Had a dock master in Gulfport call me out on my slurry mix last week

I've been running a cutter suction dredge for about 8 years now and always thought my slurry was fine. But this older guy, been doing it since the 90s, watched me dump a load and said it was too thick for the pipeline distance. He said I was burning through HP for no reason. I argued at first, told him I like it heavy so the material settles faster. But he showed me on paper how a thinner mix actually moves more solids per hour over our 2000 foot run. I tried it his way the next day and my production rate jumped 15 percent. Made me wonder how many other little habits I got that are actually working against me. Anyone else had an old timer change how you think about something basic?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.mary1d ago

Hold on now, thick slurry has its place. That old timer might be right for a straight 2000 foot run with no elevation changes, but what if your line has dips or low spots? Thinner mix just runs off and leaves the solids sitting there, then you got a plugged line and hours of downtime. Ive seen it happen more than once. Plus, if your cutter head is chewing through harder material, a wetter mix just washes the cuttings away before they even get to the suction. That 15 percent bump might be real for his specific setup, but dont throw out years of experience just because some guy with a calculator showed you numbers.

the_jennifer1d ago

Take his advice with a grain of salt. Numbers don't tell the whole story underwater.