Loading…
24
Pro tip: tried running my 8 inch cutterhead at max depth in one pass on a job in Tacoma, and the pump clogged twice
I was dredging silt and small gravel off a boat ramp and figured one deep cut would save me a swing, so I set the ladder down 4 feet and let it eat. Twenty minutes in, the suction line plugged with a mud ball and I spent the next hour pulling the hose apart on the bank while the tide came back up. Anybody got a rule of thumb for pass depth on a mix that heavy, or do you just cut it in two lifts?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
dakota_miller933h ago
Boy, that sounds familiar. I tried the same thing my first season and ended up looking like a swamp creature fighting a hose on the ramp while folks launched their boats around me, so at least you had company in spirit. On a heavy silt and gravel mix, four feet in one bite is asking for a mud ball, because the cutterhead makes more spoil than the suction can lift. I run two lifts on that kind of stuff, usually about two feet each, and I watch the discharge. If it starts surging or thinning out, that means the line is loading up and I ease off right away. Also keep your swing slow and let the pump breathe instead of jamming the head into the bank.
6