Ran a 6-inch cutterhead suction dredge for a month on the Snake River, then switched to an 8-inch with a trash pump. The difference in how much gravel we moved was crazy.

3 comments

3 Comments

Jumping from a 6 to an 8 inch is a huge step up in volume. The trash pump must have really helped keep things clear, less downtime from clogs. Bet you saw the pile on your sluice double in size some days.

jackson.jenny3mo agoMost Upvoted

The volume jump is no joke. Did you have to change your whole setup to handle the extra material? I'm curious about the sluice angle and water flow you ended up with. My old 6 inch setup would probably just choke on that kind of feed rate.

gavin_clark1mo ago

That bit about the sluice angle is spot on. I actually had to steepen mine a good bit because the 8 inch just dumped way more material than the old 6 could. Ended up running about a 4 to 1 angle just to keep the lighter stuff from stacking up and choking the matting. Water flow I bumped up maybe 20 percent, but the trash pump really made a difference there, I didn't have to babysit the header box nearly as much.