infinity jet

[efret]

So i recently bought a water pump and a 3" Keene power jet and it kinda works. The setup won't pick up rocks any bigger than 1" and I'd like a little more power than that without having to buy a new pump. So I did a little research on the web and I read this article here:

http://www.gouldeng.com/gettingbestper.htm

What I can gather from the article, the infinity jet is a nozzle that shoots water in from all 360 degrees around the pipe rather than from one location like with a standard power jet. He's saying the infinity jet is almost 3 times as efficient as a standard power jet, do you think this is true? Also what do you think would be the best angle for the water to leave the nozzle at?

Thanks,

 

[strickman]

did you go with pump you were looking at ? what size discharge ? what size is the power jet inlet [high pressure side] how much hose in feet are you running ?

 

[efret]

I went with the pump that I was looking at. It has a 2" discharge and the power jet has a 1.5" inlet. I was running 8' of hose. Now one of my problems is the hose that I'm using, the flexible black sewage pipe you can buy from lowes or home depot. The reason I'm using this is because it costs $0.50 per ft and the closest place I can get dredging hose from sells it for $5.00 per ft.

 

[Hoser John]

What you are refering to is the Gold Divers patented couple jet with the "adjustable" o ring induction at 360 degrees. Bamboozleajerka junk-John

 

[efret]

I probably am referring to the couple jet. Do you happen to have any pictures of the inner workings?

 

[strickman]

it should be working better than that, but you should splurge for some real hose.

 

[jimmygoat]

Hello Efret, First of all the pump you have is not a high pressure pump that you find on most dredges, it is what i call a trash pump. They will work fine for a smaller dredge, but once you go bigger than a 3 inch dredge you need a tremendous amount of power. I think your set-up should work. Was your jet underwater? Did you throttle up to full? Keep the hose from your pump to the jet as short as possible. Use good suction or pressure hose, not the crap that comes in a flat roll-junk! Good luck and let us know how it works, Jimmygoat

 

[strickman]

if you are using black corugated ,that is your problem. thats 4" .plus the internal ribs cause too much friction, too much loss . the pump he was looking at was a high pressure. i have a 3" clear water pump [not trash pump] reduced to 2" and mine rips ,you don't want your hand caught between a rock and the nozzel !

 

[efret]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll be picking up some real dredging hose as soon as I can. But I've ended up building a couple jet that I'm going to be testing later today.

Here's some pics let me know what you think:

 

[efret]

I went out and tested it a couple hours ago and it seems like it's a ton better than the power jet. Although I don't have an accurate comparison because I just used 4ft of PVC pipe as my hose (the pipe I used for the inside was schedule 80 so the O.D. is 3.5" and to big for my crappy corrugated hose). I'll be testing it on the actual dredge at Quartzville creek tomorrow and also ordering some dredging hose. Does $5.00 per ft sound like an O.K. price for 3" hose?

 

[strickman]

hope it works better ,i don't know about couple jets ,i always use powerjets -never had a problem. there will be a big difference between ,corugated and 3" ---should work better.

 

[jimmygoat]

Hey Efret, I went back and looked at what pump you bought and it is a high pressure pump. Strickman is right. My mistake. It is not like a pump you will find on most dredges though. The intake port and the outlet are both the same size on your pump. On a dredge pump the outlet is always smaller than the intake. I agree with strick, The regular jet should work just fine. Good luck. Jimmygoat

 

[strickman]

mine is a 3" in and out ,i put a 3"x2" bell reducer on it - 2" high pressure hose . and it is stronger than factory .most of the time i run on 1/2 throttle. plus i am running a garden hose with a flusher nozzle.the only drawback on mine is the weight ,it's a lot heavier than a briggs with a keene pump. had to move my pontoons forward about 6 or 7 inches. only paid 200 for motor a pump,it's paid for itself and then some ! i might buy another one for my other 3" dredge with a suction nozzle , the one i am running now has a powerjet. i was thinking about the 2 1/2 h.p. -1 1/2" pump at harbor frieght . i would make a good little 11/2" or 2 " sniping dredge , light weight and back packable. could run it into a letrap with a modified flare [orange caution cone ] like kiwi runs ........

 

[efret]

Just tested out my couple jet with the full set up and it works 3 times as good. Although unfortunately the hose that connects the pump and the couple jet keeps on shooting off like a rocket every now and then. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Hoser John]

Double clamp the hose and open up the jet a single turn to allow a bit more water into the flow and then you can turn down your pump a little too with the same results. Alfonso at Gold Divers was 1 smart fella and his jets SUCK!!!!!!!! For the best induction angle check your taper to see if between 11-13 degrees too for a bit more efficent push also. John

 

[strickman]

that couple jet looks cool. really neat design . definitely thinking outside the box . i would like to build one of those . post specs please .

 

[Hoser John]

For 17% more psi and much easier flow cut the inlet to the same degree angle of the pipe roundness / as trying to introduce water straight onto the pipe is a restriction-same as any 90 degree bend just kills your stats too-then you can even run your engine slower with better suction also---every little bit adds up to end up with a HUGE difference John

 

[efret]

Here's the plans:



The pieces on the left and right are made out of schedule 80 pipe. The two half inch sections on the middle piece is just half inch plate steel (I used galvanized because it was on hand) and the outside shell is 5" truck exhaust pipe. Where ever you see diagonal lines they just represent 12 TPI threads. Also on the inside of the middle piece i covered with a layer of silicon glue stuff as a sealant so I didn't have to weld the entire seam on the outside and possibly deform the threads.

If you want to make it this exact way then you're going to need a lathe that can thread, but if you don't care about adjust ability then you can weld the two pipes in place and potentially not even have to use a lathe. However a little bit of math will be needed to match the gap between the pipes to your pumps specs.

 

[strickman]

thanks !

 

[nuggy]

Now that's interesting! Timely too as I need a new nozzle ( can't find mine ). Will see if I can do it with plastic fittings, will report in a few days. Thanks.