amyr57•13h ago

Is running a dredge at half throttle all day better than full throttle for 4?

I tried running my dredge at half throttle for a whole 8 hour shift last week near Baton Rouge instead of my usual full speed for 4 hours, and I actually pulled more material total. Has anyone else experimented with running slower for longer shifts or am I just getting lucky with the spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sarah10h ago

You mentioned "pulled more material total" and that really hit home because I had a buddy named Carl who ran his rig down in Plaquemine for years. He was one of those guys who swore by full throttle always, like he thought throttle was some kind of manhood test or something. Then one summer his fuel pump started acting up and forced him to run at half for two weeks straight. By the end of it he was actually bringing up cleaner gravel and his buckets were fuller at the end of the day compared to his usual four hour runs. He still runs half throttle most days now and just grins about how he used to waste gas.

tyler_white427h ago

Haha yeah Carl figured it out the hard way! Running at full throttle just wastes fuel and wears stuff out faster for no real gain. Half speed usually gets you cleaner cuts and more material in the long run.