Figured out I was running my cutterhead way too fast for 3 years straight

I was on a job near Baton Rouge last month dredging some pretty heavy clay, and the old guy who runs the barge next to mine just walked over and asked why I was trying to blend a milkshake. He showed me his tach was reading about 40% lower than mine for the same material, and the difference in load on the engine was night and day. Made me feel dumb but now my fuel burn is way down... anyone else ever get humbled by a random tip from a guy who's been at it 30 years?

2 comments

2 Comments

verafoster2d ago

Well damn, that is exactly the kind of thing you only learn from somebody who's been doing it forever. I read a article in a trade mag a few years back that said most guys run their cutterheads way too fast because they think more speed equals more cutting. Sounds like that old barge guy saved you a ton of money on fuel and wear and tear.

evan2952d agoProlific Poster

Man that is the truth. I had the same problem on a dredge job years ago, kept cranking the cutter head up thinking I was getting more done. Finally an old hand told me to back it way off and let the material feed in naturally, cut my fuel bill by almost a third and the production barely dropped.