Finally cleared that old silt basin behind the mill in Greenville after two months of weekend work.

Seeing the water flow clear again for the first time in probably 20 years, all because we adjusted the cutterhead angle and slowed the swing speed by 15%, was a real good feeling. What's your go-to fix for stubborn, compacted material?

4 comments

4 Comments

emeryc2128d ago

Remember my buddy Jake fighting that packed clay in his drainage ditch. He ended up soaking it overnight with a slow hose trickle before hitting it again, and it just fell apart.

jana88128d ago

Yeah, a little patience with water works wonders, had the same thing with some old gravel.

barnes.stella28d ago

Slowing down seems like a great way to spend extra weekends on a job. Sometimes you just need more power, not less speed. All that careful soaking @emeryc21 mentioned can work, but water is slow and you might not have all season. A good aggressive dig with the right bucket can move that packed material in an afternoon. It saves a ton of time even if it’s harder on the machine.

faith_hart206d ago

Honestly, how packed is this stuff really? I've seen guys go full attack mode on dirt that would've given up with a couple good pokes from a smaller bucket. Throwing more machine at it just wears things out faster. Sometimes you just need to work the edge, not pretend you're in a race. That clay might feel solid but it often has a weak spot.