infinity jet

Well, I had a good look at all the plastic fittings available locally, and it's not quite going to work without a lot of fabrication. It's just not going to happen for me before summer dredging season.
On the bright side though I found my old suction nozzle - while searching for something else.
I came up with an improvement for that as well. When using my four inch venturi nozzle, any restriction of opening to help stop jamming at the bend means I can't get my hand in to clear the odd obstruction that does happen. Leaving it at four inches means heaps of blockages. Sooooo I made a removable restriction! My venturi is made of aluminium pipe about 6mm (or 1/4 inch) thick. I had some extra lying around and cut off a four inch length, then cut out a strip longwise to enable it to be pulled down to a smaller diameter so it fits tightly inside the opening. Used a hose clamp to hold it and got it welded, also got a piece welded on halfway along to stop it being sucked right into the nozzle. Fitted a stainless self tapping screw and a bit of bungee cord to keep it in place when not running pump; and it's great, my nozzle was always a bit too short and it has cured that at the same time.
Have seen a photo and article some years back of an underwater box dredge in Australia with the venturi behind the (fully enclosed) box. The owner claimed it gave more suction and helped with gold recovery through having less turbulence. The infinity jet could be ideal in that application. Nuggy
 

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I'd like to amend my plan as it has a flaw. It needs to have a nut on each end of it to wrench down and lock the pipes in place or they will eventually slip either a bit looser or tighter.

Tomorrow I'm going to be making one out of pvc pipe that should be easier to use, 10x faster to build, and no rust issues. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

Also does anyone have a good suggestion for what type of hose I should use if I wanted to have the pump on the stream bank and the dredge about 10'-15' away. I tried using some light flexible "spa" hose, but it ended up exploding on me when my jet got locked down tight and the pressure built up.
 

Nothing wrong with design,just find exterior lock rings and if rust bothers ya a simple cad plate job will set ya free.Plastic jets are purt near worthless and the jet is where the majority of plugsups occur. With your metal jet just smack it a couple a times and off ya go--with plastic give'r a smack or drop on a rock and ADIOS . Plate components and then assemble to retain jet adjustability to deal with changes in depth and altitude and differing sizes and types a pumps. I am not knocking the tanaka pumps either,just limited use as a trash pump. My 5 years first highbanker/dredge utilized one quite readily and easy for a kid to carry too. Your on the right track to a decent tough jet-John--kanaflex 110-150 are the gold standard of any dredge op --John
 

Some a these modern plastics are very tough, not brittle at all. We have a type of black, slightly soft pipe fitting sold here and they are what I hoped to use, just can't buy the ones I need for this job. Got a buddy with a plastic welder, should be able to make something workable, not this year though.
 

plastic is a waste of time when it comes to the jet.itll get ate up in no time! BUT my Vortexrex plastic 4 inch jet has been working for me great for 12 years now. im to old and stubbern to change now! THANKS Dave!
 

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I've got a lathe and have thought about making an adjustable jet . It could be adjusted by threading in and out or with shims. If with threads it should have O-Rings to keep sand out of the threads . Have made one at work for air which works great. Would be interested in fabricating a smaller jet for testing but need hose inside diameter. It's a two hour trip to town for supplies so would need to have my dimensions and plans to get everything in one trip. With current commitments, it would be at least two weeks before I could start on it. Anybody interested ?
 

Need size for the pump outlet (pressure side) and suction hose. Was thinking exaust tube might work well. Will read the posts when I have more time as a good material has probably been identified.
 

The pump sizes are dependent on the size of the dredge you want to run,post then info follows as always need particuliars for accuracy. HP/Brand/PSI/GPM mandatory-John :sign13:
 

Have a look at this link. This guy has obviously done a lot of research.
 

Trying to build a 4 inch infinity jet for this year. The one item that seems to always pop up is an image like this -

View attachment 1262220

1. Is this an accelerator for the slurry as it travels along the discharge hose to the sluice?

2. Would this dramatically improve the performance of a jet log or is it just extra weight?

Hope to step up the production volume in the up and coming season. I appreciate all comments and ideas.
 

Just a question or two...

What would the starting gap on the nozzle be when starting the beast up. The PVC mockup is an outer pipe of 6" I.D., inner parts are 4" I.D. One of the 4" nozzle pieces will be static, the other adjustable. The angle is 18 degrees, not 11 degrees, but will be machined on the final. Both pieces are machined inside and out to match. The high pressure water input will be aprox. 1.75" set at 45 degrees or so.


View attachment 1262304 View attachment 1262305

Need a little help and advice to make this a successful piece of equipment.
 

Started originally to investigate a Vortxrex dry land dredge nozzle, apparently someone else also did the same. While I got sort of excited over the prospect of suctioning dirt/slurry with less effort than most methods, I overlooked the truckload of hoses, pumps, supports, poles, guy wires, and probably a trailer, truck, ATV, etc. Mind you, this is a great device, but not suitable for one or two people to comfortably handle with all of the ancillary devices attached to it. Unless time is not an issue.

But I did build a modified Couple/Infinity Jet from PVC. Granted, equipment helps. I used a CNC machine to create parts in short order with little or no real effort. The total cost was under $45, after buying some parts at Habitat Re-Use Store in Raleigh, NC. I aim to place the jet between the power log and the sluice as a "booster" to increase suction and throughput. The rig is a 6.5 HP engine driving a Keene P-195, attached to a four inch power log. I did set the gap at 1/8" to start, can adjust later. The case is a 6 inch PVC pipe with 4 inch throughput. I could not have attempted this without the resources of TN.

Here are some images of the nozzle parts and assembly -

Input end
View attachment 1262643

Six inch end cap machined for a press fit of the four inch throughput pipe
View attachment 1262644


With a six inch cavity, I saw no reason to angle the input. Added two layers of pipe
to thicken and support the water input. Bolted and glued, PVC.
View attachment 1262645

Both nozzle parts were cut to 11 - 13 degrees.
View attachment 1262647 View attachment 1262648

Assembled unit. I never could get neat with the purple solvent.
To adjust the gap I simply move the output end cap, which moves
the internal parts. Apply a few screws to the end cap to secure the
position, and you're done. Weighs in at about 7 pounds.

View attachment 1262650
 

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equinefencer, is that your nozzle? or something you found on youtube?
 

Got the construction parameters from the diagram from Efret's Aug. 2010 posting and other similar one's on google. Mine just isn't as finished looking, but easier to create from PVC.
 

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