TIL that running the cutterhead at 75% power on a hard clay bed actually saved me fuel

I've always run my cutter at full throttle on tough clay, thinking I needed all the torque. Last month on a job near Baton Rouge, I tried dropping it to 75% after my hydraulics started running hot. The thing cut through cleaner and I used 30% less diesel over a 6 hour shift. Has anyone else found a sweet spot for cutter speed on specific materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

parkera2227d agoProlific Poster

It's funny how that works. I've noticed the same pattern with my lawn mower, actually. I always ran it at full throttle thinking I needed the speed, but when I backed it off to about 70% on thick wet grass, it didn't clog up and I didn't have to go over the same spot twice. Seems like there's a lot of things in life where "full power" is just wasting energy and causing problems, not doing you any favors.

the_joel26d ago

My mower actually cuts best at full throttle when the grass is wet.