Shaft seals, dry bilge?

[Bob Quinn]

I am trying to learn about shaft seals, and adjusting them.
I continually have 3-4 inches of water in the engine bilges and there is always a concern of what happens if a bilge pump goes down.

Is a dry bilge possible with regular shaft seals? How much water should be in the bilge, is it normal to have a few inches? I'm guessing I need to check them, possible tighten them or repack them.

Is repacking something you have to do on land?

Thanks for any input!

Currently in inside heated water well and lining up my winter projects.

 

[Scarlett]

Regular packing glands should drip a little while underway. I built little boxes under my shaft stuffing with their own little bilge pumps. Works fantastic. I now just have a little bit of water in the boxes but the rest of the bilge stays dry.

 

[Pascal]

Conventional shaft logs should barely drip when just sitting, maybe a few drops a minute or so so it should not add up to inches of water. You can measure the volume but putting a plastic box under the shaft logs and see how quickly they fill

Water usually comes from a number of sources including cleaning strainers, air con condensation etc.

 

[Bob Quinn]

I like the idea of a separate collection box.

I think I'm getting more like a drip a second, so I need to tighten it up and see what happens.

Thanks for the input!

 

[SEVEN]

I have the dripless shafts and my bilge has dust in it because it’s so dry. Not bragging. A little pricey but worth every non- drop.

 

[Captain Ralph]

Our Bertie, the shaft logs drip a bit while operating. What they do pass lands in a small sump in the engine room keel sump. 1/4" PTFE Flax.

Now the rudders, after 44 years, are always leaking.
In the middle of a promising red-neck experiment that I will post in a few more week.

 

[Eddieclemons]

I recently pulled out all of my shafts conventional packing and replaced it with the Dura Max Ultra X. I put everything back together as loose as possible. The directions say to let them drip for several hours of operation before tightening them up. I haven't done that yet and my bilge is already dry after a a day or two of sitting. I will know more about how it performs as the weather warms up.

 

[Bob Quinn]

How much $ are the drippless shaft seals?

Is there a brand that can NOT catastrophically fail and sink your boat?

 

[Scarlett]

I personal know of 2 boats that have sunk do to improperly installed PSS shaft seals. Having said that if the PSS seals are properly installed I think they are great. Tides also makes a good seal system that uses a lip seal.

 

[Bob Quinn]

I personal know of 2 boats that have sunk do to improperly installed PSS shaft seals. Having said that if the PSS seals are properly installed I think they are great. Tides also makes a good seal system that uses a lip seal.

That sure makes them sound risky!

I'm guessing stay with the regular packing, just curious what they cost.
I'm also assuming you have to pull shafts to install the dripless, which is not something on my radar to do.

 

[jim rosenthal]

You do have to pull the shafts etc to install PSS or any other packless seal.

My first set of bellows on PSS seals lasted 15 years, and were still in good shape when we replaced them. We were installing new cutlass bearings in the stern tube and strut on each side, so we sent the shafts off to be trued, did the bearings and replaced the PSS bellows. But even way past their assigned date for replacing, they were still fine. And the new ones are even sturdier.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I had 20 years on my PSS. During the repower I switched to Tides.

 

[Pascal]

i put tides on my 53 during the repower. I have a PSS on my sailboat. I prefer tides, I ve had them on a number of boats i ve run. Never had an issue

 

[Cricket]

We installed Tides probably 30 years ago for the shafts and also rudders, never an issue.
Replaced them last spring with new ones just because they were getting old.
Can make a great deal on a pair of new in the box Tides seals for 2" shafts attaching to 3-1/2" shaft tubes.
Ended up having to get seals for 4" tubes because we damaged the tubes when removing the old ones.
Easiest fix was sleeving the old tubes with 4" OD fiberglass tube, didn't want to take a chance on using a reducer hose.

 

[HahnR]

+ 1 on the Tides

 

[BOATER BOB]

Try this product from West Marine been using it for 15 years with no problem at all . WesternPacific Trading its a drip-Less Moldable Packing just follow directions and it works. Bob

 

[Bob Quinn]

Try this product from West Marine been using it for 15 years with no problem at all . WesternPacific Trading its a drip-Less Moldable Packing just follow directions and it works. Bob

That sounds interesting!

 

[BOATER BOB]

Works great to stop rudder post leaks also.

 

[bostonhatteras]

One thing to consider, any scoring or corrosion on the shaft within the stuffing box area will prevent the packing from sealing no matter how tight you make them. You need a virtual mirror perfect surface. PSS seals do not need that and are an answer for an otherwise serviceable shaft. I am also on my second set. First set lasted near 15 years and they were changed to the updated version while a bottom job and new shafts were being done.