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That job on the Snake River where the silt clogged the pump in under an hour
We were running a 10-inch cutter head and hit a pocket of super fine glacial silt nobody mapped. Had to shut down and pull the whole ladder twice in one shift, which is insane. Anyone else run into sediment that just laughs at your normal screen setup?
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rowan_wilson405mo ago
Pulling the ladder twice is rough but it sounds like a known river hazard. Glacial silt is basically the default soil condition out there. A good crew should have plans for that, not just screens.
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miabennett5mo ago
Yeah, we had the same problem on the Clearwater. Totally agree with @hannah_flores99 about a settling pit, that's what finally worked for us. Just a cheap dug-out spot to slow the water down before it hits the pump.
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hannah_flores995mo ago
Man, that sounds brutal but honestly not that wild for the Snake. That whole system is basically built on glacial flour. We always ran a secondary settling pit before the pump intake, just a simple dugout thing, and it saved our butts more than once. The fine stuff needs time to drop out, screens just get blinded instantly. Maybe your setup was moving too much water too fast for the silt to settle?
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