Dredge Pump Prime
By Jim Foley

Well it is winter and it's back to research for next season. While reflecting back on last season I remembered a problem I had with priming the pump on my 5" Keene dredge. I would have to prime it 4-5 times before it would pump. Dave McCracken suggested putting your weight belt in the sluice to cause the water to run downhill, this seemed to work well most of the time, but not all the time. I found that the hose clamp that holds the foot valve to the pump is just not strong enough to really clamp that hard plastic down hard enough. The result was a leak, either air or water. The air leak is the worst because you can't see it. 

To make a long story short there is a very simple remedy, I went to my local hose and rubber supply house and bought some special heavy-duty clamps that can be tightened with a wrench instead of a screwdriver. They are constructed different than regular hose clamps and will not “slip” when you tighten them.  Two of these solved the problem, they go by different names, mine are called, "T-Clamps". Now I can prime it first time every time.

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