One motor and pump or two?

[Banjopicker]

Ill be ready to sit the motors and pumps on my 5/6" dredge in a couple of weeks, time to make a decision. Is there an advantage of one over the other. I'm either going with a 14hp with a keene 350 or two 6.5 hp with keene 180s. One motor and pump, half the maintenance, half the chance of a breakdown, a good bit cheaper, but what about the difference in suction? Id really like to use one pump and motor bu dont want to be under powered. Got one more for you. Ill do whatever it takes but id like to keep my sluice at 22" wide. Any thoughts on single or over/under double. I like the keene triple but too many parts to take apart for cleanup. Thanks guys

 

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[bill-costa rica]

if it were me i would go 1 motor , flared sluice starting at 22 inches ending at 36 .about 8 foot long overunder sluice. a nice big diffuser flared to 20 inches. nugget catch up front . then expandered metal over miners moss. me thinks that would be kick ass sluice..... but that is just me.

bill/cr

 

[G1sammons]

I'm in the one motor dept also thou I'd find a16 vtwin honda or Briggs .. I'm with ya on the over powering dept it's easy to turn it down .
Hard to tun it up when ya don't have enough engine....
Hold on to your pants if you go after that keene box ! 2200 plus shipping

 

[G1sammons]

Ill be ready to sit the motors and pumps on my 5/6" dredge in a couple of weeks, time to make a decision. Is there an advantage of one over the other. I'm either going with a 14hp with a keene 350 or two 6.5 hp with keene 180s. One motor and pump, half the maintenance, half the chance of a breakdown, a good bit cheaper, but what about the difference in suction? Id really like to use one pump and motor bu dont want to be under powered. Got one more for you. Ill do whatever it takes but id like to keep my sluice at 22" wide. Any thoughts on single or over/under double. I like the keene triple but too many parts to take apart for cleanup. Thanks guys

banjo I bought a used 24 hp honda and pulled the crank had it machined "threaded " had a total of 500 in when I was done ,then bought the pump from keene 350s... I still have the blueprint to machine the engine shaft if ya want it , going that route let me over power and save some big money at the same time ! Had a total of 1100 in the package....

 

[Jason in Enid]

I would also suggest a single pump/motor for all the reasons you listed. It's not like a single P180 pump is going to be effective in that dredge if one engine goes down.

 

[kazcoro]

I would also suggest a single pump/motor for all the reasons you listed. It's not like a single P180 pump is going to be effective in that dredge if one engine goes down.

Don't know squat about dredges, but that is a valid point.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I will list one reason for using double engines. If you are in a situation where you need to pack your dredge into a remote location by hand, it's much easier to make 2 trips with a 35 pound motor/pump than a single 69 pound unit

 

[omnicron]

What state do you live in? It matters for your regulations.
Like Idaho limits nozzle size to 5" and no more the 15hp
Colorado limits the nozzle to 4" and no more the 8hp
Before you buy/build anyting check your regs.

With that said, what jet are you going with? If you go with a single log, it's not very efficient. A dual jet is better, tri jet even better, quad even more so and infinity being the best.
The better your jet the less pump motor you will need.
How many feet down do you plan to dredge?
You physically able to carry 75 pounds down a rocky "goat" trail for 1/2 a mile? (area dependent)(single engine)

Lots of different options and choices.

 

[Banjopicker]

Well I'm pushing 60 and not planning on getting near a goat trail' I'm in pretty good shape but I'll usually be alone. I've seen a couple of cart designs I like but if I can get within about 125' I can get it in the water and I can winch it up on the trailer using a plywood skid and the electric wench. I just got of the phone with Mark Keene, he said It wouldn't matter performance wise but replace the two 180 pumps with one 500 instead of the 350 I was thinking about and y it to dual intakes on the jet.