Setting up dredge need info.

[emptyhole]

I am setting up a keene 4 inch ultra mini dredge and I have a question for the more experienced dredgers that have ran multiple dredges.The dredge came with a honda 6.5 motor and keene p180 pump on it,I also have a pro line hp350 pump.I know the best pump for this engine would be the pro line 400 but I don't want to spend the money when I have the other two pumps available to me.So which pump do you think would give me the best performance of the two pumps I own.

 

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[russau]

If I had to make a choice in pumps , id go with the Proline P400 because I heard it puts out more water. I had a chance to buy one of the Proline 400 pumps off of 49ermike years back and didn't! Im still kicking myself now! But my 6.5 hp Honda with the Keene P180 is doing its job just fine!

 

[Hoser John]

Run with what ya got or are you going deeper than 20' with a 30' hose.....even a 5hp works fine and that extra hp will help run a decent GAST/t-80 compressor. That mini is HORRIBLE in the floatation department so add outriggers/barrel under the box to level out and stabilize as a submarine/rollover you do not want. Check weight on that proline, good pump but extra weight kills that setup your using.John

 

[emptyhole]

I know I let this thread die but now I'm going to bring it back .I've got time on my hands this winter so I want to set up this dredge as good as possible. If you had a p180 pump and a proline hp350 pump which would you run on a 6.5 honda engine?also I've been reading a lot on this forum about raising the box on 3 stage sluices to improve the performance would there be any advantage to raise the sluice on my dredge with it being the standard box. John thanks for the advice on adding floatation which I have done as a precaution even though I will primarily be on small water.

 

[mu50stang]

I have this same dredge and it works fine with the 6.5 hp motor and diving pump. What I would recommend is pulling out all the matts, carpets, riffles and go with river hog matting throughout. I put the gold hog matting in last season and was very happy as I was catching alot more smaller gold then I did before.

 

[MadJack_ME]

You are in NorCal, DO NOT pull out your mat carpet & riffles for any smooth/slick rubber replacement!!!
That is in the same category with putting 1/4" punch-plate over your whole sluice. Bye-Bye bigger nuggets! Why give up a $200 nugget just to catch $6 worth of fines?

You say you are working [mostly] small water. Dump the extra floatation [sorry John it's not needed] and run what it like it came from the factory. Why? Because you are using it in the type of place it was designed for. In Hoser's rivers your dredge will not work so well as he has deep water and fast water, which once your dredge gets sideways in the currant will roll over. And it will not have enough suction to get you 20' deep with 30' of hose.
In my little river [with your dredge] I would leave the floats/frame at home and replace them with a stand & adjustable legs due to less-than knee deep water most places here. And I don't have to pack 300+ lbs up & out of the sh@t-hole I;m working in after a hard week of dredging.

This post may piss off some but I really don't care, I'm not here to be popular. I'm here to continue learning and to help others with my many years of experience. And in the process try to save them from spending any more money than they have to.

Emptyhole, if you want the Proline 400 and can afford it, buy it, period. If you never intend to dredge 30+ feet deep why bother? Is there really that much difference between a PL350 and a PL400 when used on a 4" dredge? And with the price of pumps these days, wouldn't it make more sense to search for an infinity jet or one of Dahlke's super efficient jets, to replace that inefficient 60lb. Keene jet? Jet threads abound here on this site.
If I had a drag car with a little old 350ci motor and a six-pack carb, and you had a 454 with a single throat carb, who's going to win?

I run my Dahlke Micro 4-B with a GX 4hp and a Dahlke DP150 (and compressor) and have great suction to 15' with very few plugs. There is no reason for me to carry in more weight [motor, fuel], spend more money, waste time I could use making money elsewhere.
If you have the cash, time, and energy... go for it!

 

[Hoser John]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEN brother-lean,mean,small,clean and quiet and good to go-John

 

[Reed Lukens]

The P180 and the HP350 are about the same, close enough to not worry about. I honestly haven't been able to see much difference between the two. The HP300 would work also with a short hose.

 

[emptyhole]

Thanks for all the information and all the replies.Reed thanks for answering the main question,I have been reading your comments for a few years now and have watched your videos on dredge building so I really respect your opinion.As I stated before I have both pumps and I didn't want to pack into a steep canyon and find out I had an inferior pump on the dredge.My old dredge was a proline 4 in. with a 5.5 honda and hp350 pump.When the dredge ban happened I packed out motor and pump then strapped the dredge to a big tree above the flood stage on my claim ,thinking it be easier to store it there and hoping the dredge ban would be short term.well the next year one of the forest fires came through and burned it up ,nothing left but a pile of melted aluminum.Luckily my home owners covered the loss of the used dredge .So I watched the want adds for the best deal I could find and picked up the ultra mini in like new condition for less than half price of a new one .So that's how I ended up with two pumps,although I really liked my proline the ultra mini is so much easier to move .