Noticed a huge difference in how my cutterhead looked after switching to a different type of sand

I been running a 12 inch cutter for about 4 years now, mostly in the Houston ship channel. Always used the standard river sand we get from the local pit, figured sand is sand right? Well about 2 months ago I switched over to a crushed limestone sand because the regular stuff was backordered. After just 6 weeks of using it I pulled the cutterhead for a maintenance check and the wear on the teeth was way less than normal. The edges looked almost new compared to what I was used to seeing after that same time frame. The limestone grit must break down different or something, it didnt grind away the metal as fast. Any of you guys run into a similar switch where a different material changed your wear patterns like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_bell521d ago

Yeah the type of sand makes a way bigger difference than most guys think. Crushed limestone definitely breaks down softer and doesnt scrub the metal the same way river sand does. I switched to crushed granite once and my stuff lasted almost twice as long.

bell.jessica21d ago

Oh man yeah I had almost the exact same thing happen when I switched from regular gravel to a crushed granite mix on a job down in the Gulf. The wear difference was night and day on my teeth and the whole cutterhead looked way cleaner when I pulled it.

andrew_baker921d ago

Heard a speaker at a conference say granite dust actually polishes the steel over time. Interesting to see it in practice.