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Cutterhead vs. auger dredge for hard clay... I think one is way overrated
I've been running a small cutterhead dredge on a pond project near Baton Rouge for the last 3 weeks and it's been a NIGHTMARE in the hard clay layers. We switched to an auger dredge borrowed from a buddy last Thursday and it cut through the same material at double the speed with half the cavitation issues. My cutterhead was clogging every 45 minutes, the auger ran 6 hours straight without a hiccup. Is the auger just better for heavy material or did I mess up my cutterhead setup somehow? Anyone else find one type way better for specific soils?
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jamesmason2d ago
Honestly man it sounds like you were fighting the wrong tool for the job. I've run both types enough to know cutterheads are fine for sand and silt but they just dont have the bite for real hard clay. The way the auger pulls material in from the sides and keeps a constant flow makes a huge difference in heavy stuff. Plus a clogged cutterhead every 45 minutes means either your pump speed was off or the cutter wasn't aggressive enough for that clay's consistency. You probably didn't mess up your setup but you were asking a machine to do something it wasn't built for. Augers are just flat out better for sticky or dense material because they self clean better and maintain suction way longer. If you're going to be in clay again I'd stick with the auger and save the cutterhead for the soft stuff.
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