I keep seeing guys run their cutter heads too fast in soft silt

On a job near Mobile Bay last spring, our foreman clocked a new guy's pump at 1800 rpm when we were in that thick gray mud. He said 'You're just making soup and wearing out the teeth for no gain.' We dropped it to 1400, kept the same yardage, and saved a full day on pump maintenance that week. The right speed for the bottom material makes a huge difference. Anyone have a good rule of thumb for different soils?

4 comments

4 Comments

richard_young803mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, 1800 rpm in that Mobile Bay mud? That's insane. The guy must have been throwing slurry fifty feet behind the cutter. You can hear when it's wrong, sounds like a blender full of rocks. Foreman was right, you just burn up wear parts making a mess.

paige1663mo ago

Saw a cutterhead eat itself at 1600 in Galveston.

harperp2413d ago

Man it's like people think faster always equals better. Reminds me of how everybody drives 10 over the limit on the highway thinking they're saving time, but they're just burning more gas and brake pads for no real gain. Same thing with blender speeds, you're just making noise and wasting money.

williamw753mo ago

Honestly richard_young80 is right about that blender sound. Tbh you learn real quick to listen to the machine, not just watch the rpm gauge. I ran a head too fast in some soft clay once and it just fluidized everything, no cut at all. You're not dredging, you're just making a wake and chewing through bushings for no reason. Slow it down, let the teeth bite, even if it feels wrong to not run it wide open.