Page 36: of Marine News Magazine (December 2012)

Local authorities in the municipality of Colta, Ecuador recently purchased an IMS Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge with 305mm discharge, newly-developed patent pending Razor Tooth Weedmaster Cutterhead aquatic plant harvester and interchangeable horizontal cutterhead. The dredge was delivered in September. Local ofÞ cials were faced with a vegetation problem in Laguna de Colta, a recreational lake at 10,825 feet above sea level that had become infested with totora over 40 percent of its area. The other 60 percent of the lake was full of submerged mats of vegetation that were literally strangling all aquatic life. Some vegetation was as much as nine feet tall. The patent pending Razor Tooth Weedmaster Cutterhead features a reinforced double razor system that can cut the tall vegetation and thick root masses with less wear and bending of cutting teeth than previous models. Local requirements in Ecuador called for a machine that could cut and pump the vegetation without the need for a re-handling barge. Most weed harvesters cut the vegetation stems down to a Þ xed depth and store them in a hopper which must be periodically emptied on the shore using multiple barges and support equipment. The Weedmaster chops the weeds into 3-5 inch pieces and pumps them to the shore up to 0.6 miles away using the dredge pump. The Weedmaster cutterhead unit mounts directly to the pump inlet door. It consists of a steel shroud and cutterbar with dual direct drive motors driving the cutter. The cutterbar is made of heavy wall tubing with reinforced razor TECH FILEThe IMS Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge system immediately proved itself 2 miles above sea level in a lake that is in the advanced stages of eutrophication. Versi-Dredge: Innovative Dredging Solutions December 201236 MNMN Dec2012 Layout 32-43.indd 36MN Dec2012 Layout 32-43.indd 3612/3/2012 4:34:22 PM12/3/2012 4:34:22 PM