Tried running my dredge pump at a lower RPM to save fuel last month

I dropped it from 1800 to 1450 and ended up pulling 20% more sand per hour because the suction was way steadier. Anyone else mess around with pump speeds on a 6 inch setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_butler832mo ago

My 5 inch setup last season I was running at 1700 religiously. Ngl, I thought slower RPMs would just make the pump choke and lose prime. But I finally tried dropping to 1500 after hearing a buddy talk about it and honestly the difference was night and day. The material feed got way more consistent and I was pulling out ten percent more gravel per hour on my best days. Tbh it felt wrong at first because the engine sounded too quiet, but I checked the flow and it was smoother than ever. It changed my whole opinion on running pumps at full tilt all the time.

parker_thomas2mo ago

@kai_butler83 a 10% gain is decent but 20% like the OP got seems like a stretch unless conditions were perfect. Are you sure it wasn't just a good day for the material you were hitting?

nathana4824d agoTop Commenter

You saying "it felt wrong at first because the engine sounded too quiet" is exactly what I noticed too, @kai_butler83, but on a 6 inch you gotta be careful with that - dropping too low can actually cavitate the impeller if you're not reading the vacuum gauge right.