Proline vs Keene full size 4 inch dredge review

[Mgumby16]

Been awhile since I last posted but I plan to start posting more again.


Proline Vs Keene review/comparison of their FULL SIZE 4 inch dredges. I go through each one piece by piece and discuss the ideas and reasoning on why i like or dislike each component. So if you want an in-depth nitty gritty analysis of each dredge then this video is for

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[russau]

Thanks for your comparison / review of these dredge's ! I agree with your personal assessment of them! Over the years I owned both Keene and Proline dredge's from 2 inch to 4 inch. and the dredge that I enjoyed the most was my home built 4 inch dredge. NOBODY keeps their dredge bone stock ! Over the years I made my own set - ups for sluice set - ups. to cover most conditions you'd run into on the different streams a person will run in to IF they travel around the country as I used to do ! On my dredge I picked the best function of all dredge's and made my own to work on my dredge. A over sized jet and swivel nozzle and a blaster nozzle is a MUST ! I built my own .Having a air compressor is invaluable to see what your sucking up ! At 74 (next month) I had to pull the pin on getting out and HATE IT !!! BUT life goes on and I reluctantly sold my dredge because of being a F.O.G. and to sore to get out! Since then I got feeling better and bought another Keene 4 inch dredge , and then another only to realize that I just cant do this without pain..........sold it all again and now I sit here commenting on things of good memories I used to have !THANKS for your fair comparison !I'm wanting to see your next video ! this helps with the pain !!

 

[Mgumby16]

Thanks Russau!

I tried to be fair and come at it from a functional standpoint of issues that ive had with both in the field! As i say in the video if your in the used market and either one pops up at a good price buy it! Mainly trying to get potential first time purchasers to truly think about there area and which would work best for that given area and situation.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Nice video so far, I'm at 10 minutes in and you're pointing out how low the front of the pontoons are in the water with the motor shut off. The problem here is that we're not looking at a stock proline dredge and this one is hanging lower in the water in front because the guys who did the mods to add the heater and everything, added it all in front of the pontoons and set it off balance on their own. Then when you look under water at the jet, there's a 2' steel addition that I can't quite make out under the water adding even more weight out in front of the pontoons... You should either move the motor cross members back to redistribute the weight evenly or add some flotation to the front with a small inner tube. You should use a stock proline dredge to give an accurate review because poorly thought out mods are making this dredge look bad. If you would have mounted the heater towards the back or mounted them to the pontoons, behind the motor, things would look a whole lot better.

 

[Reed Lukens]

I just finished it, not bad... the HP350 and the P180 are basically the same with the HP400 giving you about 12% more power. There are a few things that you didn't touch on with the most important to me being the difference in the jet internal diameters. The Proline jet gives you more power and room for larger motors then the Keene jet. I run an HP500 on my Proline maxed out with a modified box. The jet angle and location on the flare to me is also a big deal with Keene being able to be mounted at any angle or straight up, gives it a big edge over the Proline's being mounted on the side which blows more material down the left side of the box if you aren't running a heavy damper.
The sluice box on the 3 stage needs to be kept higher out of the water to keep the undercurrent running right. We have a difference of opinion on your box adjustment issue. Put a wing nut on the front of your proline adjustment bar, then pull the bolt and tilt the bar back out of the way, against the jet, when being moved or storing it. Mine is about 20 years old and I've never broken a Proline weld or bent the bar.
Right after I posted above, I went on and saw where you mentioned the heater placement and then I saw that you have a painted jet that is what I must have been seeing underneath.

Anyway it's a great review

 

[N-Lionberger]

East coast boys don't have the rocks LOL.

 

[Mgumby16]

Thanks for the reply and info Reed. And my buddy has a newer proline and the jets are now mounted on the top and no longer on the side.

N-Lionberger we have rocks out east but they generally arent as big as the west coast ones lol.