That time the cutterhead kicked up a log and destroyed our pump seal

I was working a job on the Mississippi back in 2017, clearing a clog near a bend by Baton Rouge. The cutterhead grabbed a submerged log and it slammed sideways into the pump housing. I shut down immediately but the damage was done, the seal was blown and we lost about 30 minutes of prime. Had to call the shop and wait 4 hours for a replacement, plus we ended up running an extra shift the next day to catch up. Anyone else ever had debris come out of nowhere and wreck your equipment mid operation?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.stella5h ago

Oh come on man, its not that big of a deal. A blown seal and losing prime for a few hours? That sounds like a Tuesday to me. You shut it down, you called the shop, you waited. Big whoop. You guys act like the cutterhead launched a whole tree through the engine block. Ive seen guys keep running with a pinhole leak for half a shift before they even bother to shut it down. And you got it fixed in the same day and just ran extra time the next day. That is basically a free afternoon off. If youre gonna work on the river you gotta expect logs. Its not like they sneak up on you.

hall.quinn11h ago

Honestly man, that sucks. I had something similar happen on the Arkansas River back in 2019, a big tangle of roots and a tire came through the cutterhead and just shredded our pump impeller before I could even react. The seal was toast, and we were down for a whole day waiting on parts from Little Rock. That feeling when you hear something hit and you just know it's bad, I feel your pain. Four hours is brutal but at least you didn't have to get a whole new pump like we did.