That trick with running the dredge pump dry for 30 seconds to clear a clog? Don't do it.

I noticed a bunch of guys on this forum and at the yard swear by just blasting the pump with air for a minute to break up a sand clog. I tried it twice on my 8-inch Ellicott last month and both times I ended up with a busted seal and a $600 repair bill. My buddy Carl, who's been running dredges on the Mississippi for 12 years, told me the real trick is to reverse the flow for 10 seconds instead of dry firing. It pushes the jam back out without wrecking the impeller or the seal. I tested it on a stubborn gravel plug last week and it cleared in 8 seconds flat. Anyone else had a pump seal blow from dry running like I did?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.elliot3d ago

You know my buddy Dave over in Galveston? He tried that dry run trick on a 10-inch dredge and it grenaded his pump housing in under a minute, cost him two grand and a week of downtime. Now he just taps the intake line with a mallet and reverses the flow for a few seconds on any clog bigger than a fist.

emma_garcia3d ago

Heard about this from an old timer at the fleet shop down in Baton Rouge... said the same thing about reverse flow being the way to go. Dry running just cooks the seal because the water's what keeps it cool and lubed up. I think a lot of guys don't realize the pump's not designed to spin without that fluid cushion, so it's basically metal on metal in there once it goes dry. That reverse trick sounds a lot smarter than blowing $600 on a seal kit every time you hit a patch of gravel.

jenny_lane123d ago

Read a report from a pump manufacturer that confirmed exactly that about the water cushion.