Tried a heavier cutterhead on my Ellicott 370 and got way more vibration than I expected

Swapped out the standard 4-blade cutterhead for a 6-blade one last month on a job near Port Arthur. Thought it would chew through the clay faster, but the whole ladder started shaking bad after about 3 hours. Learned the hard way that more blades don't always mean better production, especially in sticky material. Has anyone else run into this with a heavier setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

williamw756d ago

You ever just get humbled by a machine like that? I used to be all about throwing more blades at everything, thought heavier meant tougher. Then I swapped to a 6-blade on a sticky sand job in Louisiana and my whole ladder shook like a paint mixer for two hours before I shut down. Learned that extra weight just grabs more material and loads up the cutter instead of cutting clean.

kimw576d ago

That Louisiana mud will teach you real quick.

colethomas6d ago

williamw75, you said your ladder shook for two hours before you shut it down. I think that might actually be part of the problem right there. Running a machine that long with that much vibration is hard on the pumps and the gearbox. You could be doing more damage than good. Usually when the cutter starts shaking that bad, it means the teeth are dull or the flow is wrong, not that the cutter is too heavy. I've seen guys run a 6-blade just fine in that same gumbo mud, but they keep their teeth sharp and don't push the stick so hard. Next time, try backing off the throttle a bit when you feel that shake. Let the cutter do the work instead of forcing it.

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