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That thing where people run their suction line dry on purpose

I was working a job up near Fairbanks last summer and kept seeing this one guy on site who would lift his suction head out of the water every few minutes to let it run dry for a bit. Said it helped clear out clogs. I mean, idk where he got that idea but it wore out his pump seals in about 2 weeks. I had to stop and show him that running a dredge pump dry even for 10 seconds can overheat the bearings and warp the impeller shaft. We ended up replacing his whole pump assembly, cost the company about $1,200. Has anyone else run into operators who think drying out the line mid-run is a good trick?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah3854d ago

Wait, could that guy have been mixing up gold dredge techniques with regular pump operation? I worked with an old timer in the Yukon who would lift his header box out to let gravel clear, but he used a special dry run bypass valve that kept water flowing through the pump housing the whole time. That whole "running dry to clear clogs" thing sounds like someone half remembered a method for a different type of equipment and just went with it, probably wrecking their gear because they didn't understand the actual safety system built into the original trick.

barbara_kim4d ago

Wait is that bypass valve actually a common thing on older dredges? I used to think running em dry was just a dumb rookie mistake cause thats what I saw some guys do on the Fraser River and they blew out seals left and right. But hearing about that special valve setup, it makes way more sense now. I remember one older fella on the Klamath showed me his rig had a recirc line that kept water moving through the pump even when the suction head was lifted, said it was factory installed. Wish I woulda asked him more about it back then instead of just assuming he was doing it wrong. That explains a whole lot about why some guys swear by lifting the head while others call it a shortcut to a blown pump.