PSA: My old method for checking cutterhead wear almost cost me a pump in Mobile Bay

For years I just eyeballed the teeth and ran it until something felt wrong, but last month the suction line started shaking so bad we had to shut down for two days. The boss showed me how to use a depth gauge every 50 hours to measure tooth loss, and it turns out I was running them 30% past the safe point. How often do you guys actually measure your cutter wear versus just going by feel?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim69325d ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? I mean, we've always just looked at them and changed them when they seemed worn down. Never had a pump go out from it, maybe we just get lucky.

drewnguyen25d ago

My buddy ran his shop that way for years, just eyeballing the belts. Then one gave out on a Friday afternoon and took the water pump with it. He lost a whole weekend of work waiting on parts and paying for the tow. The repair bill was way more than a set of belts would have cost.

williams.kim25d ago

Sounds like your buddy's "eyeball test" came with a pretty expensive price tag, @drewnguyen. Guess the belt didn't get the memo about waiting until Monday.