Heard a guy at the dock say he runs his pump at 1800 RPM for silt, not max speed

I was fueling up the workboat yesterday and two guys from a different crew were talking about their suction dredge setup. One guy said for the fine silt we get in the bay, he keeps the pump at 1800 RPM instead of pushing it to 2200. He claimed it actually moves more material because it doesn't clog the screen as fast. I've always just run ours wide open. Has anyone else tried dialing back the RPM on a standard 10-inch pump for that kind of material? I'm curious if it's worth the test run next week.

3 comments

3 Comments

jamieperez18d ago

Used to think full throttle was best. That guy's logic about less clogging totally changed my mind.

vals3817d ago

What makes you think less throttle means less clogging? In my experience, going too slow just lets stuff build up and stick. You need enough force to push things all the way through cleanly.

cooper.viola2d ago

Actually, the key is matching the flow to the particle size. Too fast with silt and you just create a vacuum seal on the screen, that's what causes the instant clog. Slowing it down lets the slurry form properly and carry the material through. It's totally worth a test run to see the difference.