The Role of the Suction Nozzle on a Gold Dredge Suction dredges utilize a high-pressure gasoline powered water pump to suck up water, gravel and gold, and inject this material into a sluice through a header box. The header box dampens the rush of water and gravel so that it flows evenly into the sluice. The sluice then expels the worthless gravel and retains the gold. The sluice captures the gold behind the riffles. Wondering how a gold dredge can literally suck up gravel from the bottom of a stream without the gravel going through the gasoline-powered pump, which would destroy the pump? The answer is that a device is used to convert the pressurized water discharged from the pump into a vacuum. This device is called a suction nozzle and is attached at the far end of the material hose. A vacuum is created which sucks up water and gravel, pushing the material through the hose.
Generally speaking, a dredge that is designed to work with a sluice on a stand, in shallow water, is almost always equipped with a suction nozzle. The main advantage of the suction nozzle system is that you can dredge in very shallow water, and the suction nozzle can be completely out of the water without affecting the performance of the sluice. |
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