Dredge Issues

There are some dredgers that have very complex ways of resolving problems when flow sand or vegetation turns into a possible issue. Vegetable matter does not always grind down the impellers but it is able to clog the strainer as well as the intake hose and this will cause the pump to not work as efficiently. There are a lot of dredgers that build dams in order to prevent this problem and this is a good idea in some cases however there are occasions in which trying to resolve the problem becomes more complicated than the actual problem. To start out with diversion dams are not an easy thing to build in a snap of a finger. Then if it is a small under water dam (a dam that consists of water flowing on the top) it will most likely cause there to be a little bit of a little hydraulic jump on the upstream side and will cause eddies at the bed on the downstream side. This will cause the stream to become agitated at the base of the dam and will cause there to be more of a sand flow then there was to begin with. This type of diversion dam is something that should be done only if there is no other alternative and if you do decide to build it, make sure it is angle down stream so that the riffle result on the dam will be reduced.

Due to the fact that the only real realistic use of a diversion dam is to get rid of a big amounts of vegetable like plants or leaves there are a lot of other better and more convenient ways of getting rid of the problem and a dam should only be done as a last resort. One way you can resolve this problem is by building a second strainer out of a quarter inch screen and place it on top of the normal strainer. Doing this will not cause it to interfere with the suction and is able to get cleaned from the leaves and plants very easily. When there is a problem with plants and leaves there are also other people that divert it by making a “dam” with this type of screen as well. If it is angled down stream it practically cleans itself and does not create turbulence in the same way a normal dam would.

Another way that is used to keep the amount of water and quality of water intake is by putting the intake hose inside of a bucket or barrel that is then anchored into the stream bed. This actual process can also be used in operations that are done in shallow water however it needs to be done very carefully because just like with a division dam it can cause more problems than the one it is supposed to be solving.

If you are using a small bucket, for example a five gallon one, it can be emptied and filled around twenty to twenty five times per minute. The quick flow of the water inside the bucket will cause turbulence that cannot be seen and this can cause water vapors that can get pulled inside of the intake hose. When this occurs it cause there to be a drop in efficiency and it can cause there to be cavitation that is just about as harmful to the impellers like the sand is.