My uncle told me to check the cutterhead bearings every 200 hours, and he was dead right.

I was running a small suction dredge on the Klamath River last season and skipped a check because we were behind schedule. After about 230 hours, we started getting a bad vibration and a high-pitched whine from the front end. We pulled it apart and found the forward bearing was completely shot, with metal shavings everywhere in the housing. It cost us two full days and over $1,200 in parts and labor to fix. Has anyone else found a different service interval that works better for sandy conditions?

2 comments

2 Comments

skylercooper3d ago

Your uncle knows his stuff. I learned the hard way too, checking at 150 hours now because our sandy bottom just eats bearings.

kai_bennett3d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, isn't that just putting a band-aid on the problem? I get the sandy bottom wrecks stuff, but checking that often feels like a lot of work. I just run a good seal and grease it right at the start of the season. Tbh, I haven't had to touch mine for way longer than 150 hours. Maybe you just need a different setup.