Switched from a 12-inch to a 10-inch cutterhead on my suction dredge

I ran a 12-inch head on my dredge for about three years, thinking bigger was always better for material flow. An operator I met on a job in Mobile Bay told me, 'You're moving too much water and not enough solids with that big head in this silt.' He was right. I swapped to a 10-inch head last month and my solids output went up by almost 15% in the same clay material. It just lets the pump do its job better without fighting the suction. Anyone else find a smaller cutterhead works better in certain soils?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix38511d ago

That's a solid point about matching the head to the material. Always figured you just wanted the biggest suction possible, no matter what. But it makes total sense that too much water flow in finer stuff just stirs up a mess without grabbing the good bits. Might have to try that switch myself on some of the sticky clay jobs.

parker_hunt6111d ago

See, I gotta disagree on this one. I stuck with my 12-inch head in that same Mobile Bay muck and just slowed my pump rpm way down. Got the same boost in solids without buying a whole new head. For me, it's more about fine-tuning the pump than swapping parts. A smaller head just limits your top end if you hit a patch of gravel.