Debate: does running a cutterhead dry actually cause less wear?

I tried running my dredge's cutterhead dry for a full shift last Thursday on a small pond job near Austin. The idea was to minimize sediment suspension and keep the water clear for the client's landscaping pond. The cutterhead actually seemed to cut cleaner and the bearings didn't heat up as much as I expected. But then I noticed the teeth wore down way faster than normal, maybe 30% more wear in that one day. The result is I saved on disposal costs but lost on replacement parts. I'm wondering if that was just a bad test or if there's a real tradeoff here. Has anyone else experimented with dry cutting on shallow water projects and seen similar issues?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamienguyen23d ago

Dry cutting doesn't reduce sediment suspension, it just churns it into dust.

jessicajohnson23d ago

Think you saved on disposal costs but forgot to budget for new teeth, huh? Yeah, 30% more wear in one day sounds about right. That's like saying you saved gas by coasting downhill but forgot the uphill part costs double. You basically swapped one problem for another. Bet the bearings felt great because they weren't working as hard, but your cutterhead took the hit instead. Next time maybe just run it half wet and half dry, see if that balances out the wear. Or just pay the disposal fees and keep your teeth from turning to dust.