Packing done right

[Chief Jim]

Slade, Inc. - Manufacturer of Sealing Products Use this link to modernize your sealing needs.

I have used the evolutionary SLADE packing in pumps from giant hydro electric turbines to wee chemical injection pumps with complete success. The flax and teflon varieties referenced across the marine industry are simply junk with a guarantee of short life and probable shaft wear . Unless you are a Ludite and prefer candles to LED lights as an example of outdated technology. Have fun and be patient with new knowledge and ability to seal worn shafts with ease. Just realize you have to pamper shaft packing for a while with TINY adjustments during break in. If in doubt, call the SLADE people in North Carolina were the materials are manufactured and ask for advise. Oh. I am a retired NAVY Machinist's Mate and industrial trouble shooter. Feel free to contact me if in doubt about how to deal with any particular rotating shaft applications or valves/ flanges. Happy sailing!

 

[capta]

Slade, Inc. - Manufacturer of Sealing Products Use this link to modernize your sealing needs.

I have used the evolutionary SLADE packing in pumps from giant hydro electric turbines to wee chemical injection pumps with complete success. The flax and teflon varieties referenced across the marine industry are simply junk with a guarantee of short life and probable shaft wear . Unless you are a Ludite and prefer candles to LED lights as an example of outdated technology. Have fun and be patient with new knowledge and ability to seal worn shafts with ease. Just realize you have to pamper shaft packing for a while with TINY adjustments during break in. If in doubt, call the SLADE people in North Carolina were the materials are manufactured and ask for advise. Oh. I am a retired NAVY Machinist's Mate and industrial trouble shooter. Feel free to contact me if in doubt about how to deal with any particular rotating shaft applications or valves/ flanges. Happy sailing!

I get something like 8 years out of the flax packing on a sailboat (spend most of our time sailing). This stuff looks interesting, but unnecessary for our needs, I believe.

 

[jssailem]

Interesting product Jim. Not sold by Slade (no store link on their site).
Have you seen it produced in packages for the marine consumer?

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The flax and teflon varieties referenced across the marine industry are simply junk with a guarantee of short life and probable shaft wear .

The composition of this material is not given in their blurb and for that reason alone, I'm not interested. I would hazard a guess that its got a pretty fancy price tag to go with it. ALL reputable packing vendors go to great lengths to detail the technicalities of their product but not this one. Sure your interest isn't just in peddling this stuff ?

I get something like 8 years out of the flax packing on a sailboat (spend most of our time sailing).

So far only got six years out of my teflon impregnated flax (100 hr/year motoring) but if I remember rightly, I only changed it because it was open and I had nothing better to do. I'm sure I can get eight years on this present packing. Stuff gives a beautiful polish :

 

[justsomeguy]

Call me "Luddite".

 

[Justin_NSA]

Call me "Luddite".

Ha! I love to use that word when I can

 

[Chief Jim]

Interesting product Jim. Not sold by Slade (no store link on their site).
Have you seen it produced in packages for the marine consumer?

All,
The SLADE people can truly suck. The products are superb. I have been retired for over a decade and sell nothing. Have fun. I have been absent for a while.
be well and have fun,

Jim

 

[Chief Jim]

Ha! I love to use that word when I can

Funny!

 

[Chief Jim]

The composition of this material is not given in their blurb and for that reason alone, I'm not interested. I would hazard a guess that its got a pretty fancy price tag to go with it. ALL reputable packing vendors go to great lengths to detail the technicalities of their product but not this one. Sure your interest isn't just in peddling this stuff ?



So far only got six years out of my teflon impregnated flax (100 hr/year motoring) but if I remember rightly, I only changed it because it was open and I had nothing better to do. I'm sure I can get eight years on this present packing. Stuff gives a beautiful polish :

View attachment 188596

Nice pics. 8 years is a good start. We cycled many pumps through maintenance periods and simply reinstalled the SLADE packing that came out. Worked fine.

 

[jssailem]

I have been absent for a while.

Welcome back. I hope you have been out sailing

 

[Chief Jim]

Interesting product Jim. Not sold by Slade (no store link on their site).
Have you seen it produced in packages for the marine consumer?

Many years since I was involved with sales.

Welcome back. I hope you have been out sailing

Thank you John. In fact, my bud has a C27 also.. Mine has been in overhaul for way too long so we sail his. Gets the other old goats going because they taught we two retired Chiefs too well, now we usually win ( or make em sweat, at least) on race day....fun!

 

[jssailem]

Way to go chief... Many moons ago, I had the opportunity to teach sailors from a couple of carriers and support ships the art of bumper boat sailing at NAS Alameda. We ran classes and held sailing parties which often turned into races in the basin.

Aboard a small sailing boat rank goes out, on the tide. When aboard your boat, tiller in hand you are captain of your craft. Some young seamen, after a contact experience with a senior officer, would stay out on the water till the docks were clear. Never learned if the shellacking taken by a less skilled participant ever was revisited when they reboard their ships.

I hope not.

 

[Chief Jim]

Many years since I was involved with sales.

Thank you John. In fact, my bud has a C27 also.. Mine has been in overhaul for way too long so we sail his. Gets the other old goats going because they taught we two retired Chiefs too well, now we usually win ( or make em sweat, at least) on race day....fun!

Way to go chief... Many moons ago, I had the opportunity to teach sailors from a couple of carriers and support ships the art of bumper boat sailing at NAS Alameda. We ran classes and held sailing parties which often turned into races in the basin.

Aboard a small sailing boat rank goes out, on the tide. When aboard your boat, tiller in hand you are captain of your craft. Some young seamen, after a contact experience with a senior officer, would stay out on the water till the docks were clear. Never learned if the shellacking taken by a less skilled participant ever was revisited when they reboard their ships.

I hope not.

I would be shocked if there were many with poor attitudes. The manly arts of huntin, fishin, sailin n such seemed to be populated with fun guys. Assholes get shunned... Bet there are loads of fond memories from Alameda. i was home ported there for a time on Enterprise. The Bay Area was sweet back then. We lived near Novato at Hamilton.

Sailing community here is some real troopers. The AF is way too sensitive and childish for normals. So, we just keep under the radar and enjoy. Banana River is our pond to play in. Only boo boo we made when buying here is the time and hassle to get off shore. OH WELL. These days of stupid are mitigated largely with sailing. Take care!

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

We cycled many pumps through maintenance periods and simply reinstalled the SLADE packing that came out. Worked fine.

Replacing the same packing would be so nice to do (if you could) with these #$&%^@%#$*% piece of packing glands we're stuck with in sailboats. The packing is pretty chewed up when it goes in and unusable when it comes out. Buck Algonquin doesn't go to a real packing gland until you hit 1-1/4" dia.

Under 1-1/4" are just the spud type pieces of .

I remember seeing packing glands on smaller pumps down in the 1/2" dia. range in natural gas plants. I had never seen the spud type pieces of until I got into boating.

They are such crap I had once looked into increasing my prop shaft size to 1-1/4" so I could install a proper gland but no go.

Life goes on.

 

[Chief Jim]

Replacing the same packing would be so nice to do (if you could) with these #$&%^@%#$*% piece of packing glands we're stuck with in sailboats. The packing is pretty chewed up when it goes in and unusable when it comes out. Buck Algonquin doesn't go to a real packing gland until you hit 1-1/4" dia.

View attachment 197786

Under 1-1/4" are just the spud type pieces of .

I remember seeing packing glands on smaller pumps down in the 1/2" dia. range in natural gas plants. I had never seen the spud type pieces of until I got into boating.

They are such crap I had once looked into increasing my prop shaft size to 1-1/4" so I could install a proper gland but no go.

Life goes on.

Indeed! I never enjoyed working on tiny pumps and glands. We used to refurbish main circ pumps in coal power plant's cooling basins, hydro turbines and tainter gates, boiler seal skirts, locks n dams. Big stuff. You are spot on about these spud junk glands. YTBs river tow boats, destroyers, cruisers and carriers all had dandy to work on set ups. Heck, even the emergency stern tube inflatable seals worked fine. As you say,,, life do be going on. ") I was a coatings guy too. The lack of available tech for private boating is shameful at times.. Example... a bud did a bottom job with two coats of Belzona Immersion Grade and after 13 years, it is still fine under the copper coat. Panama City , Florida area. The OK, decent stuff the yard guys are comfortable with seems to last about 4 years here. Next extended overhaul I will search for upgrade.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The OK, decent stuff the yard guys are comfortable with seems to last about 4 years here.

Interesting. We had a discussion here recently about the life expectancy of bottom paint and I came near to being keel-hauled because I said I was able to get 6-7 years out of Waste Marine CPP IN MY WATERS. Have a read :

How's Your Bottom Doing These Days ?

I recently became involved in a discussion here about bottom paint and was called out for stating that I was getting six to seven years out of an application of bottom paint. "Impossible" he said. I knew it was a hell of a lot better than my previous applications of Micron CSC but didn't think...

forums.sailboatowners.com

Regardless of the nattering on there, it got me to thinking "Why are you bottom painting this haul out ?"

I came to the conclusion that most people do it because "That's what the literature says for my bottom paint". Pretty poor reason for bottom painting. After I applied the first double layer of Waste Marine CPP Marine Ablative Antifouling Paint in 2013, I faithfully half hauled each year for a quick inspection, new zincs, and a pressure wash. Year after year, no barnacles (slime only), and no sign of the black warning coat. 2019, I figured the warning coat HAD to be showing so came fully loaded to bottom paint. NOTHING. Figured I may as well paint seeing as how I was all dressed for the occasion.

This time around, I'm shooting for at least 8 years plus anything extra I can get out of it. The current bottom coat is smooth and tight with nothing waiting to shed.

Can't wait until I spring this on the people here who obediently follow the instructions in the literature. Not exactly an unbiased observation when you're pushing your own product. Little bit like the fox guarding the hen house.

 

[Chief Jim]

And there you go. I guess the lemmings got it figured out...