Diy dredge nozzle cracked#

I found the janitor and asked if he would keep me in mind, and give me any old pieces he might be throwing out in the future. I noticed that miner’s moss was used on the floor as mats in every entrance at a local high school. This last winter, I got about 26 feet of 36-inch-wide miner’s moss free! You may be able to do the same. While you have the welder in hand, touch up any wear you see elsewhere on the nozzle. When you are done, your nozzle should swivel as good as new. I would not gas weld these beads, as I suspect it would get the rubber O-rings too hot and damage them. To reassemble, simply match the old ground-off beads back up, and tack it in the same spots with an arc-welder. I haven’t done this yet, but I suspect graphite is the way to go. You may wish to use some type of non-oil lubricant in the swivel joint before you reassemble it, such as graphite or silicone. I found one nice flake of gold inside my nozzle when I cleaned it. You want to catch any sand that falls out, and pan it. Clean the rubber cord or O-rings in water. Pull the whole assembly apart, and use a wire brush to buff rust and sand off of all the metal parts. Inside you will find two rubber O-rings or pieces of rubber cord cut to work as O-rings. Just cut or grind off the weld beads that hold the swivel joint to the nozzle, and remove the swivel joint. But if you have access to an arc welder, the repair job is simple. Sand and small rocks work their way down into the joint, and rust accumulates in there over the winter. Has your swivel nozzle stopped swiveling after two seasons of use? Mine had. If they don’t recognize the brand name Spirolite, ask for the lightweight clear spiral duct hose they use to blow insulation into attics with, and get prices at three or four hose supplies.

You should be able to get it at most large hose supply stores in larger cities. But for calmer more shallow water, it’s the hose I prefer to use. The nozzle still washed out each time I went up to knock a plug out. When I used this hose in the gut of the “Glory Hole” on the Klamath in about 15 feet of water, I had to keep the dredge near the edge of the river, use 30 feet of hose, and anchor it to the bottom at two points on the way out into the gut. Because the hose is so light and flexible, the water can grab it and keep pulling it out of your hole. There is one application where a heavier, stiffer hose is preferred over the Spirolite, and that is in deep or fast water. If a rock does turn sideways and plug, you simply deform the hose with your hands, and the plug frees with no hammering on the hose!

This hose is so flexible that it rarely plugs-up. And as for beating out plug-ups, you don’t have to. And at $4/foot, you can afford to take this into account and buy five feet more than you need. It does develop small holes where it is clamped to the nozzle and the jet, but these areas are at the end of the hose and can easily be cut off when they get bad. But I can’t see any holes in my 20 foot section of hose after half a season’s use in the Klamath River. When I first looked at this hose, I pinched my thumb nail and finger nail together on the thin clear material between the spiraled ribs and was able to pinch a hole in it. It does not show excessive wear as I had feared it might. Secondly, it is extremely lightweight weighing only about half what the yellow hose weighs, so it’s easier to pack down the bank or into remote dredging sights. It is ideal for creek dredging where the hose often must be wrapped around boulders. Spirolite has definite advantages in some dredging applications. I liked it so well that when Tony Dilmore, who had originally recommended it to me, showed up in Happy Camp with some, I bought another 20 foot length from him. But the price was so good (about $3.90/foot for 5-inch) that I finally bought a 10 foot length just to see how it would hold up in the Klamath River. The hose is so light and thin that I decided both the first and second time I went in to purchase some it could not hold up under dredging conditions. The only 5-inch hose I could find in the dry desert state of Utah was a very light duct hose called Spirolite, which is used to blow insulation into attics.

glue, that didn’t work so I knew I would be replacing it. I have tried to repair the cracks and holes in my 5-inch yellow hose with silicone R.T.V.

Diy dredge nozzle cracked#

Hopefully they will help to make your dredging a little easier.Īfter several seasons of use, dredge hose becomes cracked and needs to be replaced. Since we’re still in the mainstream of the dredging season, I’ve decided to share a few tricks I’ve picked up in my experiences with dredging over the past few years.