Switched from cable dredge to hydraulic after 15 years on the Mississippi

Back in 2008, I was running a small cable dredge near Baton Rouge, working on the river bends. I always thought hydraulic was too fancy and expensive for what we needed. Then around 2016, we got a contract that needed way more precision in soft silt, and the cable kept snagging and breaking. I switched to a used 12-inch hydraulic unit from a guy in New Orleans, and it cut my maintenance time by half. The pump still gives me fits every now and then, but the control is night and day. Has anyone else made that jump and found a good way to tune the suction for mixed sand and clay?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_murphy218d ago

Try backing off the suction just a hair on the clay.

ericj458d ago

Huh, @mila_murphy21 I think you meant backing off the pressure on the wheel, not the suction.

faithcampbell8d ago

Not sure this is something to lose sleep over. Both suggestions probably work fine depending on the person's clay and wheel speed. Seems like a small detail that gets worked out with a little practice anyway.