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Chat with an old salt at the Port of Houston dock last month made me rethink my pump schedule
He said he runs his dredge pump at 70% throttle for the first 4 hours of every shift instead of maxing it out like I do, and claims he gets 30% less wear on the impeller - has anyone else tried a slower ramp-up like that?
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terry_barnes2mo ago
Worked a summer on a dredge barge back in '07. Old timers had a saying: "You can't push shit through a straw faster by blowing harder." The real trick ain't just the throttle, it's matching the pump speed to the material density. Running full bore from the start can cavitate the impeller bad if the suction's got inconsistent slurry. That 70% ramp gives the pump time to prime proper and settle into a steady flow. I'd bet that's what's saving his parts, not just the lower RPMs.
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