Converting a Gold Hog Piglet to a dredge

[gmn0000]

I want to convert my Piglet to a dredge combo and I have a Hog Hog stream sluice that the piglet will feed.

I was thinking about getting a Keene P90 pump and 2" nozzle with 1.25" intake. But then I thought why wouldn't I spend the extra money and get the Keene P160 pump and run a 2.5" nozzle with 1.5" pressure intake.

Pros:
I wouldn't have to upgrade the pump, the hoses and the nozzle on down the road.
Move more material.
Potentially less rock jams. (the material does have a higher percentage of larger rocks though)
This setup doesn't take up much more space than a 2" setup with a P90 pump. (I am kind of limited to how much stuff I can carry for a day trip)

Cons:
It may be too much water for the piglet's overall design.
Use more gas for a 2.5" nozzle

I also thought about just getting a larger pump with a 2" setup.

I noticed the Keene power sluice with 2.5" suction nozzle runs a P90 pump, but it is the sluice is 10" wide and the header box is wider too.

What are your opinions?

 

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[Actionman]

The sluice is the cheapest part of a dredge build, I wouldn't build it around the sluice but rather around how much you can pack in. A three inch dredge will move twice the amount of a 2" dredge so keep that in mind. It really has a lot to do with the material you are moving, but the larger rocks you can suck up the less cobbles you have to move. I put a flare on my 4" dredge in place of the original crash box, made a huge difference on fines. So the header box does need to be wide to slow down the flow and allow the gold to drop out. Plus I found having the sluice and engine float is the only way to go, running the sluice on legs from the bottom of the stream bed really limits where you can dredge. I also have a 1.75" dredge and I run the sluice on a inner-tube, tried it without, and it was a hassle.

 

[gmn0000]

The sluice is the cheapest part of a dredge build, I wouldn't build it around the sluice but rather around how much you can pack in. A three inch dredge will move twice the amount of a 2" dredge so keep that in mind. It really has a lot to do with the material you are moving, but the larger rocks you can suck up the less cobbles you have to move. I put a flare on my 4" dredge in place of the original crash box, made a huge difference on fines. So the header box does need to be wide to slow down the flow and allow the gold to drop out. Plus I found having the sluice and engine float is the only way to go, running the sluice on legs from the bottom of the stream bed really limits where you can dredge. I also have a 1.75" dredge and I run the sluice on a inner-tube, tried it without, and it was a hassle.

Good info about the flare and crash box. I plan on staying around the bank and not getting too deep in the water. The piglet should be able to handle a good amount of material and I can add the extension or even the flare if I feel like I need it. Seems like the 8" wide hopper might be a problem. It does have the deadening pool because the sluice has a damper mat, but in a Gold Hog Raptor 2.0 conversion video Doc had mentioned the damper mat and the reverse riffle need to be moved down the sluice to lengthen the deadening pool with a 2.5" nozzle. He started out running 2" nozzle with the raptor and using a P90 pump. That is what makes me wonder if 2.5" would be too much.

 

[akflyer]

I used mine with a dryland nozzle. In reality, you can run a lot more material through the box with a shovel. A 2" is a lot slower, but your back doesn't get sore using it either. Not sure I would run a 2.5 on a piglet. I put a flare on mine when running in the dryland dredge configuration, but at the end of the day, the shovel won out on material moved and actual gold in the mats.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Dryland nozzles surge the box like crazy.

 

[Jason in Enid]

You are always better off just buying a good condition, used dredge than trying build and convert something else into a dredge.

 

[akflyer]

They can. But once you really get one dialed in, your can keep the flow pretty darn steady. Gotta get the water spray dialed in for a pretty consistent feed and to keep the surging to a minimum. Plug ups are the biggest issue on the smaller nozzles if your not real careful.