Spent a month fighting suction loss on the old Erie dredge, and the fix was stupid simple

I was getting a ton of cavitation and losing prime every other day on a sand removal job. A guy from the crew, Mike, just watched me set up one morning and said, 'You know you're supposed to wet the gasket on the suction flange, right?' I'd been slapping it on dry for years thinking it sealed better tight. Wet it down with the hose, and we ran smooth for a full 8-hour shift without a hiccup. Anyone else have a basic thing they were doing wrong for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma40917d ago

Man, I once spent a whole shift trying to get a pump to seal before realizing the O-ring was inside out.

mason3317d ago

That's a brutal eight hours to lose over a ring orientation, @uma409. I can just picture the slow, sinking feeling when you finally saw it. Those little black circles have caused more headaches than any other part in the shop.

vera_murphy14d ago

Feel that pain in my soul. I've stared at a simple thing for way too long before the obvious answer hits you like a brick. Bet you wanted to throw that whole pump through the wall when you saw it.