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Thought those new polymer cutter heads were just marketing fluff
My crew on the Lake Erie project last year got a set to test. I figured they'd crack in the cold or wear down fast. Ran them for a full 8 week season moving gravel and clay. Zero breaks, and wear was maybe 15% less than our steel ones. The weight savings on the crane hook was real. Anyone run these on a bigger scale than a test?
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knight.felix2mo ago
Honestly that tracks with what I heard from a guy on a dredging crew. They said the real win wasn't just the wear, it was how they didn't get all gunked up in wet clay like the old steel ones. Made cleanup way faster. Tbh I'd be worried about running them over real jagged rock though.
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robertlane2mo ago
Ever see those big poly skids on mining gear? They take way more abuse than you'd guess. The flex actually helps them slide over sharp edges instead of catching.
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emmaclark2mo ago
Yeah but @robertlane, that flex you mentioned... doesn't that just mean they bend out of shape easier under a real load?
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paige3311mo ago
I ran a set on the Maumee River job last spring, mostly river rock and sand mix. They went through about 40 hours before I swapped them out, which was actually better than our usual steel heads that needed changing at 30. The flex thing is real but not like they turn into rubber. They just bounce off edges instead of catching and gouging. The clay buildup thing is no joke either, we cut our cleaning time by half because the polymer didn't let mud cake on like steel does. Stick to gravel and softer stuff though, I wouldn't push them on sharp limestone.
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