Just cleared 500 hours on the new pump without a clog

Been running a 12-inch cutter suction dredge on a river cleanup job. Hit the 500-hour mark yesterday, which is way past the usual 300-hour service point for this model. Anyone else getting this kind of life out of their pumps lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_young2mo ago

What's the big deal, really?

henderson.mila20d ago

You mentioned "what's the big deal" but I gotta tell you about something that happened to me a few years back. My cousin's friend was running a dredge on the Mississippi and they hit 400 hours without a single issue, everyone was high fiving and talking about how smooth it was. Then the next day they pulled up a chunk of an old car engine block and it sounded like a bomb went off, tore the whole cutter head apart. So yeah, 500 hours is a massive deal when you think about what's lurking down there. Its not just about the hours, its about the luck of avoiding all that random junk that can end your run in a second. That kind of streak means someone is either incredibly careful or the river gods are smiling on them for some reason.

the_michael2mo ago

Wait, 500 hours without a clog on a cutter suction? That's insane. The wear on the impeller and lining must be next to nothing, which just doesn't happen with normal river junk. Even @rose_young asking what the big deal is has to see this is wild. Most crews are just hoping to hit 300 before tearing it down. You must have found some magic clean spot in that river, or your operator is a wizard.