A Guide to Dredgers

Dredging is difficult, dirty, and often dangerous work. Whether you need a dredger to mine gold or keep waterways – big or small – clear for navigation, choosing the right dredger for the job especially important.

A Primer on Dredgers

Dredgers played a key role in some of the greatest engineering and construction projects ever undertaken, including the Panama Canal. The average small business owner won’t need a dredger made to handle Panama Canal-type work, but carefully evaluate the various types of dredgers for sale, and their performance capabilities, before making such a significant investment of capital.

Mechanical Specifications

When you start your search for a dredger, determine how much Power (Cutter, Pump, and Total, all measured in Kilowatts), Nominal Pump Capacity (measured in cubic yards per hour), and Digging Depths (measured in Feet and/or Meters).

Suction Dredger

Suction dredgers are used for the majority of dredging operations, including gold mining. The straightforward design of the suction dredger operates by sucking material through a massive tube, similar to a gigantic vacuum cleaner. Small suction dredgers are popular with small-operation gold miners because they’re relatively inexpensive, but often require state-issued special permits for use.

Cutter Suction Dredgers (CSD)

The suction tube of a cutter suction dredge (CSD), attached at the suction inlet, loosens earth and transports it to the suction mouth. A centrifugal pump sucks up the dredged soil and discharges it to a barge. Look for vendors who sell used dredgers; there’s a significant secondary market for these powerful machines, so it’s not unusual to find special deals.

Cutterhead Dredgers

When a project requires more digging force, look at a Cutterhead Dredge. These are designed to create more turbidity, improving cutting force over a larger surface area. The increased cutting force makes the cutterhead dredge suited to sand as well as shell dredging.

Auger Dredgers

Similar to cutter suction drudgers in function, Auger Dredgers use an auger flighting to shepherd sediment into a suction intake. Auger dredges are most often used on soft materials such as silt and sludge, and are especially useful for river maintenance applications. These dredgers will work as a sand dredger, too, but can be a less effective option than a cutterhead dredge.

Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD)

The TSHD is known as the workhorse of the dredging world because of its wide application area, but its specialty is sand and silt. These self-propelled sea or inland ships are equipped with a hold (hopper) and a dredge installation that automatically loads and unloads.Dubai’s Palm Islands – an artificial archipelago being constructed in the Persian Gulf for residential and commercial use – are the product of trailing suction hopper dredgers.