I finally figured out why my suction lines kept clogging after 6 months on the same job

Watched three new guys dump their washdown water straight into the dredge pit instead of off to the side. All that silt and gravel just recirculates right back into the pump. Took me two hours to clear the line after they left. I know it saves a few steps but it makes a mess of everything downstream. Any of you have a quick way to explain this to green operators without sounding like a jerk?

3 comments

3 Comments

adams.vera21d ago

Made a guy watch me pull a garden hose worth of packed silt out of a 4 inch line once, told him it was the dredge's version of a colonoscopy and I'd give him a turn next time. He thought I was joking till I handed him the gloves. Now he walks his washdown hose all the way to the tailings pile without a word.

claire_butler122d ago

Honestly that's rough, man. I've been there where you watch someone do something that just makes your whole day worse and you gotta bite your tongue. Tbh having them watch you dig out that clogged line is brutal but effective. Ngl I had one operator tell me "it's just water" and I made him put on gloves and help me pull out a mud-soaked rag that had been sucked halfway through the pump. He never dumped washdown in the pit again. Sometimes you gotta let them learn the hard way but with you right there so they can't miss it.

nelson.cameron22d ago

Ever have them watch you clean out that clogged line while you explain exactly where that water went? That usually gets the point across without you having to say a word.

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