bowgod1977
Jr. Member
- Aug 18, 2013
- 20
- 1
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I built a 3 inch dredge recently. In the process I picked up a used keene pump mounted to a 5.5 hp Honda motor. Being new to all of this I'm having problems with the pump that I can't figure out. First time out with it was a complete wash as the used hoses I got with the pump were full of holes. So I picked up some fresh hose and went back for round 2.
This time around started out great, primed the pump, started right up and I was off to the races. The nozzle was sucking great, the water was flowing through the sluice just the way I wanted it to, and everything seemed perfect. Unfortunately perfection didn't last, but maybe 2-3 minutes when all of a sudden the pump stopped sucking. The motor didn't shut off, the pump just quit sucking water. We cut the engine and primed the pump again, still no suction. Thankfully my buddy had his pump back at the car so I did get to run my new dredge for a while, but I seriously need to figure out this pump as I'm not going to be able to borrow a pump Everytime I go out.
Here's a little background info that might help a more experienced dredger diagnose the problem.
I had the pump shipped to me, the pump housing was removed prior to shipping so it could be shipped cheaper. I replaced the housing when it arrived. Not sure if that has anything to do with the problem but I figured it's worth mention. The other thing I'm thinking might contribute ifs when I bought new hose the only 2 1/2" hose I could find for the intake hose is a soft black rubber hose that has a stiff piece of steel wire that is inside the hose. It was very expensive high grade hose, but mainly used in heavy equipment.
I'm no mechanic so I have no clue where to start. I'm hoping someone here has had experience with these older keene pumps and might be able to point me in the right direction to fix this so I can get to dredging.
This time around started out great, primed the pump, started right up and I was off to the races. The nozzle was sucking great, the water was flowing through the sluice just the way I wanted it to, and everything seemed perfect. Unfortunately perfection didn't last, but maybe 2-3 minutes when all of a sudden the pump stopped sucking. The motor didn't shut off, the pump just quit sucking water. We cut the engine and primed the pump again, still no suction. Thankfully my buddy had his pump back at the car so I did get to run my new dredge for a while, but I seriously need to figure out this pump as I'm not going to be able to borrow a pump Everytime I go out.
Here's a little background info that might help a more experienced dredger diagnose the problem.
I had the pump shipped to me, the pump housing was removed prior to shipping so it could be shipped cheaper. I replaced the housing when it arrived. Not sure if that has anything to do with the problem but I figured it's worth mention. The other thing I'm thinking might contribute ifs when I bought new hose the only 2 1/2" hose I could find for the intake hose is a soft black rubber hose that has a stiff piece of steel wire that is inside the hose. It was very expensive high grade hose, but mainly used in heavy equipment.
I'm no mechanic so I have no clue where to start. I'm hoping someone here has had experience with these older keene pumps and might be able to point me in the right direction to fix this so I can get to dredging.