Low budget dredge build

[Reed Lukens]

Building your jet is easy enough but what do you have for a pump? This is the main question because everything will need to be built around the pump. Scrap is easy enough to come by for everything else so $500 should build the whole thing less the motor.

 

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[wondertuckian]

Building your jet is easy enough but what do you have for a pump? This is the main question because everything will need to be built around the pump. Scrap is easy enough to come by for everything else so $500 should build the whole thing less the motor.

Reed, thanks for the response. I already found the info I was looking for on another forum. Over the past few weeks I have been reading a lot of the older threads here about couple-jets and infinity jets & I mistakenly thought that this was the place to get answers to a few questions I had. Turns out I was wrong. Sorry I wasted your time.

 

[SHoward]

I really didn't intend to discourage you at all, just relaying why my build is the way it is. And Reed is right, the pump is the heart of the whole operation and that's what started the ball rolling on mine, getting that keene pump so cheap. After I got the pump and mounted on my trash pump motor it was all I needed to get the wheels turning, as in, I can build everything bigger !

BTW the 7 H.P. Dura max trash pump runs a 2" suction nozzle with no problem, you can get it on ebay for $160 (new and free shipping), I've had mine for 2 yrs now and it runs great. I've seen on here where people are using trash pumps on all sizes of infinity jets with good results.

BTW the keene pump is sized for a 5/8 " threaded shaft, I had to bore out and rethread the impeller for 3/4" threaded shaft.

 

[wondertuckian]

I really didn't intend to discourage you at all, just relaying why my build is the way it is. And Reed is right, the pump is the heart of the whole operation and that's what started the ball rolling on mine, getting that keene pump so cheap. After I got the pump and mounted on my trash pump motor it was all I needed to get the wheels turning, as in, I can build everything bigger !

BTW the 7 H.P. Dura max trash pump runs a 2" suction nozzle with no problem, you can get it on ebay for $160 (new and free shipping), I've had mine for 2 yrs now and it runs great. I've seen on here where people are using trash pumps on all sizes of infinity jets with good results.

BTW the keene pump is sized for a 5/8 " threaded shaft, I had to bore out and rethread the impeller for 3/4" threaded shaft.

SHoward, I had no problem with your response. I was hoping to get a few questions answered here, in the first bunch of replies I got no one seemed to want to answer, or they just didn't know the answers, so I went elsewhere, no biggie. As to the pump I have, it's rated at more than twice the output of that 7hp duramax unit.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Reed, thanks for the response. I already found the info I was looking for on another forum. Over the past few weeks I have been reading a lot of the older threads here about couple-jets and infinity jets & I mistakenly thought that this was the place to get answers to a few questions I had. Turns out I was wrong. Sorry I wasted your time.

You'll get answers, you just need to wait for the right people to see it. Looks like your going to build a 4" outlet to the box with a 3" hose and your tables look like a 4" dredge would be max. I'm just wondering if you have the pump already being that even a Keene P180 on a 6.5 Honda is cheaper by almost half.

 

[wondertuckian]

You'll get answers, you just need to wait for the right people to see it. Looks like your going to build a 4" outlet to the box with a 3" hose and your tables look like a 4" dredge would be max. I'm just wondering if you have the pump already being that even a Keene P180 on a 6.5 Honda is cheaper by almost half.

I already have the Homelite 328, paid 40 bucks for it.

 

[russau]

for now forget the building of a dredge IF you don't have any experience running/designing one! BUT instead find someone that has a dredge and is experienced running / tuneing one and ask if you could work with him while he is teaching / showing you the ropes. there are several reasons I say this. 1) good advice! 2) everyone needs s dredge tender if they are out on a fast river. 3) you probly will made a friend for life! 4)everyone needs help pulling or dropping off a dredge into the river! 5) the knowledge he shares with you is PRICLESS! then and only then would I attempt to make my own dredge! and your new friends help wont hurt a bit! Goodluck on making you decision!

 

[wondertuckian]

for now forget the building of a dredge IF you don't have any experience running/designing one! BUT instead find someone that has a dredge and is experienced running / tuneing one and ask if you could work with him while he is teaching / showing you the ropes. there are several reasons I say this. 1) good advice! 2) everyone needs s dredge tender if they are out on a fast river. 3) you probly will made a friend for life! 4)everyone needs help pulling or dropping off a dredge into the river! 5) the knowledge he shares with you is PRICLESS! then and only then would I attempt to make my own dredge! and your new friends help wont hurt a bit! Goodluck on making you decision!

No offense meant, but I live in Northern IL, not too many guys around here even know what the heck a dredge is. The few times I've mentioned it to some of the people I know, all I got was a blank, deer-in-the-headlights stare. I did meet a few guys in the local chapter of the GPAA that had dredge/highbanker setups, the largest I know of was a 1 1/2". When I asked the guy how much production he could get out of it he told me that it's not about throughput, it's all about recovery percentages. Running 4 tons a day and getting 97 percent of .10-.20 grams per ton doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather make a few mistakes & lose 25 percent on 4 tons an hour. It's just basic math.

 

[Reed Lukens]

If your not going to have it in a river then just put the sluice box on stilts just high enough to keep the jet under water. and then make a tailings stacker for easy running on shore. A couple 4x4's is all I use when doing it this way. If you are building a sluice out of wood then with that motor I would flare it from 4" at the top to stick your hose into up to to 22" at the bottom, single layer with miners moss and expanded metal only, the longer the better and dirt cheap. 5 or 6 feet long would be good, 8 would be better. Basically this would cost a few bucks in used wood and that's it. You don't need anything fancy unless you have to float it.

 

[wondertuckian]

If your not going to have it in a river then just put the sluice box on stilts just high enough to keep the jet under water. and then make a tailings stacker for easy running on shore. A couple 4x4's is all I use when doing it this way. If you are building a sluice out of wood then with that motor I would flare it from 4" at the top to stick your hose into up to to 22" at the bottom, single layer with miners moss and expanded metal only, the longer the better and dirt cheap. 5 or 6 feet long would be good, 8 would be better. Basically this would cost a few bucks in used wood and that's it. You don't need anything fancy unless you have to float it.

View attachment 1129656 View attachment 1129657

Was planning to use ClarkDietrich Structural Framing Tracks for the sluice. They look like this:



They make them 10 feet long, up to 14 inches wide, with legs up to 3 inches. The lumberyard here has the 8", 18 gauge, galvanized for $15.54 ea. Need to go up & see what I can get the wider ones for, they don't list them on their web site. Figured I could cut one in half & have two 5 foot long sluices. ClarkDietrich has a location an hour's drive away, so maybe I can even pick them up there if the lumberyard can't/won't order the size I want. Found a place that sells 36"x60" 10mm miners moss for about $40, shipped. Was gonna look locally for the expanded metal, if I can't get it cheap enough locally, I can get it on ebay, or whatever. As far as floatation goes, I've got a 17 foot canoe that I fitted with removable outriggers a few years ago, it'll support over 1000 lbs. & draws about 3 inches with 450-500lbs on board, (you know, 2 little guys) & it's darn near as stable a my buddy's tri-hull bass boat. I've even seen some "trash pump jet boats" on youtube so I figured I might go that route for propulsion. That or the trusty ol' MinnKota trolling motor. The jet flare I figured I could weld up some PVC pipe & reinforce the seams with aluminum screen.

 

[Reed Lukens]

That sounds good 14" will be good for the 1" expanded riffles because you really need a lot of water to run them right. Generally we have to order the sheets in 4'x 8' so if you can't find any in a scrap yard or anything try calling or emailing Spencer and see how much he would cut a piece to size for you and ship it. He uses the 1" wide now for his highbankers. It's 1" x 2½" or 3 I think and about ¾" high.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcAJzGCJ3Q7yfF_FAw7oNjZwY1j-G8Eo0

 

[SHoward]

Check out the local fab shops in your area, they usually have scraps that they will part with for little or no money just to get it out of the way. They are also a good place to order from, the stuff I did order was through a local shop, they just added what I wanted onto their regular order so it was very cheap.