Finally got the suction line cleared after a full day fighting a rock jam in the Willamette

We were pulling up a ton of river rock near Portland when the pump pressure spiked and the whole rig shuddered. Turned out a football-sized stone got wedged sideways in the 12-inch line, and we had to reverse the flow three times and use a handheld camera to finally knock it loose. What's your go-to method for clearing a bad jam without shutting down for hours?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.val1mo ago

Sometimes the biggest problems come from the smallest stones.

amy_craig281mo ago

But honestly, I see it the other way around most days. The huge, obvious boulders are what actually trip you up. You see a giant problem coming from a mile away, so you freeze up and don't even start. A tiny stone is just a quick stumble. It's the massive, scary issues that stop you dead in your tracks and make you give up before you begin. We spend all our time worrying about the little stuff when the big, clear roadblocks are the real dream killers.

baker.holly1mo ago

Yeah I always thought the small stuff was worse but this actually makes sense. King.val's point about big problems coming from small stones is true too though.