Spent $450 on a new dredge pump wear plate and it was a total waste

We were working a sand and gravel job on the Ohio River last month, and my old wear plate was getting pretty thin. I figured I'd be smart and replace it before it failed completely. Ordered a new one from a supplier I hadn't used before, cost about $450. Got it installed and within two days, the new plate was showing more wear than the one I took off. The metal was just too soft. It felt like throwing money straight into the river. Now I'm back to running the old plate while I wait for a replacement from my usual guy, who confirmed the hardness was way off spec. Has anyone else been burned by cheap parts that looked good on paper? How do you vet a new supplier for critical wear items?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thomas2mo ago

That's the worst, when a part just eats itself for no reason.

perez.barbara2mo ago

Ugh, tell me about it! I bought a set of pump liners last year that were total junk. The paperwork said they were the right stuff, but they wore down in a week. It's like they're selling you shiny metal that's no harder than butter. How do these places stay in business selling parts that fail that fast?

mark73116d ago

Man that's brutal. I've been burned the same way and it makes you wanna track down whoever sold that junk.