Inlet size for a suction nozzle?

[russau]

IF you keep a short hose and keep it straight and stay in shallower water and don't hog the material ,it'll work marginally ! If you exceed ANY of these parameter's it'll go down hill quickly ! If it were me I'd just buy a bigger pump and be done with it !!

 

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[Flatline]

IF you keep a short hose and keep it straight and stay in shallower water and don't hog the material ,it'll work marginally ! If you exceed ANY of these parameter's it'll go down hill quickly ! If it were me I'd just buy a bigger pump and be done with it !!

Kind of what i suspected.. sigh... more expenses :P

 

[russau]

Kind of what i suspected.. sigh... more expenses :P

BUT BETTER results !

 

[Flatline]

BUT BETTER results !

Yes!
Looking at either proline or keene, but proline doesn't really have much data on the pumps on their site, especially the psi they operate on.

 

[russau]

I've had both Keene and Proline and I liked both BUT the Proline has a better pump for the 4 inch dredge (Keene P180 and prolines 400 ) I think you'd be really happy with the Proline setup !

 

[Flatline]

I've had both Keene and Proline and I liked both BUT the Proline has a better pump for the 4 inch dredge (Keene P180 and prolines 400 ) I think you'd be really happy with the Proline setup !

Yeah looking into it, but it's likely gonna be the 500. it's actually like 200 usd cheaper also.

 

[N-Lionberger]

For a 5” dryland dredge you are going to need a lot of water! Dust collector hose isn’t durable enough.

 

[Flatline]

For a 5” dryland dredge you are going to need a lot of water! Dust collector hose isn’t durable enough.

Yes fully aware of that but 500 gpm should be more than enough.

 

[N-Lionberger]

My 4” dryland dredge runs on two Keene 3x4 pumps. You have to have enough water to keep up with the suction nozzle or your recovery of fines is trash.

 

[Flatline]

My 4” dryland dredge runs on two Keene 3x4 pumps. You have to have enough water to keep up with the suction nozzle or your recovery of fines is trash.

Actually according to the specs of the 4" hydro a single keene p180 should be enough. It delivers 300 gpm at 60 psi and the 4" hydro needs 183 gpm at 40 psi. So there should be plenty enough. A 5" should based on my math need 250 gph at 40 psi but i do suspect the need goes up a bit faster as it's not a linear curve. But my 500 gpm should be more than enough.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Listed specs and real life are different dogs. I converted a 2.5” suction nozzle to a hydro force style setup and found the recovery to be garbage. My mining partner runs a 4” H&B blaster nozzle which is similar to a hydroforce. He has to run his 180 full bore to get marginal results. You have to put down more water than the bypass pipe allows to actually let the jet do it’s job, it’s a waste of gas and fine gold recovery is trash. Like good guy said you need a separate hose to effectively wash material to the nozzle.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Not my video but I run one based on his plans I have learned quite a bit about dryland dredging. I wouldn’t recommend trying to build a 5” hydroforce style nozzle your gonna have a bad time

 

[Flatline]

Listed specs and real life are different dogs. I converted a 2.5” suction nozzle to a hydro force style setup and found the recovery to be garbage. My mining partner runs a 4” H&B blaster nozzle which is similar to a hydroforce. He has to run his 180 full bore to get marginal results. You have to put down more water than the bypass pipe allows to actually let the jet do it’s job, it’s a waste of gas and fine gold recovery is trash. Like good guy said you need a separate hose to effectively wash material to the nozzle.

Of course live is different than listed specs, but the pump is basically double what is needed so should be just fine, i run my 3inch with the p180 and it's so overpowered it's nuts.. only issue is that my hose is too long.
Also no issue with fine gold recovery using proper matting (gold hog for life!) and long enough sluice. I didn't loose a single spec last year.

Also well aware of the Vortrex.. that's why i'm going bigger as well.

 

[russau]

Yes fully aware of that but 500 gpm should be more than enough.

I think bigger is better and it will allow you to slow down the engine and conserve fuel!

 

[Flatline]

Here is a rough estimate of what each inch in dredge size needs in GPH btw, it's not quite a linear increase but it's pretty close, but also live it's somewhat different also.

 

[N-Lionberger]

a dryland dredge and a traditional underwater dredge cannot be compared on paper.

I have a Vortxrex system, it uses a lot of water.

 

[Flatline]

a dryland dredge and a traditional underwater dredge cannot be compared on paper.

I have a Vortxrex system, it uses a lot of water.

That's kind of a given, and yes i know vortxrex uses a lot of water, i spoken to frank about it, but it also uses another type of jet that does need more water than a regular jet but you also don't need the same pressure on the water.

 

[N-Lionberger]

It actually uses less water than a traditional single jet it’s just the system uses an in-line booster. russau used one on his dredge.

That's kind of a given, and yes i know vortxrex uses a lot of water, i spoken to frank about it, but it also uses another type of jet that does need more water than a regular jet but you also don't need the same pressure on the water.

 

[russau]

Not my video but I run one based on his plans I have learned quite a bit about dryland dredging. I wouldn’t recommend trying to build a 5” hydroforce style nozzle your gonna have a bad time

I used one of Frank's (vortexrex) jets for my 4 inch dredge and it worked great for years ! Never had a problem with it ! I got to old and beat up to continue dredging and sold it all to a guy up around Chicago Il. years back ! SORRY to see it gone !

 

[russau]

Not my video but I run one based on his plans I have learned quite a bit about dryland dredging. I wouldn’t recommend trying to build a 5” hydroforce style nozzle your gonna have a bad time

My understanding is that Chuck Lassiter makes a 5 inch Hydroforce nozzle and it works o.k. with the P180 pump and should be a sucking fool with a 5 inch Hi- pressure pump !