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Had a main pump seal blow out on the old 8-inch cutter suction dredge near Mobile Bay.
It happened right at shift change yesterday evening, just as we were about to wrap up. One second the pressure gauge was fine, the next there was a loud pop and water started spraying everywhere from the pump housing. We had to kill the engine fast. The seal kit was on the barge, but it was the old style and the new gasket didn't fit right. Ended up having to use a bit of the old gasket with a ton of sealant just to get us through the night so we could move off the channel. Lost about four hours of digging time easy. Anyone know a good supplier for parts on those older IHC pumps? The local shop never has the right stuff.
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paigem456mo ago
Try calling Gulf Coast Dredge Supply.
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jade_singh6mo ago
Calling them is a solid move. I had a buddy who needed a weird part for his old dredge pump, and their tech guy actually knew what he was talking about. Saved him a ton of time searching online. Sometimes you just need to talk to a person who deals with this stuff every day. Their website is okay, but the real info comes from a phone call.
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margaret3046mo ago
Yeah, the "weird part for his old dredge pump" is the key detail. My rule is if you have to describe a thing as a "weird part," you've already lost the online search battle. You're gonna be scrolling through diagrams for three hours just to find out it's called a "flange grommet sprocket" or something equally made up.
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