Tried switching to a 4-inch suction line for better flow, nearly wrecked my cutterhead

I swapped to a 4-inch suction on my Ellicott 370 last month thinking it would speed up my dig in that sandy clay near the Mississippi. Instead, it kept clogging every 20 minutes and I lost half a day clearing blockages. Lesson learned: bigger isn't always better when your pump can't keep the velocity up. Anyone else get burned by oversizing their pipe?

2 comments

2 Comments

thompson.tyler8d ago

Bigger isn't always better" is spot on for your setup but I think the real issue is your pump curve not the pipe size. If you had checked the velocity charts for that Ellicott 370 you'd see a 4 inch line needs way more flow to stay scoured than that pump can push. You were never gonna get enough speed with that combo so the clogging was going to happen no matter what.

seanperry8d ago

Spot on" is right. Dead horse met a stick.