Dredge Sand

[Daybo]

I am looking to put a small dredge together to keep my boat basin clear and small channel. It's a maintenance issue so it doesn't have to be fast and unlike everyone on this site, I'm not trying to capture spoils to find anything. I just want to move some sand. What is the best and most economical pump for my needs and is there any advice on how to configure the dredge nozzle end so it doesn't overload the pump. I've looked at a 3" trash pump with 1.25" max solid. That sounds pretty good to me. Does anyone out there have any experience with this??

 

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[Frankn]

You are tring to enguage in a project that requires very expensive equippment. Pump systems used in gold prospecting don't pump the sand. They form a vacuum by blowing water through a Y fitting. They would not be any good for deep removal of sand. Your trash pump, on the other hand uses a diaphragm type setup to purge the sand, but you would need a much larger setup to clear a channel. I have watcher beach replenishment projects and the equipment is large and specialized. You have to take into consideration the weight of sand and water plus the special suction hose needed to handle it. By the time you finished, it would have been cheaper to have it done. Just my thoughts, Frank...

 

[huntsman53]

Like Frankn said, the usual equipment needed to dredge or clear a channel and boat basin is expensive! However, I see no reason that it could not be done with a quality trash pump and highbanker/dredge setup. It would be a tedious job and take quite a long time to do the clearing but it could be done. The reason you would want a highbanker/dredge setup attached to the trash pump instead of a dredge is because a highbanker/dredge is portable and easy to move to disperse the debris (i.e. sand, rocks and any dirt). Whereas, a dredge is less portable unless you are dispersing directly back into the water within the channel (say the sides of the channel) and can easily float and move the dredge. Beside, dredges used in Gold prospecting operations are much more expensive than highbanker/dredge setups. My' highbanker/dredge with a Honda 3.5 HP trash pump, will move a lot of material (sand, rocks, dirt as well as water) but it still would take a lot of time and strenuous work to do so.

I think the bigger problem that you may encounter with any type of equipment that you might try to to clear the channel and boat basin, is whether anything you use would be allowed and would you need a Permit from the proper authorities! You may need not only local but also State and possibly Federal clearance and permitting to do any clearning of the channel and boat basin with any type of motorized equipment that sucks up the sand, rocks, dirt and water to move it. However, if you use a shovel alone, more than likely no permit will be needed and probably would not need to notify anyone.


Frank