Thought I’d share some recent stuff I’ve done to make dredging easier and better which translates to reduced downtime and costs and more time on the nozzle. Feel free to share your ideas.
Oil Drain pipe- can buy these online only a few dollars. Let me know if you want details.
Makes Oil changes easier just dump oil into a container and no mess. Can get them for all size engines
magnetic oil drain plug. Has a rare earth magnet that captures any metal shavings and stops them being circulated around engine. Good way on picking up on engine wear. Extends out oil life as well.
Proline pumps. The bolts that clamp on the pump to the backplate protrude into the body of the pump where water is spun out by the impeller. This creates drag or resistance in the high speed jet of water created by the pump effectively reducing its efficiency.
New bolts cost $3 and I obtained 5% increase in psi and volume.
Solution to this is to get shorter bolts see photos
Stock bolts as you can see protrude into pump housing
Pump impeller polishing.
Easy and free fix , this will increase pressure and volume of the pump. Just polish surfaces of impeller and housing which increases pump efficiency. Use emery paper and try and get a shine finnish for greatest success.
Thanks for sharing the tips mate Now if you’ve got any for easily removing the oversize power jet pipe from the flare after dredging, I’d love to hear that one! Can be a real pain in the arse when deconstructing the dredge to bush bash back out at the end of a mission. The fine grit gets itself between the power jet pipe and the flare making it a bitch to remove!
yeah ive had that , the key is to do more dredging eventually the grit will wear and it will become easier, the biggest pain i see is new episodes of whitewater gold , drives me nuts locked down cant move the fever is increasing lol
I bet you say that to all the dredges Pritch…lol… great set of photos learnt heaps…equals longer run times without breakdowns equals more gold…hopefully…thanks for sharing!
Yes, this is a real problem; when I was dredging (4 inch mini) I removed the jet from the flare often using a large rubber hammer (used mainly to knock blockages from the hose) to start it rotating an inch at a time. I did this every day even when I was camping on the bank next to the dredge with a rope tied to my tent. There were always eyes watching… hoping… Anyway, on several ocassions my jet got solidly stuck and I had to carry it across the wilds to my ute; Over time I found it best to let it dry standing up (jet uppermost) and then tap out the dried gravel/ sand mix and the jet came away pretty easily. I tried using vaseline once but the gravel simply stuck to the vaseline.
Now if you’ve got any for easily removing the oversize power jet pipe from the flare after dredging, I’d love to hear that one! Can be a real pain in the arse when deconstructing the dredge to bush bash back out at the end of a mission. The fine grit gets itself between the power jet pipe and the flare making it a bitch to remove!