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Am I the only one who thinks down-cutting dredge heads are overrated?
I ran standard straight-edged heads for 8 years on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge. Switched to a down-cutting head last spring after everyone swore it would cut through clay like butter. Honestly, I saw maybe 10% better production but the maintenance headaches were brutal. The bearings kept failing every 60 hours compared to 200+ on my old setup. Anyone else go back to the simpler designs?
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caseyrivera3mo ago
Different river conditions can change everything though.
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umamurphy5mo ago
60 hours on down-cutting head bearings sounds like a setup issue more than a design flaw, I've seen guys get 150+ out of them on the Ohio River. Check if your drive shaft angle is off a couple degrees, that kills bearings fast.
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dakotam175mo ago
Hah, well that's embarrassing because I'm pretty sure I had my drive shaft angle set by feel and a prayer. @umamurphy is probably right, I should probably double check the manual instead of just winging it like I usually do.
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