I am new to prospecting and I am in the process of building a dredge. I have a Champion 2 in simi trash pump. I am getting ready to buy a nozzle but am a little confused by the inlet size on the nozzles. the 2 inch nozzle has a 1.5 in inlet. So I am guessing that I will need to reduce my 2 in hose down to 1.5 in hose feeding the nozzle and have a 2 in hose off of the nozzle going to the dredge sluice. Looking for answers if I am right or wrong in my thinking.
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It sounds like you are wanting to experiment with a small suction dredge. That's cool. Your 2" nozzle is likely tapered down to only allow 1 1/2" max size material to enter. That is common and reduces plugs. Your suction nozzle will likely have threads for a 1 1/2" pressure hose fitting or a 2" pressure hose fitting. If your pump has a 2" output and has ample pressure, then I would run the pressure hose with a 2" line to the nozzle. Sometimes, you have to hunt to find a suction nozzle with 2" threads.
I don't know how well your Champion semi trash pump will work for suction dredging. It may work ok if you're not excavating down more than a couple of feet. The general rule for depth of dredging is 1 foot of excavation depth for each 1 inch of nozzle size. So theoretically, you shouldn't be trying to punch 4 foot holes with your 2 inch suction dredge. That's not efficient, build/buy a 4 inch dredge for that job. A 2" suction nozzle might be great for cleaning shallow bedrock.
Mining equipment needs to be specific to the ground it's used on.
Perhaps for the future if you really get into suction dredging……
If you have access to a good dredging creek and plan on mining many yards of gravel, then I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 3" suction dredge…. 4" is more standard. You will need a high pressure pump like Keene and Proline (a few others) sell. My favorite motor/pump combo is the Honda 6.5 with the Proline HP400. Yes, not cheap. That will run the hell out of a 3" with lots to spare to run a high pressure line for hydraulic blasting. That combo will also run the hell out of a 4" suction dredge with a power jet, which is most common on the floating style dredges these days. It will also run the suction nozzle style 4", but not as well because the suction nozzle requires either more pressure or volume or both than the power jet based on my experience.
You are most likely going with the suction nozzle style and those are great for low water situations where you might be raising the nozzle above the water to move around. Just know that if you intend to put years into this endeavor, then you will be moving up from a 2" nozzle size. 3" is the minimum for me. Your mileage may vary. Have fun!
on smaller dredges like the floating and the banker dredges nozels can be used for eather onepower jets are a option
Thanks for the info
Jim, you never mentioned what type of dredge you are building. is it a highbanker combo or a floating dredge. From your information it would appear the dredge nozzle would be for a highbanker combo.
I am thinking a High banker combo for now.
your right in your thinking but i would run 2 inch as far as you need to go then use a 1 1/2 dont use a flat blue hose to hook to the nozzle try using a flexable corragted hose to hook to the nozzle use at least 10 to 15 foot of it makes it easer to handle the nozzle