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Old timer told me to run my cutterhead at 50 rpm in that sticky Georgia clay. I thought he was nuts.
We were on a channel job near Savannah, dealing with that thick, gumbo mud. My usual move was high speed, power through. This guy, worked the river for 40 years, said to drop it way down. He said, 'You'll just make a mess and burn up your pump at 120. Try 50, let it chew.' I was sure we'd stall. Did it his way for a test cut. Took longer per foot, but the spoil was cleaner, the pump pressure stayed steady, and we didn't clog the ladder once all afternoon. Saved us a ton of downtime. Now I'm split. His method worked perfect for that muck, but on sand or loose bottom, slow seems like wasted time. When does the old school 'slow and steady' beat just hammering down? What's your rule for cutterhead speed in different bottoms?
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grace9261mo ago
You're right that slow would be a waste in sand. But is it really just about mud versus sand? In that sticky clay, the cutter is basically trying to peel it off. High speed just smears it. I've found the real rule is how the spoil comes up the ladder. If it's chunky and moving, you're good. If it's a pasty soup, you need to slow down and let the teeth bite properly.
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evana711mo ago
So what's the tell for when it's too slow then?
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