Keene 5 inch triple sluice questions

[RDewhurst2]

So I purchased a 5 inch keene triple sluice last year for a very nice price. Took a bit of work but the old honda motor woke back up. Any tips on tuning it in would be more than appreciated as I have a new section of river to prospect this year that has never been touched and I want to make sure the dredge is running as it should be. It has the older 8HP honda and a P350 pump with air. I have been debating upsizing to GX270 or a GX390 13 HP engine, but I would need to change out the pump. Thoughts?

 

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[Actionman]

Pull the pump so that you can run the engine without water. New plug, air filter, change the oil, and check the valve lash. Who knows how many hours are on the engine, might have a lot of life left in it. If it does not smoke and runs smooth, I would trust it. Get a extra shaft seal for the pump, belt for the air compressor, and a rebuild kit for the compressor.

 

[RDewhurst2]

Pull the pump so that you can run the engine without water. New plug, air filter, change the oil, and check the valve lash. Who knows how many hours are on the engine, might have a lot of life left in it. If it does not smoke and runs smooth, I would trust it. Get a extra shaft seal for the pump, belt for the air compressor, and a rebuild kit for the compressor.

The new plug, oil, and air filter was the first thing I did. I have not checked the valve yet. No smoking either. I will definitely get seal kits for the pump. I already rebuilt the air compressor as well. The dredge sat in a barn in Oregon for around 12 years the guy said before I had it shipped out here.

 

[N-Lionberger]

You don’t need a new pump if you go up to the 13hp you can get an impeller for the 1” key way shaft from Keene.

 

[Actionman]

I would use it as is, sounds like you got a great deal, it probably never saw very much use. I don't see a reason to re-power it.

 

[RDewhurst2]

You don’t need a new pump if you go up to the 13hp you can get an impeller for the 1” key way shaft from Keene.

I called Mark Keene, he said to send the pump housing out to him and he will remachine it for the higher performance impeller with a keyway instead of the threaded shaft, which is getting real hard to find, that will allow me to run the 13hp GX390. He said my old 1980's GX240 may just be tired. Reason he suggested this is that there was rocks hanging up in the center sluice. Then it should outlive me.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Just run the motor maxed out... rocks hanging in the center is common with the 8horse, but tune it to clear the rocks with a touch more drop and let it go. They're great dredges. Also with the 8hp, you want to run the shorter 15' suction hose for better suction. Mine had the 13 horse and it was a great dredge.

 

[principedeleon]

ill upgrade .. running maxed out kills the life of the engine real quick and burns more fuel.. normally you get the best fuel consumption/power around 3/4 of full throttle.