Thought I'd save some diesel money on a small job in Norfolk last week but the slower flow let sand settle in the line both times. Spent more time clearing blockages than I would burning the extra fuel, has anyone else learned this the hard way?
Ran a little test last week comparing my standard draghead with a newer vortex style one. In fine sand the vortex pulled about 15% more material per hour but in coarse sand it clogged up twice as fast. The standard head just chugged along in both conditions without any issues. I'm sticking with the old design for mixed ground since downtime kills production way more than peak rates. Anyone else seen big differences with different head designs on varying bottom conditions?
I used to swear by my old 14-inch swing dredge on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge. Then last summer we took on a job with heavy clay layers and I was spending more time unclogging than digging. Bought a used cutter suction from a buddy in St. Louis and it cut through that muck like butter. Has anyone else made the switch and found it way easier on certain bottom types?
He stopped me during a tricky cut near the pier in Savannah and said my bucket was digging too fast for the sediment load, so I eased off 15% and suddenly my spillage dropped by half. Any of you guys run into a situation where slowing the hell down actually saved you time in the long run?
Over at the Port of Baltimore on the Patapsco River job. Been running a 12 inch cutter suction for about 8 months now. Usually I'm chasing leaks every other shift, but last Tuesday we hit 500 yards straight. No clamps slipping, no hoses popping. Foreman just looked at me and said "you finally figured out how to tighten a bolt." Has anyone else had a stretch like that where everything just clicked for a few days?
Working the lower Calcasieu near Lake Charles last week and hit something that stopped the cutter cold. Turned out to be a chunk of concrete someone dumped, maybe 3 feet across. Spent 4 hours pulling it out with a crane barge. Has anyone else run into random debris like this in your dredge area?
Honestly, I've always wrestled with thick slurry on long runs where the main pump just loses pressure. Last week on a job near Baton Rouge, I hooked up a smaller portable generator to a separate booster pump inline about halfway down the discharge line. It pushed the flow back up by almost 30% without burning out the main pump. Has anyone else tried splitting the load like that or is there a reason we don't do this more often?
Was watching a guy from Louisiana swap out his ladder dredge setup at the yard and he asked what rpm I was running. Told him 1200 and he laughed, said I was throwing more water than mud. Checked the flow gauge after he left and sure enough my suction was way off. Been digging like that for 6 months in Mobile Bay guessing by feel. Who else has had a stupid simple fix like that boost production way more than they expected?
I got chewed out by a senior operator named Dave last spring on a project near the Port of Baltimore. He saw me running the cutterhead too deep into a hard clay layer and said "back off 2 feet or you'll wrap your shaft in 20 minutes." I thought he was being dramatic, but just last month I ignored that rule on a Thursday morning job and wrapped a brand new cutterhead shaft on a 12-inch Ellicott. Cost me $1,200 in parts and 6 hours of downtime while the crew waited. Now I keep a tape measure taped to my console and check my depth every time I feel resistance change. What's your go-to rule for avoiding wraps on tough bottom?
I've been running the same stretch on the Upper Bayou for three years, but in the last 8 months the sediment layers have gotten way thicker and stickier. Looks like a new housing development upriver is dumping runoff without proper settling ponds. Has anyone else seen a sudden change like this after new construction nearby?
I was real skeptical about grabbing a secondhand pump from a guy in Baton Rouge without testing it first. But he sent me a video of it running on some sandy slurry and offered a 30 day return window. After 3 weeks on our site near the Mississippi, it's pulling about 15% more material than the old unit did. Has anyone else rolled the dice on used equipment and had it work out?
I walked past the port side pump yesterday and saw the needle bouncing into the red zone for almost 20 minutes before anyone said something. The foreman just shrugged and said it's been doing that for weeks, but I checked the bearings this morning and found metal flakes in the oil reservoir. How often are you guys actually replacing those gauges when they start acting up, or is everyone just letting them ride?
Had a vibration building on my dredge for about 2 weeks near Norfolk last spring. Kept putting it off because I didn't want to lose a shift. Finally threw $400 at a new cutterhead bearing and the old one came out looking like it had been through a rock tumbler. If I'd waited another day it probably would've seized and cost me way more in downtime. Any of you guys run bearings until they fail or replace them at the first sign of a wobble?
I was working a small channel dredge near the river mouth and hit a mass of old rope and fishing net. The cutterhead just stopped spinning, no warning at all. I had to reverse the swing and bring the ladder up to clear it, which took about 2 hours. Lost half the day on a 400 yard stretch. Anyone else deal with debris like that and find a quicker way to clear it?
Been running a 12-inch cutterhead for 5 years now. When I had to pick between sticking with cable or going hydraulic for a tricky river job near St. Louis, I chose hydraulic. Took 2 days to get it dialed in, but the torque on that thing saved me 3 hours on a single pass through clay and gravel. My buddy still swears by cable for sand, and I get it, but for mixed bottoms I'm sold now. Anyone else made the switch and seen a big difference in wear and tear too?
Used to think frequent jetting was the only way to keep sand from packing, but after that $12,000 repair bill I started pulling the ladder every 6 months and checking the suction mouth for buildup instead, and our downtime actually dropped by half anyone else had better luck with less aggressive maintenance?
Was dredging a tight channel near the old marina in Port Arthur when my cutter head kept clogging. Old timer on the radio said I was way too aggressive on the swing angle - been running it at 45 degrees instead of maybe 25. Cut my cleanup time in half the next pass. Anyone else make it years before realizing a small tweak changes everything?
Ran my old steel bucket for years until I swapped to a composite one on the Mississippi last summer. The weight difference saved my back and let me run an extra hour per shift without killing my arms. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a big change?
I've been running a 12-inch cutterhead for about 3 years now and always used the standard mesh screening on the drag arm. Last month I had to replace it after a big rock tore through the mesh so I said why not try the wire rope style instead. The wire rope has way less clogging in the sticky clay we have around here near the Mississippi. I ran it for a full 8 hour shift and only had to stop once to clear it compared to every 2 hours with the mesh. The only downside is it's heavier and took a bit to balance the arm right. Anyone else make this switch and see better production numbers?
I was talking to an old timer named Jerry at the shop in Baton Rouge last month, and he pointed out that I was running my cutterhead too fast in that heavy clay we hit. He said it just chews up the teeth and kicks up silt clouds without gaining any advance rate. Has anyone else found a sweet spot for RPM in different materials, or do you just go by feel?
I ran a straight suction head on the Mississippi for 15 years, pulling sand for the Corps of Engineers. Last fall, during a tight channel job near Baton Rouge, I finally tried a jet-augmented system and it cut my plugging issues in half. Has anyone else made that switch and found it worth the extra hp for the pump?
I was struggling with a clogged discharge line last June and this old guy named Hank walked over from his boat. He said "you're running too much suction, back off the throttle and let the water do the work" and then he adjusted my pump speed right there. Has anyone else had a stranger step in and fix a problem you were wrestling with for hours?
I was running a job on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge last month and this 30 year veteran I work with just straight up told me I was digging too deep and wasting fuel. He showed me how to feather the ladder just right instead of cranking it down hard. Changed my pump pressure by 15 psi and I started pulling way more solids per hour. Anyone else get humbled by an old timer with something that feels obvious now?
Tbh I still think about that 12-inch Ellicott I ran near St. Louis back then. Last month I hopped on a newer model with all the digital controls and it just didnt feel the same. That old machine had a 6-71 Detroit that would shake your bones but it never quit on me. Anyone else miss the simplicity of those older rigs?