Spent $800 on a hydraulic jet pump upgrade and it either saved my season or threw money away

I kept getting clogged on fine gravel with my old suction setup, so I dropped $800 on a new hydraulic jet pump from Keene last month. First two weeks I was pulling up material twice as fast, but then I hit a patch of clay and the thing lost all its prime, costing me a whole day of digging. Has anyone else had mixed results after sinking cash into these high-end pumps, or did I just get unlucky with the conditions?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_nathan7d ago

Started off thinking these high-end pumps were a total waste of money after watching a buddy struggle with his, but after trying your exact pump on a trip last month I totally changed my mind. We hit some nasty clay too and yeah it sucked losing prime for a few hours, but once we cleared it out the thing just ripped through gravel like nothing I'd ever seen. That $800 still hurts but I'd rather deal with a bad patch of clay here and there than spend all day babying a cheap pump that gets stuck on every little pebble.

stella_lee7d ago

Wait, LOST PRIME for a few HOURS? That is absolutely INSANE. I would have been losing my mind out there in the field thinking the whole thing was toast. You hung in there and cleared it out by hand? Man, that is some serious dedication. Most people would have just given up and tossed it in the truck bed. Mad respect for sticking with it because that sounds like a nightmare.