jesse_smith10•3d agoProlific Poster

That $400 flow meter was a complete waste of money

I bought a fancy electronic flow meter for my 10-inch cutterhead dredge last spring. $400 bucks down the drain. It crapped out after 2 months because of all the vibration and dirt. I went back to my old manual method of timing how fast the sump fills up. Anyone else had bad luck with high-tech gear on a working dredge?

3 comments

3 Comments

schmidt.iris2d agoMost Upvoted

i caught a video from this old timer in alaska who runs a 12 inch dredge and he straight up said the same thing. he tried one of those fancy electronic flow meters and it lasted maybe one season before the constant shaking killed the sensor. he went back to just timing how fast his sump fills and swears by it. you're not alone in this. my buddy down in oregon has a similar story with a pressure gauge that cost him $250 and died from mud intrusion. seems like all the high tech stuff just doesn't hold up to the real gritty work on a dredge. guess some things are better left simple.

the_drew2d ago

Funny you mention that Oregon buddy because I’ve got a guy up in Montana who runs a little 4 inch dredge and his whole method is checking the color of his tailings pile. No gauges, no timers, just squints at the gravel he’s blowing out and adjusts his feed rate by how much black sand shows up. He reckons if you’re dialed in right, the pay streak tells you everything you need to know. Makes you wonder if all this tech is just a crutch for folks who don’t have the feel for it yet, you know?

maryr432d ago

Nothing beats field tested experience lol. Simple works when you're out there getting dirty.