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Guys keep ignoring the pump packing gland on their old ladder dredges
I've been running a 12 inch cutterhead dredge on the Columbia for about 15 years now. The thing I see most often with new operators is they let the packing gland on the main pump get too loose. They think a little drip is fine, but then it wears the shaft sleeve way faster. I had to replace a sleeve on my machine last season after just 800 hours because the gland was too loose and let grit in. It cost me nearly $2,000 in parts and a full day of downtime. A proper gland should have a slight weep, not a steady stream. Tighten it a quarter turn at a time until it's just a few drops a minute. Anyone else run into this and have a better trick for getting it set right?
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daniela852mo ago
Remember the old guy who ran the dredge "River Queen" back in the 90s. He swore by using a dab of grease from the zerk fitting on the gland threads before you snug it down. Said it gave you a smoother feel for that last quarter turn. Never tried it myself, but he ran that machine for thirty years without a sleeve change. Makes you wonder about the old tricks.
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pat_roberts553d ago
The grease trick from the old timer on the River Queen is legit. I've done it on my 12 inch pump for the last five years and it really does help you feel where that last quarter turn lands. You get a much more consistent weep without over tightening. That subtle feel makes all the difference in keeping grit out. The old guys knew what they were doing with stuff like that.
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Honestly, sounds like a lot of guys think that drip is just the pump crying about its job.
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