The Principles of Dredging

After you have done these two tests you should get somewhat of an idea of how to successfully dredge or how it can be done in the right way. There is an area anywhere from half and inch to a few inches back from the sand in which the dredge will take in the right amount of gravel according to the amount of water that is traveling up the tube. It is not easy to define the right amount of water and sand and it is normally up to the judgment of the person that is using and on the kind of gravel, the extent of cementing and many other different reasons. The amount of gravel there will be in comparison to the amount of water will be very little and most experts say that there is approximately a five to ten percent. The thing that limits how much gravel can get swept up is the amount that the sluice is able to hold without getting clogged up. 

There are a lot of dredge manufacturers that in many occasions rate the different types of dredges they have at a certain amount of cubic yards per every hour. These numbers can be figured out and solved in a test that is controlled with gravel that has been adequately classified and that usually does not contain any boulders in it. You will notice that in many occasions when you are dredging there will be boulders etc and most of the gravel cannot be placed in the category of perfect gravel and is normally less than the rated capacity so the dredge is not as effective while on the field on average.

Something else that a lot of dredge owners have the wrong idea about is that their dredge is not going to function as well when it is at a very high altitude and that it will not render the way it does at sea level. In reality a dredge is able to work just as much gravel at any height as long as the engine or fuel air mixture is adjusted so that it is able to make up for the reduced amount of air pressure. There are certain effects of air pressure, temperature and gravity that are able to decrease the effectiveness but they are in most cases such a small amount that they really do not affect anything and can be overlooked all together.

After you have been operating the dredge for a few minutes you should be able to get a good idea of the ideal distance the nozzle on the dredge will need to be from the gravel. You should also check the flow of the gravel which can be done through the sluice to make sure that it is not getting clogged or washing out of the riffles. If you notice that it is getting clogged or that it is washing out of the riffles you can make up for it by changing the speed that the engine is at and you can pull in less gravel this way, there are also some dredge is which you can lift or put down the angle the sluice is at. After you know the gravel is moving through the sluice in the right way the dredging operation can then begin. As you may notice it really is not that complicated.