Used to run the pump at full tilt, now I dial it back after a silt jam in the Missouri.

We were clearing a channel near St. Louis and I kept the pump wide open, thinking more flow was always better. That was until we got a massive silt jam that took a whole shift to clear. Do you guys have a rule of thumb for pump speed in heavy silt areas?

4 comments

4 Comments

claire8722mo agoProlific Poster

That jam sounds rough but is it a common thing? High flow seems to work fine for a lot of crews.

daniel_gonzalez2mo ago

Honestly, I've found a steady high flow prevents those jams better than backing off.

alicecraig2mo ago

Actually, I disagree with that high flow idea. Claire872, a fast pump can pull in too much silt at once, which is how you get a real blockage. A steady, slower flow lets the system handle the load without choking.

murray.cora1mo ago

Dan, I've got to disagree with you there. I had a similar situation on the Mississippi years back where running high flow just packed silt in tighter, making the jam worse. Dropping the pump speed by about a third let the material flow through steady instead of all at once, and we never had that problem again.