Pro tip: That ice jam near Green Bay last winter changed my whole approach

I was working a job on the Fox River in Green Bay back in February and hit a massive ice jam that almost busted my cutterhead. The vibration was so bad I had to shut down for two hours to chip ice off the ladder. Anybody else run into ice problems in the northern rivers and find a trick to keep going?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_chen6211d ago

...and that's exactly why I started running a smaller cutterhead on a shorter extension through the winter months, lets me keep more control when the ice gets thick. Also helps to keep the water stream on the ladder at full pressure even when you're not cutting, it stops the ice from building up in the first place. Took me a few cracked wear shoes to learn that one, but it saves a lot of downtime.

alice92811d agoMost Upvoted

Did you try bumping up the water temp on the pressure side too, @mark_chen62? I was having the same ice problem on my ladder a few years back, and running a small preheater on the feed line made a huge difference. It kept the water stream warm enough that the ice wouldn't set as fast, even when the air was below zero. I paired that with a smaller cutterhead like you mentioned, and it cut down on the wear shoe cracks pretty much completely. Just a thought if you're still fighting buildup on the really cold days.

gavin_kim11d ago

That time I tried running the water full pressure on the ladder was the same day my control valve froze open and I nearly flooded the whole works. Ended up spending more time wrenching than digging after that.