Took me 3 days to realize I was running the pump dry

We were on a job near the Mississippi backwater last week and the suction kept dropping out every 20 minutes. After pulling the intake screen 4 times and checking the hydraulic fluid levels twice, my helper noticed the water level was just barely below the suction head. Has anyone else spent way too long troubleshooting something that turned out to be simple and obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellioth371mo ago

Were you running off a portable pump or the rig's onboard? I've had portable pumps act up like that when the draft tube isn't fully submerged. Just curious if the water level changed from the start or if you missed it right away.

karenh561mo ago

Had a buddy lose a pump the same way, just didn't notice the water level dropping behind some rocks.

cora5181mo ago

Wait @ellioth37, weren't you the one saying portable pumps have that issue more? 😂 But yeah the water level was fine when we started, just dropped slow as the day went on and neither of us caught it.