Can we talk about choosing wire rope over chain for cutter suction lines?

I know most guys in this group swear by chain for the discharge lines because it's tough and easy to patch. But after 8 years running a small 12-inch dredge on the Missouri River near Kansas City, I swapped to wire rope on my last job and honestly, I'm not going back. The wire rope gave me way less sag between floats, meaning I wasn't constantly adjusting tension every time the current shifted. Yeah, it cost me about $400 more upfront for the setup, and splicing it is a pain compared to just hooking chain links. But I cut down my downtime by almost 2 hours a week because I wasn't fighting kinked chain links or replacing worn spots where the sand chewed through. Has anyone else tried wire rope on a small setup and had a different experience?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert_bennett291mo agoMost Upvoted

Buddy of mine runs a 10-inch on the Mississippi and tried wire rope last season. He swore it cut his float line sag in half but said the vibration from the pump shook the clamps loose twice a week. He went back to chain after three months because he got tired of tightening hardware every morning.

kellyj231mo ago

Swapped to wire rope on my 12-inch last spring after hearing the same hype about less sag. First week was great, everything looked tight and smooth. By week two I was out there with a wrench every single morning, same as your buddy. Ended up switching back to chain after a month and a half, just wasn't worth the headache of re-tightening clamps every time the pump fired up.

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