He said I was chewing up the cutter head by running it too fast through hard clay. I slowed it down by half and the wear bars lasted three times longer. Anybody else get told to slow down and actually saw better numbers?
Skipped a 15-minute inspection last Tuesday on a 24-inch cutter suction dredge in Mobile Bay and ended up snapping two teeth off within 3 hours. Has anyone else had a quick overlook turn into a half-day repair?
I spent years thinking those vacuum-assist heads were just an excuse to charge more money for something that clogs easier than a standard cutter head. Then we had a 30-hour job cleaning out a marina slip in Charleston last month where the bottom was just pure oyster shell muck and we couldn't keep the pipe clear for more than 20 minutes. Switched to a borrowed vacuum-assist setup from a buddy and it cut our downtime by half, what's been your experience with them on really sticky material?
I got tired of stopping every 2 hours to clear packed silt from my cutterhead on a job near Baton Rouge. Tried tying a heavy duty water hose to the boom and blasting it from above, and it knocked the mud loose in under a minute. Anyone else rigged up a similar wash-down setup for their rig?
I swapped to a cheaper aftermarket impeller from some online shop after my OEM one cracked. It threw off the balance so bad the whole pump vibrated like crazy and I had to pull it after just 6 hours. Anyone else get burned by off-brand parts or is there a decent budget option out there?
I been running a dredge on the Mississippi for about 12 years now, and a 70 year old retired guy came by the yard to drop off some old parts. He watched me studying a depth chart on my tablet and just laughed. He pulled out a beat up paper map from his truck and showed me how he marked sandbars and hidden snags by just looking at water color and current ripples on the surface. I tried his method the next morning at a spot near Baton Rouge and it beat my fancy sonar readings by a mile. The sonar would show me a flat bottom but the water was telling a different story about a buried log. I still use the electronics for the paperwork but now I spend way more time watching the actual water before I start digging. Anyone else ever have an old timer show you something that made your high tech gear look silly?
I was working a job on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge last month and kept getting mud packed into the cutterhead every 20 minutes or so, which meant shutting down to flush it out. Tried reversing the rotation for 10 seconds before each shift change and it cleared the buildup without losing prime. Anyone else use rotation reversing for clog prevention or do you stick with manual cleaning?
After 6 months of running a 12-inch cutterhead in heavy clay and sand last summer, I pulled the bearing housing and found water mixed with the grease, so what brand of waterproof grease have you guys had luck with in tough conditions like that?
I bought a set of those budget poly floats off a surplus site back in March, figured they'd save me a couple hundred bucks on a small job near the bay. Three weeks in, two of them started cracking at the seams, and by the end of the month I had one completely submerged and dragging my whole line off course. Cost me about $450 total for the set, plus another $300 in lost time pulling everything apart and replacing them with steel drums I rigged up myself. The worst part was my boss saw the whole mess during a site visit and just shook his head. Has anyone else had bad luck with those foam filled poly floats or did I just get a bad batch?
Back in August 2021 I was working a job on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge and kept losing vacuum pressure every 45 minutes. I spent a whole day checking hoses, the pump seals, even the damn intake screen. Turns out my spill bucket had a hairline crack from where I dropped it loading up the truck. Has anyone else had a simple piece of gear like a bucket or a gasket cause way more headache than the big stuff?
I always thought his method of using a worn out 12-inch drag hose on hard pack was lazy. But last month at a site near Baton Rouge, I tried it on a tight spot and it cut my cleanup time by half. Still don't fully trust it on deep cuts, but has anyone else found an old timer's trick that surprised you?
Man, I had a dredge job out near Baton Rouge last week and the cutterhead just stopped digging like it should. Thought it was a hydraulic issue at first, checked all the pressures and flow rates for an hour. Turned out a chunk of old rope and some busted-up tires got wrapped around the shaft. Took me another two hours to cut it all out with a torch while standing in mud up to my knees. The whole job was supposed to be a quick 5-hour run and it turned into a full day. How do you guys handle unexpected debris without losing half your shift?
Took me 4 months on a job near Baton Rouge before I realized I was running the pump too fast for the material. Everyone always says to max out the rpm in clay, but that just packs it tighter. Dropped my swing speed by half and slowed the ladder down, and the clogs stopped completely. The superintendent even asked what I changed because our daily meter shot up by 30 yards. Any other operators found that running slower actually moves more dirt in heavy clay?
Spent 6 months in the same borrow pit and always replaced teeth every 3 weeks, then got moved to a new pit with way more silt and the teeth lasted 8 weeks before needing a swap. Anyone else see that kind of difference based on material composition?
Got lazy last Tuesday on a job near the Mississippi and figured I could skip the morning grease gun routine since everything sounded fine. By 10 AM the pump started groaning like a sick cow and I found the bearing temps hit 190 degrees. Felt like an idiot digging out the manual to see I missed the recommended 10-pump every 8 hours spec. Has anyone else gotten burned by assuming silent parts are happy parts?
Then I ran a dredge in Galveston Bay for 3 weeks straight in fog so thick you couldn't see the bow, and that little screen brought me back to the channel markers every single time - anyone else have a tool they poo-pooed for years before it proved itself?
I was digging through some old USACE reports from the 90s last night, ones from the New Orleans district. Found a stat that said they were moving like 350 cubic yards an hour with a 12-inch cutterhead. Blew my mind because my crew can barely hit 280 on a good day with the same setup. Makes me wonder if I'm running too slow or if my pump impellers are just worn out. Anyone else run across those old study numbers and feel like you're missing something?
I ran 6-inch for 3 years thinking bigger pipe meant faster work. Then a old timer at the dock said I was just moving more water not more solids. He told me to drop to 4-inch and bump the pump speed by 200 RPM. First day on the job in Mobile Bay I pulled 30% more sand per hour. Now I only use 6-inch for thin slurry jobs. Anyone else get a size recommendation that changed their production numbers this much?
Bought one of those high-end automated depth control systems for my dredge last spring, thought it would save me headaches. Ended up spending more time calibrating the thing than actually working, and it still let me suck up a boulder that bent my cutter head. Anyone else ditched the tech and gone back to manual?
I was working a tight spot near a bridge footing and the cutterhead kept snagging on old rebar. Monday I snapped two teeth off and had to weld new ones on in 95 degree heat. Wednesday the hydraulic line blew right at the swivel joint and sprayed oil everywhere. By Friday I had to call the super and tell him we were a full day behind schedule. Anyone else ever get a week where you just can't catch a break on one specific job site?
Had the worst Thursday last month on the Fox River... got a call from the crew that the cutterhead just stopped spinning. Turns out an old anchor chain wrapped around the head and jammed the bearings. Took me and two guys over 8 hours to cut it free with a torch underwater. Has anyone else dealt with unexpected debris like that?
I was running a 12-inch cutterhead dredge near Baton Rouge yesterday and the suction just died. Thought it was a plug but after 45 minutes of backflushing I found a whole car frame wedged in the ladder. Must have been dumped there years ago. Scraped up the cutter teeth pretty bad and cost me half a shift of downtime. I rigged a grapple hook setup to pull it out but man what a headache. Anyone else deal with hidden junk like that on river jobs?
Guy named Frank at the marina told me I could let the dredge pump run dry for a few minutes to clear a clog. Cost me $400 for a new seal and gasket replacement after just one try.