Got my cutter suction clogged on a Monday in Galveston

Last Monday I was running our 12-inch cutter suction down by the Galveston ship channel and hit a nasty patch of old rope and cable buried in the silt. The suction just dropped to nothing, and I spent 4 hours pulling the head and clearing the intake by hand in the heat. It was one of those jobs where you think you can push through, but the material wins. I finally got it running again by slowing the cutter rotation and using a water jet to break the clump loose. Has anyone else had good luck with a trick to avoid that kind of clog in heavy debris areas?

2 comments

2 Comments

viola_cooper6217d ago

Wait is pulling the head and clearing it by hand really that big of a deal? I mean this is kinda what we sign up for on a dredge right? Rope and cable clogs are like the most basic thing you gotta deal with out here. Did you try just reversing the cutter a few times first? I swear half the time people jump straight to the hard way when a quick backspin woulda fixed it. And 4 hours sounds like you were fighting it hard when maybe you just needed to chill and let the water work do its thing. Not every clog is some big emergency.

eric_wright7717d ago

Yeah @viola_cooper62 you're not wrong about the basic stuff, but I've noticed this pattern in more than just dredging. People get so locked in on fixing something the hard way that they forget the simple tricks that work 90% of the time. Reverse the cutter, give it a few minutes, let the water do the work like you said. It's the same with a lot of things in life - we overthink and overcomplicate when the easy answer is right there. I've seen guys spend an hour trying to pull a clog when a simple backspin and some patience would have saved them a ton of hassle. You hit on something bigger here - knowing when to step back and let the system help you out instead of fighting it. That's a skill that transfers to just about everything.

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