My 4-inch suction line blew a gasket last Tuesday

I was working a small dredge job on the Trinity River near Liberty, Texas, cleaning out a silted-in boat ramp. Around 2 PM I heard a pop and saw mud spraying everywhere from the flange where the suction hose meets the pump. I had to shut down for almost two hours to dig out the old gasket and get a new one seated right. Has anyone else had trouble keeping those flanges sealed when you're pumping really fine silt?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenny471mo ago

Exactly what robins83 said, cracking that discharge valve really does save your gaskets.

robin5911mo ago

Well now, were you running the pump wide open when that gasket blew, or did you have the throttle backed off some? I'm wondering if too much suction pressure was the culprit there.

robins831mo ago

Oh boy, I've been there too! I was running my old Goulds pump wide open moving water out of a flooded basement a few years back and that rubber gasket just let go like a shotgun blast. Sprayed muddy water all over my breaker panel, I was lucky it didn't short out. I've since learned to keep the discharge valve cracked a bit to take some strain off the seals.