PSA: I used to run the cutterhead too fast on our Ellicott 370 until an old timer set me straight

For like 4 years I was running our draghead at max RPMs thinking more speed meant more dirt. That was until last March on a job near Baton Rouge when this 60 year old operator named Jimmy walked over and told me to slow it down to around 18 RPMs. He said I was just recirculating the material and not letting the buckets grab anything. Now I match the cutter speed to the material type - slower in sand and clay, faster if I'm in loose silt or trash. First week I tried his way I pulled an extra 40 yards per hour and burned half the fuel. The swing winches actually stopped overheating too. Has anybody else had an old head show you a trick that totally went against what you thought was right?

2 comments

2 Comments

james99520d agoTop Commenter

Man I feel your pain... I ran my cutter at max for two years before someone told me I was basically just making fancy underwater mud pies.

jason32820d ago

Fancy underwater mud pies" is the most accurate thing I've ever heard. Did the same thing with my first plasma table, ran it wide open for months before a guy at a trade show told me I was just making giant sparks with no real cut.