Question about switching from old school bucket lines to suction dredges

For the first ten years on the river, I ran a 12-inch bucket ladder dredge. We'd move maybe 300 cubic yards a day on a good run, but the downtime for chain repairs and bucket maintenance was a killer. About three years back, after a job in Mobile where we lost a week to a snapped sprocket, I switched to a 10-inch cutter suction setup. The production jump was huge, we're hitting 500 yards a day now with way less wear and tear on the gear. The big change was learning to manage the slurry mix and pump speed instead of just digging power. Anyone else made this switch and have tips on keeping the suction head from clogging in real silty bottom?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_reed20h agoMost Upvoted

You talk about way less wear and tear, but those cutter suction pumps are a whole new world of expensive headaches when they go down. Isn't the bucket line's simple mechanical fix better than a full pump rebuild?

susanm2214h ago

Remember watching a crew try to clear a plugged suction head with a fire hose, just made a bigger mess lol. Honestly, the switch felt like trading a broken leg for a bad back, you just get different problems. My tip is to never let that pump sit idle in silt, even for a coffee break, or it turns into concrete.