Howdy, a question on water pump and gallons per minute needed 4 a 2 1/2'' suction dredge nozzle ?

[PayStreak]

Howdy, new guy here. I am wanting to know how many gallons per minute are needed on a water pump to run a 2 1/2'' dredge ? The Keene pump and motors are nice and I believe 100 GPM is what the P90 pump and motor has for this. However, I can't afford one of these Keene pumps but have a lead on a 60 GPM pump and motor that is in my budget. Will this work or is that 4 a smaller 2'' inch dredge, not sure ?

 

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[russau]

To small of a pump! The Keene P90 pump is what you need ! sorry! Go bigger (P90) you can always throttle it down to get the suction you need ! The 60 GPM is just NOT enough to work the variable depths and amounts of material .

 

[PayStreak]

To small of a pump! The Keene P90 pump is what you need ! sorry! Go bigger (P90) you can always throttle it down to get the suction you need ! The 60 GPM is just NOT enough to work the variable depths and amounts of material .

I was thinking so, just knew someone on here would know. Do you think a 60 GPM pump- motor would work on a 2'' dredge ?

 

[russau]

No I don't think it would do at all. The larger material won't be able to get up the hose and you'll end up with LOT'S of plug - up's ! And this would aggravate the beans out of you !

 

[PayStreak]

No I don't think it would do at all. The larger material won't be able to get up the hose and you'll end up with LOT'S of plug - up's ! And this would aggravate the beans out of you !

Thanks for the advice russau

 

[russau]

Your absolutely welcome ! Enjoy !

 

[N-Lionberger]

Yup lots of plug ups and frustration. In my opinion 2” dredges are toys. The extra half inch on the 2.5” dredge makes an incredible difference. Plug ups are super annoying the smaller the dredge the worse they are. A dead blow mallet is extremely handy for loosening up gravel plugs in the hose. Get a good pump designed for the job you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle.

 

[principedeleon]

Yup lots of plug ups and frustration. In my opinion 2” dredges are toys. The extra half inch on the 2.5” dredge makes an incredible difference. Plug ups are super annoying the smaller the dredge the worse they are. A dead blow mallet is extremely handy for loosening up gravel plugs in the hose. Get a good pump designed for the job you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle.

i was just about to comment the same thing.. a 3" is trash .. 4" and up is the way to go.. if you want to go light go with a 4" subbie.. the same engine you could run the 2.5" you could run a 4" subbie and still catch good fines..

 

[Quinc]

I run my 2" dredge with the honda 49cc trash pump I picked up used for 100$ . Running at an idle with 25ft of pressure hose and 9ft of suction hose.

 

[russau]

Yes it'll work BUT how deep will it go and would it work with a much longer hose that you'll eventually want.

 

[Quinc]

Yes it'll work BUT how deep will it go and would it work with a much longer hose that you'll eventually want.

Depends on your goals. If you are hiking for hours to a spot then smaller and lighter the better. If you are trying to move serious material.... You should be using a 4"+ dredge.

 

[russau]

Yep I've thought about all of that ! I HAD 4 different dredging device's . A 2 inch Proline floating dredge , 2 2 inch NON floating devices and my 4 inch floating dredge and I was building a 5 inch floating dredge when I had to give up all of this because of my health and the lack of my ability to get in / out of these locations. I used my 2 inch dredge for low water conditions and the non floating dredge were for the out of the way locations to get my hole started for my foot valve. and of course I had my ATV and trailer to haul my equipment to those far away spots. Giving up prospecting / dredging for the past 20 + years was REALLY HARD thing to do and I still have thoughts of getting some land and or a claim somewhere and hiring help to ..................well maybe I better not go there again ! Most of my friends are either gone or can't get out there like me ! Memories / friends are forever with me and the gold is long gone ! I wish I could talk to the guy that bought all of my equipment. He is from the Chicago area

 

[Assembler]

Yep I've thought about all of that ! I HAD 4 different dredging device's . A 2 inch Proline floating dredge , 2 2 inch NON floating devices and my 4 inch floating dredge and I was building a 5 inch floating dredge when I had to give up all of this because of my health and the lack of my ability to get in / out of these locations. I used my 2 inch dredge for low water conditions and the non floating dredge were for the out of the way locations to get my hole started for my foot valve. and of course I had my ATV and trailer to haul my equipment to those far away spots. Giving up prospecting / dredging for the past 20 + years was REALLY HARD thing to do and I still have thoughts of getting some land and or a claim somewhere and hiring help to ..................well maybe I better not go there again ! Most of my friends are either gone or can't get out there like me ! Memories / friends are forever with me and the gold is long gone ! I wish I could talk to the guy that bought all of my equipment. He is from the Chicago area

Well there are some here on this forum to talk to that have some or all of this equipment with a PM.

Getting in and out can be getting harder to do now.