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Had a pump cavitation scare on the Columbia last month
We were running the 12-inch cutter head near a sandbar when the suction pressure gauge started jumping all over. The engine sound went from a steady rumble to a high-pitched whine. I killed the cutter, throttled back the pump, and had my deckhand check the intake screen. Sure enough, it was packed with river grass and a plastic bag. Cleared it out, brought the pump back up slow, and everything smoothed right out. Anyone have a good trick for spotting that kind of debris before it hits the screen?
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ryan1836d ago
Ever try a cheap underwater camera on a pole? I rigged one up to a monitor in the wheelhouse, and it's a game changer for spotting that kind of junk floating toward the intake. You can see the grass and trash coming from about ten feet out, which gives you time to swing the head away or kill it before the screen gets packed. The picture gets murky if the water's real bad, but for clear river days it saves a ton of headaches.
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