Old timer told me to run my cutterhead 10 minutes in reverse before shutdown

Started doing this after a 30 year vet at the yard mentioned it prevents material from packing behind the teeth. Tried it on a sticky clay job near Mobile Bay last fall and sure enough the cleanout time dropped from 45 minutes to 15. Before that I always just killed the engine and sprayed everything down. Anyone else do this or is it overkill for sand and gravel work?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryr461mo ago

Honestly, did you notice any issues with the cutterhead bearings after running it backwards that long?

cooper.viola1mo ago

Whoa, wait, you ran it backwards that LONG? I'm legit shocked it didn't start screaming at you after the first few hours. I would've pulled the plug way before that.