Submersible rock pump

[logjam]

Do any of you guys have experience with a submersible hydraulic pump for pumping sand and gravel from the ocean bottom to a dredge. The only group I know of who have tried to use a similar pump used an electric pump and the problem They had was controlling the pump speed; it was either on or off with no adjustment in pump speed.

 

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[Jason in Enid]

You don't pump sand and gravel directly, that would destroy the pump. You have to use a venturi suction hose. The pump (could be hydraulic or direct engine) pumps out high volume / high pressure water into a venturi jet. This creates an open suction on the back end that you put the suction hose onto, and directly discharges through an output hose to whatever collection / classifier / concentrator that you need.

 

[logjam]

Toyo,Dragflow,and a few other manufacturers have submersible pumps capable of passing sand and gravel without hurting the impeller. The larger the pump the larger the solids they will pass. Some models have agitators and blasters to put the material in suspension before it is pumped.

I was also concerned about passing material through an impeller and was looking for real world experience concerning durability and pump life .

 

[winners58]

this one use's induction/eddy current to spin the trash/slurry impeller, was used by Vern on the tv show "Bering sea gold"
EDDY Pump - Slurry Pumps & Dredge Equipment - USA MADE

 

[russau]

I still believe that the Eddy Pump would be a asset to whom ever is using it as long as Vern wasn't anywhere near or had a say in it! He is the kind of guy that thinks if he throws lots of cash there he will come out "Golden" and we saw that this isn't so , at least with Vern!

 

[Hoser John]

Cement pumps do it easy but size restrictions do apply. Get a jet with a decent dredge pump by proline,keene,dahlke or precision and life will be good. Then you get into your recovery. John

 

[logjam]

Gentlemen, Thanks for your ideas and comments. Looking at that Eddy pump, it looks like a way to turn a large fortune into a small fortune! If I could afford that thing I'd just retire and buy gold and silver, haha. Also if I went to the expense of outfitting a landing craft big enough to deploy that thing I'd do it at a larger scale. That looks small like a 4" maybe, If you are going to the expense and the trouble you might as well move a lot more material than that. It looks like a great rig for sampling. I am still at the sampling stage with what I'm doing but I've got some hurdles to jump. The first is trying to come up with some used equipment that isn't junk. The dredge that I have is great for Nome where I came out of the harbor and within a half hour would be over the side, and could run back in and live onshore with the dredge safely in the harbor when hiding from storms, but I'm in an area far from a harbor where I need a bigger vessel to live aboard because it's too far to day trip. I have a commercial fishing vessel which would be good enough for sampling but the jet log and pumps I have would never lift material that far above the surface. That's why I'm thinking of using a submersible hydraulic pump: I think it would lift farther to my deck above the water surface, and because I already have diesel powered hydraulics aboard and wouldn't need to carry gas engines and gas aboard for the dredge pumps I already have. I'm thinking I might as well run material down a sluice while I'm sampling to pay for my expenses. I've seen enough gold around to warrant further sampling, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of throwing a lot of money at it until I know what exactly is there.

 

[Hoser John]

Discretion is the better part of valor anywhere. A couple of miners from here fled to Nome and have stayed for many years freelancing their own rigs. They told tv shows to pound sand whilst they get gold quietly. Wish you all the luck in the world as a tough nut to crack-Respect-John

 

[logjam]

Discretion is the better part of valor anywhere. A couple of miners from here fled to Nome and have stayed for many years freelancing their own rigs. They told tv shows to pound sand whilst they get gold quietly. Wish you all the luck in the world as a tough nut to crack-Respect-John

Talked to a friend who said,"I got two Hollywood producers in my office looking for someone new to follow around and film, you guys would be perfect!" My response, "Thanks but I want my son to be worried about dying...not how his hair looks" Haven't made it to the get gold quietly part yet!