A stuffing box is far more reliable than the dripless seals because of the
risk of castastrophic failure. However, be careful not to overtighten the
gland because it will wear the shaft very quickly.
Steve


"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
om...
Greetings;

Several years ago we replaced the stuffing box on our Victory Tug with a
packless shaft seal. Since then I've heard of one boat sinking and
another close to it when the stainless rotor loosened, slid forward, and
allowed water to enter the boat. Just today I discovered FAR more salt
water in the bilge than should have been there, and found a lot of
splashes around the packless seal. Evidently it's leaking.

I'm tempted to remove the packless shaft seal and reinstall the stuffing
box, but to use as packing the new hot stuff from the makers of GoreTex.
It is supposed to be so heat resistant you can crank down on the packing
gland until NO water seeps through. You get a dripless seal without all
the fancy mechanical stuff of the packless shaft seal system.

Anybody have comments on this issue?

Thanks,

Dick B.
LNVT "Annie"

On Mar 1, 5:32 pm, "Steve Lusardi" wrote:


However, be careful not to overtighten the
gland because it will wear the shaft very quickly.

And we all know how painful that can be.

Thanks one and all for your knowledgeable comments and judgments.

Yesterday we hauled the boat and found the stainless rotor had indeed
slipped forward about 1/2". That relieved nearly all the pressure the
bellows exerts on the sealing surface. We also found ONE of the bottom
setscrews was loose, so the original installation was faulty in that regard.
The mechanic that did the work assured me the corrected installation was
reliable--and the yard (Seaview North in Bellingham, Washington) charged me
nothing for either the haulout or the repair. So I'll go for now with the
correctly installed Packless Shaft seal.

But I will keep the old stuffing box castubg in "Annie's" junk locker--just
in case.

Thanks again, and smooth seas to all. (Except for the sailors: fair winds
to you.)

Dick B.


"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
om...
Greetings;

Several years ago we replaced the stuffing box on our Victory Tug with a
packless shaft seal. Since then I've heard of one boat sinking and
another close to it when the stainless rotor loosened, slid forward, and
allowed water to enter the boat. Just today I discovered FAR more salt
water in the bilge than should have been there, and found a lot of
splashes around the packless seal. Evidently it's leaking.

I'm tempted to remove the packless shaft seal and reinstall the stuffing
box, but to use as packing the new hot stuff from the makers of GoreTex.
It is supposed to be so heat resistant you can crank down on the packing
gland until NO water seeps through. You get a dripless seal without all
the fancy mechanical stuff of the packless shaft seal system.

Anybody have comments on this issue?

Thanks,

Dick B.
LNVT "Annie"

Think about adding the hose clamp behind the rotor as a "belt and
suspenders" solution

Dennis
"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Thanks one and all for your knowledgeable comments and judgments.

Yesterday we hauled the boat and found the stainless rotor had indeed
slipped forward about 1/2". That relieved nearly all the pressure the
bellows exerts on the sealing surface. We also found ONE of the bottom
setscrews was loose, so the original installation was faulty in that
regard. The mechanic that did the work assured me the corrected
installation was reliable--and the yard (Seaview North in Bellingham,
Washington) charged me nothing for either the haulout or the repair. So
I'll go for now with the correctly installed Packless Shaft seal.

But I will keep the old stuffing box castubg in "Annie's" junk
locker--just in case.

Thanks again, and smooth seas to all. (Except for the sailors: fair winds
to you.)

Dick B.


"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
om...
Greetings;

Several years ago we replaced the stuffing box on our Victory Tug with a
packless shaft seal. Since then I've heard of one boat sinking and
another close to it when the stainless rotor loosened, slid forward, and
allowed water to enter the boat. Just today I discovered FAR more salt
water in the bilge than should have been there, and found a lot of
splashes around the packless seal. Evidently it's leaking.

I'm tempted to remove the packless shaft seal and reinstall the stuffing
box, but to use as packing the new hot stuff from the makers of GoreTex.
It is supposed to be so heat resistant you can crank down on the packing
gland until NO water seeps through. You get a dripless seal without all
the fancy mechanical stuff of the packless shaft seal system.

Anybody have comments on this issue?

Thanks,

Dick B.
LNVT "Annie"

Dennis: Thanks. We did that. 2 clamps, as a matter of fact. Thanks for
the headsup.

Dick


"Dennis Gibbons" wrote in message
...
Think about adding the hose clamp behind the rotor as a "belt and
suspenders" solution

Dennis
"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Thanks one and all for your knowledgeable comments and judgments.

Yesterday we hauled the boat and found the stainless rotor had indeed
slipped forward about 1/2". That relieved nearly all the pressure the
bellows exerts on the sealing surface. We also found ONE of the bottom
setscrews was loose, so the original installation was faulty in that
regard. The mechanic that did the work assured me the corrected
installation was reliable--and the yard (Seaview North in Bellingham,
Washington) charged me nothing for either the haulout or the repair. So
I'll go for now with the correctly installed Packless Shaft seal.

But I will keep the old stuffing box castubg in "Annie's" junk
locker--just in case.

Thanks again, and smooth seas to all. (Except for the sailors: fair
winds to you.)

Dick B.


"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
om...
Greetings;

Several years ago we replaced the stuffing box on our Victory Tug with a
packless shaft seal. Since then I've heard of one boat sinking and
another close to it when the stainless rotor loosened, slid forward, and
allowed water to enter the boat. Just today I discovered FAR more salt
water in the bilge than should have been there, and found a lot of
splashes around the packless seal. Evidently it's leaking.

I'm tempted to remove the packless shaft seal and reinstall the stuffing
box, but to use as packing the new hot stuff from the makers of
GoreTex. It is supposed to be so heat resistant you can crank down on
the packing gland until NO water seeps through. You get a dripless seal
without all the fancy mechanical stuff of the packless shaft seal
system.

Anybody have comments on this issue?

Thanks,

Dick B.
LNVT "Annie"