Shoutout to the crew that helped me when a suction line blew on the Mississippi near St. Louis

We were pulling up a lot of old timber and the pressure gauge spiked to 180 psi before the main hose split near the pump. I had to shut down the whole dredge and we spent six hours in the rain patching it with a spare section and double clamps. What's your go-to move when you get a sudden pressure spike like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

michael_lopez291mo ago

You shut the whole dredge down for a six hour patch job? Why not just throttle back and try to clear the line first? Sometimes a spike is just a big chunk of wood jamming the works, not a hose about to blow.

paulfisher1mo ago

Michael_lopez29 has a point about checking for a jam first, but when that gauge hits 180 and you hear the hose go, shutting it all down is the only safe call.