Old timer showed me a trick with a garden hose on a clogged cutterhead

I was on a job in Norfolk last March and my cutterhead kept getting packed with clay. An old operator named Walt walked over and told me to spray a little dish soap into the suction line before I started. He said the soap breaks the surface tension and lets the clay slide through instead of sticking. I tried it and it cut my downtime by about 15 minutes per shift. Has anyone else tried something like lube or soap to keep your gear from clogging?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim_hart74d ago

Did you just squirt it in the suction or mix it with water first?

kelly9683d agoTop Commenter

Yeah "a little dish soap" seems like one of those things that just works everywhere, like a squirt of WD-40 on a squeaky door hinge.