Overheard a guy at the Tacoma marina say he runs his cutterhead at 80% max RPM for better slurry consistency in silt.

I tried it on a channel maintenance job yesterday and the pump definitely handled the load smoother... has anyone else found a sweet spot like that for different materials?

3 comments

3 Comments

sullivan.finley1mo ago

Wait, he's running it at 80% in SILT? That's the part that's wild to me. Silt is basically water with extra steps, you can run way slower and still move it. Pushing that hard seems like a great way to just wear everything out for no real gain. The pump might sound smoother because it's not bogging down, but you're asking for a lot of heat and wear.

hugoc971mo ago

That 80% figure in Tacoma is really specific. I'm with @miles946 on the wear, but what was the actual pump model he was using? A bigger pump at 80% might act totally different than a standard one, even in silt.

miles9461mo ago

That sounds like a great way to burn up a pump on heavier stuff.