I finally figured out why my cutterhead keeps clogging in heavy clay

I've been running a 12-inch cutterhead dredge for about 3 years now, mostly on river maintenance jobs. Last month I kept having to stop every 20 minutes because the clay would ball up and block the suction. My buddy Tim, who's been doing this 20 years, watched me for two minutes and told me I was running the swing speed way too fast. He said you gotta slow down to half speed in clay so the water has time to break it up before it hits the pump. I tested his advice on a job near the Mississippi last week and went a full 6 hours without one clog. Has anyone else found that slowing down actually saves you more time in the end?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel_rivera19d ago

What pump size you running with that 12-inch cutter? I'm wondering if a bigger pump would help even with slow swing speed.

thomasm4119d ago

Did you ever try running a lower pressure with a bigger pump just to see what happens?