to maintain a consistent flow of material.

3. The Screens Are Broken

A gravel sifter can be an essential tool for gold prospectors, landscapers, and other professionals. They can help save money by allowing you to use low-grade dirt for projects that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to complete. Sifters can also help improve the quality of your soil by aerating it and encouraging bacterial decomposition that produces humus.

However, if you’ve recently used your sifter and it appears that the screens are broken, it’s important to fix them before they worsen. You can find a variety of different types of screen material to use for your sifter. Many people choose to use hardware cloth, which is available at most hardware stores and building centers and comes in a wide range of opening sizes. It is also possible to use woven wire mesh or even plastic mesh.

Once you’ve chosen the type of screen material to use for your sifter, cut four pieces of 2x4 lumber to the size of your frame and secure them together using nails or screws. Next, cut a piece of wire mesh or hardware cloth to fit your frame and staple it to the edges of the frame using a staple gun. Begin stapling in the middle of one edge and work your way around to each corner, making sure to stretch the mesh taut as you go.

4. The Screens Are Leaking

A leaking screen is not only inconvenient, but can also cause the loss of valuable soil. To prevent this, make sure the screens are properly installed and secured. Also, be sure to clean and wash the screens regularly.

When screening soil, it is important to consider the grain-size distribution curve of the soil sample. Using the appropriate sieve sizes can help ensure that the soil is well-graded. For example, a fine aggregate is considered well-graded when Cu is greater than 4 and Cc is between 1 and 3.

It is also important to test the soil for consistency. This can be done by weighing the soil retained on each sieve after it is washed and dried. It is recommended to weigh the sieve plus soil, as this method is more accurate than attempting to remove the soil from the sieve for weighing.

In openhole completions, it is common to run screens in wellbores that contain solids-laden fluids. This can lead to the introduction of bigger size solids into the screen-running fluid (SRF), which may plug the screens. It is important to check the quality of the SRF before pumping it into a formation. To prevent this, it is suggested to use a SRF that has been tested for solids content and consistency.