What is best gold dredge size?
We are often asked which dredge size is best. That is like asking what car is best. Depending on your experience, where you plan to work, size and quantity of the material and gold, and on and on. All are variables in your decision to which gold dredge is right for you. Please find some examples and information on gold dredges for gold prospecting and mining. (Click on the dredge size to see which dredges we have available)
.5-2 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: Light and easy to pack in and out of the location. Good for prospecting and sampling. With suction nozzle it can be used in very shallow water.
CONS: Can’t move much material so dredging is harder to do if you want to move a lot of sand and gravel. Not good for production.
1-3 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: Still lighter and smaller than a 4 inch and can move a lot more material than the 2 inch.
CONS: Still low on production for a serious operation. Portability is pretty good for remote places.
4 inch – Sampling/small scale production dredge
1-4 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: The smallest of the production dredges but still good at sampling for pay streaks.
CONS: A bit harder to lug around, it is heavier and more work to put together and take apart. Fairly mobile still, this makes it good for more remote sites.
5 inch – larger scale sampling/production dredge
2-10 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: Good for larger operations and can move more material than all the other smaller dredges. Still good for sampling but on a bigger scale. Hose is flexible and can be operated by a single dredger.
CONS: Heavier to disassemble and move around. May have multiple or larger engines.
6 inch – a good dredge for the serious prospector/smaller commercial production dredge
6-15 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: A useful size for someone who has found a sizable pay streak and wants to get all the gold out that you can. You can move rocks gravel and sand up to about 5 inches across without a plug up of the hose or jet.
CONS: Larger nozzle makes it harder to sample with, although you still can sample larger rivers to locate gold in bigger areas. This hose isn’t as flexible as a smaller dredge although one person can handle it well enough for production. Two man teams are better because the rocks are uncovered so quickly by a 6″ unit that a single dredger can be overwhelmed with the work of clearing of large cobbles and small boulders that don’t fit in the suction nozzle. Can have multiple engines or engines in the 15-20 Hp range. This is a heavier machine to haul. Be ready for 2 or more assistants.
8 inch – a commercial dredge designed to process large amounts of sand, gravel and rock
10-30 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: For commercial operations this is a good size. It can suck up quite a lot of rocks, gravel and sand and in a short period of time.
CONS: For the recreational prospector looking for the fun of the outdoors and the reward of finding gold, this is not the right size. It is typically used for commercial projects. Manning the hose and moving the rocks that an 8″ dredge will need pulled out of the dredge hole require at least two men to make productive use. Dredges this size and above are generally limited in which waters they can be used.
10 to 12 inch – definitely a commercial dredge
20-50 cubic-yd/hr
PROS: Good for larger commercial operations. Moves a huge volume of sand, gravel & rocks allowing for greater volume of material that may contain gold. In a word, “VOLUME!”
CONS: Commercial dredge only. A lot of work to keep running and to move around. Lot’s of rocks to move which requires a team of underwater worker = $$. Dredge and platform are huge and requires significant equipment (like a 80hp VW engine!) and constant big time maintenance.