Lost $400 last month on a worn cutterhead I should have caught earlier

Was running my 12-inch dredge on the Missouri River near St. Louis. Kept noticing the pump pressure dropping but figured it was just normal wear. Finally pulled the ladder after three tough days. Found the cutter teeth were literally ground down to nubs. Cost me $400 in replacement parts and lost production time. Anyone else got a trick for spotting cutter wear before it eats your profit?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicaw111mo ago

Wait, you ran three whole days with the cutter pressure dropping and didn't pull the ladder sooner? That's rough buddy. Those teeth must have been screaming at you the whole time. I check mine every shift now after losing a set of tigersharks on the Arkansas last year. Just shine a light down the ladder from the bank before you start, if you see any copper color peekin through the matrix you're already in trouble.

-1

lewis.charlie1mo ago

Oh man, reminds me of when I was running a 12x10 dredge on the Trinity back in 2011 and the vacuum gauge started bouncing around like crazy for two days straight. Figured it was just some sticky clay chunks messing with the readings. Turned out I had a chunk of old tire wrapped around the suction screen and half the teeth on the starboard side were just gone, just smooth metal studs left. @jessicaw11 you're dead on about that copper color thing, once you see that streak down the ladder you're basically watching your money get ground up.