Starting the new year! Options

[Caveman]

If the weather holds, I will be out running a 2" suction dredge on Friday. I have had problems with clogs just past the bend of the nozzle every time I have tried it, and I am asking for advice to try and reduce the incidense of this, and to reduce the time it takes to clear the problem. Thin, flatter rocks (great skippers!) are the ones that get me most, and get jammed in there pretty good. I usually have to remove the hose to get them cleared. The area I'm working has tons of sandy materal, and the largest rocks are about half the size of cinder blocks, so there are lots 2" and smaller rocks to deal with, but it's a great place to learn how to run things with good, clean fines. I was there scouting on Monday and found what looks to be a decent pocket. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Caveman

[swizz]

Caveman! Balls to ya... go git some!
Weather looks good from Friday on thru the weekend.
If I recall, I think you have a small 2" dredge. I owned a small Keene dredge like that for a while and can share my experiences with the pesky clogs.
I ran a jet-flare nozzle system... judging by your post I'm thinking you have the suction nozzle. Suction nozzles might be a little more prone to clogging due to the bend in the nozzle but I don't think that's the primary reason. My dredge clogged constantly when I first got it but I learned a few things that reduced the frequency of rock jams. You'll never eliminate jams altogether, that's just part of dredging but a few things you can do are:
1. Keep a finger or two in the nozzle. You'll feel larger rocks trying to get through before they have a chance. Sometimes they still get through but this helps a lot with a smaller dredge.
2. Slow down the engine. This was my biggest problem early on. My whole philosophy in the beginning was to move as much material as I could and as fast as the machine would allow. Bad idea with a small dredge. Mine had a 2.5hp Honda which ran extremely well. I found that if I ran it half-throttle or lower two things happened: I recovered more Gold and had fewer clogs. True... I moved less material but the returns were much better and the clogs far fewer. I remember one day of dredging in particular. My friend who was dredge tending had a snuffer bottle. He was periodically snuffering the riffles out of curiosity while I was dredging away. He stopped me and said all the Gold was in the last riffle! I immediately slowed way down and the results were instantly better... fewer clogs and better recovery. It felt less productive but wound up being way more productive in terms of recovery and far less down time.
3. There are tools to help you unclog most jams fairly quickly. My dredge came with a two pronged rod that I could stick up the hose and twist to dislodge rocks... mostly clogs on the sluice end of the hose. Forward clogs that won't tap out almost always require a disconnect, maybe more with a suction nozzle system.
4. If you wanna run slow like I suggested but are using GoldHog or other matting that requires good water speed to exchange, compensate by increasing the pitch of the sluice rather than increasing motor speed.
Clogs kinda go with the turf and I got really good at fixing them fast most of the time. The material you're working also has a lot to do with potential jams... shape especially. River rock is usually easier on the system than jagged. Skippers like you mentioned can be tricky because they can slip by, rotate, and jam... just have to do your best on the nozzle to avoid the bad ones. I can't think of anything else but there are other dredgers here with more experience that can probably also give some tips they've learned.
Hope ya make it out this weekend, I'm jealous!