Vent: Running the cutterhead too fast when digging clay

I keep seeing guys online and on job sites cranking the RPMs way up for clay like it's sand. My old supervisor used to say "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" and I brushed it off for years. After 3 jobs in Louisiana last summer, I finally got it. Fast cutterhead just polishes the clay walls and bogs down the pump. Slow bite with consistent swing gets you double the production. Anyone else been in a debate with a crew that swears by high RPM?

2 comments

2 Comments

knight.diana17d ago

Good lord, people are actually running high RPMs in clay? That's like trying to cut butter with a chainsaw. Polished walls mean a plugged pump every time, which is just wasted money and time. Your old supervisor had it dead right, slow bite always wins in that stuff.

bettyk5317d ago

Read an article from some old driller a while back that said the same thing. Said running fast in clay just creates a mud slurry that seals up the walls tighter than a drum. He had a rule of thumb: if your pump pressure spikes more than 20% in the first 10 feet, back off the throttle. Saw a guy at a job site last summer ignore that, ended up with a plugged bit and had to pull the whole string. Cost him half a day and a new bit. Slow and steady is boring but it pays off every time.