Switched from cable to hydraulic dredge controls last month. Regret not doing it sooner.

I ran cable controls on my 8-inch cutter for 6 years. Always fighting with line tangles and slow response times when the current got bad. Finally swapped to a hydraulic setup after a job at the Port of Savannah where I lost 4 hours untangling cables. The hydraulic levers give me way finer control over the cutterhead depth. Cost me $3,200 for the retrofit kit but I'm pulling 15% more material per shift now. Has anyone else made this switch and noticed a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan9155d ago

Did you gotta rework your swing winch setup too, or was it plug and play?

jones.blake5d ago

Oh man, no way. @morgan915 sorry but that winch setup was definitely not plug and play for me. I had to cut and weld a whole new mounting bracket because the bolt pattern was off by like half an inch. It was frustrating, honestly. The winch itself was fine but getting the swing arm to line up with the hitch receiver took some shimming and grinding. I ended up having to drill a couple new holes in the bumper too. If you're looking at the same brand I had, expect to do some fab work.