Just realized I was running the cutter head too fast for silt

I was working a channel job in Mobile Bay last spring, trying to clear a thick silt layer. For weeks I kept the head at 18 RPM, thinking more speed meant more cut. The dredge was shaking like crazy and production was low. An old hand on the barge next to us finally yelled over, 'You're just making soup, son!' I dropped it to 8 RPM and the pump load evened out right away. Anyone else have a simple setting they were stubborn about changing?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenny4715h ago

Lol that's a classic one. But honestly, for that thick Mobile Bay silt, even 8 rpm can be too high sometimes. I've had to go down to like 5 or 6 to really get a good bite and not just spin it all into suspension. The pump load is the real tell.

violaramirez13h ago

You're right about pump load being the real tell. I used to think more speed was always better until I saw how much cleaner the cut gets when you slow it down.

wood.faith11h ago

Man, tell me about it. I was cutting through some nasty clay up in Alberta last year. Had the auger screaming at full tilt and just making soup. Dropped it to four rpm, let the pump groan a bit, and bam. Started pulling up perfect, dense samples. The sound of the hydraulics doesn't lie.