1.5 inch suction dredge

[sae156]

wanted some opinions please. i can get a 1.5 inch/ 2.5 HP water pump off ebay for $143. same specs as the motor/pump JOBE uses in it's 1.5 inch dredge. yet if you check out proline, dahlke, keene, they use 2.5 hp Honda gxh50 on their smallest pump for 600 to 700 bucks for use on a 2 inch dredge. i realize that the proline/keene/dahlke pumps are superior in flow, psi, etc. but are they really worth the extra $500 ? compared to the JOBE stuff. on a similar note, the 2 inch JOBE dredge uses a 5.5 hp semitrash pump for like $350 .

 

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[Sackett]

I have a small cheaper pump. It works great on my hibanker, but not so well on my dredge, that venturi takes the power away on the cheaper ones and makes it worrysome at best!

 

[Reed Lukens]

A 1½" dredge isn't even a kids toy, it's a total waste of time. You can classify to 1" and shovel into a sluice 10x faster

 

[419GottaMinute]

I agree with reed. Unless all your using it for is floating down the river cleaning out cracks, its gonna make you not want to be a dredger. Start with at least a 3 in. A 4 in is pretty great as far as moving material versus time spent throwing rocks. Also I dont think they make an air setup for a dredge that small, so your stuck using a snorkel

 

[Astrobouncer]

Yeah gotta agree with Reed. I can only think of 2 uses for one: cleaning bedrock that last little bit or cleaning bedrock cracks. And with either of those choices it needs to be either shallow ground or very rich ground to make it worth it.

Now with that said, here's some smaller back pack dredges I have found:

Jobe 1.5 inch:

Jobe Retail Sales 1.5 inch suction dredge

2 inch dredge, looks portable:

Home

1 inch:

Dredge | DBDredge

1.5 inch:

Backpack Gold Dredge

A couple smaller backpack ones to choose from here, 1.5 and 2 inch:

Dredges @ ProspectorsPlus.com

A cheap 3 inch portable dredge that uses a very small motor:

http://www.poboydredge.com/


I believe you need at least 35gpm to make a 1 inch dredge work, at least 52 gpm to make a 1 1/2 inch dredge work, 75+gpm for a 2 inch and 160+ for a 3 inch. Several of the above dredges are running with those size or similar size pumps (but that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for improvement which is bad!).

Keep in mind that power jets require less gpm and suction nozzles require more. Also the pressure of the pump is important as well, the more you have the less gpm you need up to the cut off points. Other things to consider include the max depth you are dredging, how high you are pumping the material up to the sluice, your elevation (higher elevation means less pumping power in the engine), and to make sure your pumps water intake is as short as possible and unobstructed. You will also have higher frictional losses with lay flat then a smooth bore harder suction hose ( especially on sharp turns where the lay flat kinks slightly). But lay flat is easier to pack in, and if you are using a 150+ gpm pump then these small losses will be unnoticeable.

A 158 gpm clear water 2inch pump like you can get off the shelf at Harbour freight for 180 bucks will run a 2 inch or 2 1/2 dredge in shallow water, but will probably require higher engine speed to do so (my buddies needs about 3/4 throttle at least). I have a pacer 200 gpm pump for my dredge that cost me 340$ but it will run up to a 3 inch and run my 2 1/2 at half throttle with great suction.

I know portability has its place, but sometimes its better to go with a little bigger pump, after all its better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. And once you get the 1.5 you will want bigger.

 

[LinkHylian]

Reed knows whats up. Check out his videos if you have any doubts. For that much money/pump style, just stick to the highbanking. Or just giving me the $143, I guess I'd be o.k if you did that too hahaha.

 

[maverick41950]

I may as well put an opinion here too. I have a 4" Keene and a 2" Keene. Normally my partner and I run them in tandem with the 4" moving overburden and making a trough to work in and the 2" is perfect for cleaning out around the big rocks and working the bottom of the trough where it is normally very rocky or in most cases on bedrock. I will agree that a 2" or smaller is not very good at starting a new place to work in but it is perfect for getting into tight areas. I have had the 5 and 6 inchers but since I have "aged a little", the 4" works fine for me and my butt is not whipped at the end of a long day finding that fine color.

Bryan, 62 and still going strong.

 

[Reed Lukens]

A lighter weight suction hose makes a 6" dredge as easy as a 4". I use the clear flow 6" hose from Valley Rubber. It works great for the 6" but the 4" clear flow too light & doesn't last. You can always throw a small inner tube around the hose & put a touch of air in it to take the right amount of weight off. All tire shops have small inner tubes. You can buy a 16" piece of 4" muffler pipe then slide a piece of ¾" thick wood inside and hammer the muffler pipe into a thin crack cleaner for tight areas. Just taper it to 1" or less at the end.

 

[Oakview2]

Great links to different manafacturers. I seem to remember a small portable dredge that you made a video of you and and Indyme? sometime ago. The sluices seem so short on these backpacks that you would think there would not be enough room for smaller gold to fall out.... Thanks for the links..

Yeah gotta agree with Reed. I can only think of 2 uses for one: cleaning bedrock that last little bit or cleaning bedrock cracks. And with either of those choices it needs to be either shallow ground or very rich ground to make it worth it.

Now with that said, here's some smaller back pack dredges I have found:

Jobe 1.5 inch:

Jobe Retail Sales 1.5 inch suction dredge

2 inch dredge, looks portable:

Home

1 inch:

Dredge | DBDredge

1.5 inch:

Backpack Gold Dredge

A couple smaller backpack ones to choose from here, 1.5 and 2 inch:

Dredges @ ProspectorsPlus.com

A cheap 3 inch portable dredge that uses a very small motor:

http://www.poboydredge.com/


I believe you need at least 35gpm to make a 1 inch dredge work, at least 52 gpm to make a 1 1/2 inch dredge work, 75+gpm for a 2 inch and 160+ for a 3 inch. Several of the above dredges are running with those size or similar size pumps (but that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for improvement which is bad!).

Keep in mind that power jets require less gpm and suction nozzles require more. Also the pressure of the pump is important as well, the more you have the less gpm you need up to the cut off points. Other things to consider include the max depth you are dredging, how high you are pumping the material up to the sluice, your elevation (higher elevation means less pumping power in the engine), and to make sure your pumps water intake is as short as possible and unobstructed. You will also have higher frictional losses with lay flat then a smooth bore harder suction hose ( especially on sharp turns where the lay flat kinks slightly). But lay flat is easier to pack in, and if you are using a 150+ gpm pump then these small losses will be unnoticeable.

A 158 gpm clear water 2inch pump like you can get off the shelf at Harbour freight for 180 bucks will run a 2 inch or 2 1/2 dredge in shallow water, but will probably require higher engine speed to do so (my buddies needs about 3/4 throttle at least). I have a pacer 200 gpm pump for my dredge that cost me 340$ but it will run up to a 3 inch and run my 2 1/2 at half throttle with great suction.

I know portability has its place, but sometimes its better to go with a little bigger pump, after all its better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. And once you get the 1.5 you will want bigger.

 

[maverick41950]

Thanks Reed, real good ideas. I still have a 6", it has been retired to the back of the shop though. Might just break that rascal out again.!!!! My new partner is a much younger feller and stout as a tree. I am having a vision of him tackling the big dog and I believe he would do just fine with it.

Bryan