Unpopular opinion: A 6-inch dredge head isn't always better than a 4-inch

Old timer at the Port of Seattle told me to stick with my 4-inch head for tight marina work. Ignored him, switched to a 6-inch, and spent 4 hours unclogging silt around dock pilings. Has anyone else run into this where bigger just means more headaches?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler_hall91mo ago

Actually that old timer had a point about flow dynamics. A 4-inch head moves material faster through the pipe because the velocity stays higher. With a 6-inch you lose that vacuum pressure around tight spots like dock pilings. Had a buddy run into the same problem up in Bellingham trying to clean out between houseboats. Swapped back to his 4 after fighting his 6 for a season.

max_jones1mo ago

Tyler_hall9 nailed it with that flow dynamics point. I learned this the hard way too, thought a 6-inch would be the ultimate upgrade and it just made everything worse in tight spots. The vacuum pressure drop is real, especially around dock pilings where you need that suction to pull material from the gaps. Spent a whole Saturday fighting clogs until I switched back to my 4-inch and finished in an hour. That old timer knew exactly what he was talking about, sometimes smaller gear fits the job better than the biggest option.