the_linda•16d agoProlific Poster

My main suction line on the 'River Queen' blew a gasket near the pump housing last Friday.

It was a 12-inch line and we lost about 15 minutes of prime before we caught it. I had to shut down and replace it with the spare from the locker, but my foreman thinks we should have just patched it to save time. Has anyone else had to make that call on a big line under pressure?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby_jones16d ago

My uncle worked on a dredge boat in Louisiana. He always said a blown gasket on a main line is a full stop, no question. A patch might hold for a bit, but with that much pressure, you're just asking for a bigger blowout an hour later. Shutting down for the spare was the right move, even if it cost fifteen minutes. Your foreman wasn't the one who'd be cleaning up the mess if a quick fix failed.

jakejones15d ago

Sometimes a good patch job can get you through a shift without losing prime.

betty_kelly915d agoMost Upvoted

But how much pressure are we talking here? A little patch can work wonders sometimes.