Packing nut drips ??

Jan 30, 2012
1,123
Nor'Sea 27 "Kiwanda" Portland/ Anacortes
. . . a rotating proper with a standard flax packing must have water drips to lube the shaft , 2 to 10 drips terminate with shaft turning. 'getting away without any leakage when running' is a TERRIBLE idea , it will damage your $1000 prop shaft.
Johnstone has had success in reducing water dripping into the boat via the shaft packing. And this despite the conventional idea that some minimum drip rate needs to be present. He is probably successful because he is skilled in a broad variety of shaft packing in many applications not just marine. Anyway his method is to slowly creep up on packing compression thus he reduces drip to seep - but that does not mean that water is not present in the shaft packing interface. Also he uses a teflon impregnated flax - different from plain vanilla flax.

When the packing is installed one initially makes the packing nut just hand tight - then one subsequently makes very tiny subsequent compression adjustments to get the packing to seep but not drip. I copied Johnstone's approach and replicated the same results.

Once thing for sure - there is very small margin between too tight and too loose. You do not need to guess because that can be verified with an infrared thermometer.

Charles
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
a rotating proper with a standard flax packing must have water drips to lube the shaft , 2 to 10 drips terminate with shaft turning. 'getting away without any leakage when running' is a TERRIBLE idea , it will damage your $1000 prop shaft.
I wish you'd told me this 18 years ago before I started running it dry.

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...y-need-to-leak.136282/&highlight=need to leak

Once thing for sure - there is very small margin between too tight and too loose.
The only thing I'll add to Charles' comment is that I also believe a mirror polish on the shaft is vital to getting a good seal (no leakage) with a minimum of heat generation (friction). See photo #4 in the above link.
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,702
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Also he uses a teflon impregnated flax - different from plain vanilla flax.
Ditto here. When we purchased our 1991 model in 2002 the PO had used the standard flax packing material. While the boat was on the hard at that time the yard advised the use of the new PTFE packing material with much better results. That is what I did then and again in 2011. Big difference. No drips and runs cool. After awhile, (a season) a drip will start while the shaft is spinning. A hand tighten adjustment is enough to stop the drip thus maintaining a dry bilge. A much better product.
 

wilf

.
Jan 25, 2017
124
oday 25 oday 25 long beach
Another question on this, i took the boat out and ran the motor for about 30 mins, 2 or 3 drips a minute approx came out but i noticed that the drips seem to come out between the packing nut and the locking nut not where the shaft comes out of the nut, is this normal or does it matter where its actually dripping from ??
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Possible but unlikely coming from the locking nut. Drips can emerge and then follow the metal to a low point.

Concern is about the temp of the box - Packing and locking nuts. When you went into neutral and touched the packing nut was it hot or a little warm. I use a thermal IR temp gauge. Mine reads about 100F. No drip but it does have a hose that pushes water into the gland.

Check the temp.
 

wilf

.
Jan 25, 2017
124
oday 25 oday 25 long beach
Possible but unlikely coming from the locking nut. Drips can emerge and then follow the metal to a low point.

Concern is about the temp of the box - Packing and locking nuts. When you went into neutral and touched the packing nut was it hot or a little warm. I use a thermal IR temp gauge. Mine reads about 100F. No drip but it does have a hose that pushes water into the gland.

Check the temp.
Thanks will see if someone at the yard has one of them thermal testers, i never touched the shaft or packing nuts so dont know how hot theyxwere
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Well you can have some fun. Run the boat out of the marina. Tour about for 20 minutes. Turn the motor off and go into the cabin an put your hand near the packing nut. If you do not feel any heat then you can touch it.

No less fun is to tie the boat up securely to the dock. use a fore and aft spring line as well as bow and stern lines. Then start the engine. put the engine in gear and advance the throttle. If you and securely tide the boat you can run it for a while say 20 minutes. Then turn the boat off and try touching the packing nut like you would a hot stove. This is not as much fun as being out on the water but just as effective.
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
No drip but it does have a hose that pushes water into the gland.
Could you please supply a few more details on this hose you've mentioned ? Sounds like an intermediate lantern ring which is really getting fancy.

Lantern Ring.jpg
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I'll get you a picture when I get up to the boat. Hopefully end of this week. When I removed the unexpected hose from the late 70's I was not surprised to find it plugged. Cleaned it out and water is now again flowing. The hose also connects to the heat exchanger. Suspect that sea water from the exchanger is pumped into the shaft log to minimize air getting trapped.
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
I'll get you a picture when I get up to the boat.
Please get a few from various angles and where it starts at the engine. Have you ever taken the gland apart before for a repack and what did you find inside ? Doesn't sound like one of the piece of crap, spud type stuffing boxes that the rest of us are stuck with.

Below is the spud type below with machine threads surrounding and cutting up the packing. You couldn't ask for a worse design. It's only claim to fame is that it's compact, and hence we're all forced to use it.
Stuffing Box Spud.JPG



Below is a proper packing gland which is bulky, hence more limited application.

Stuffing Box A.JPG
 
Apr 22, 2009
342
Pearson P-31 Quantico
The packing nut should not drip . Back in the day, the Corpsman would shoot one up with Penicillin. Not sure what they use today.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I am guessing from my limited medical training that it did hurt. But the cure was better than the drip drip drip pain...
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Ralph
Here are the images I took.
One is the Stuffing Box
StuffingBox.JPG
And the second is of the hose that goes from the heat exchanger to the shaft log.
HoseToShaftLog.JPG
Sorry about the dark images. They are in what I politely refer to as the "Dark Hole".
The bilge beneath is about 4 feet down. PO's let it fill with only God knows what. I have at the least emptied 3.5 feet of it - some 40+ gals of fluid we guess were bucketed to the Marina "Special fluid disposal" tank. I still have a job ahead to clean the rest of the Hole. Then if I can get it "oil Less and Grime reduced" hopefully paint it without removing the engine/transmission. I think one of the owners painted the engine room black so that it hid the grime.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Definitely a spud-type stuffing box. Most prevalent type in sailboats (except maybe PYI dripless that is pretty popular). Lots of threads showing on the packing nut. Have you tried tightening the not a little? You have to back off the locking nut first.

If the boat is new to you and out of the water, it is a good time to repack it. Back the packing nut all the way off of the stuffing box, get a small nail or pick or something and clean the old packing out. Patience is required, and keep working at it until you get at lease 3 rings out. While you are at it, check the shaft under the packing nut. I found a crack in my old bronze shaft (yours looks like stainless) and several wear lines where the shaft was worn over 30 years.


Once you are sure you have all of the packing out, you can repack (size of packing and # of rings dependent on your stuffing box. My 1" shaft, with an old Buck Algonquin stuffing box takes 3 rings (I don't remember the size of the packing). I used a graphite-impregnated stuffing the last time. Make sure to stagger the seams in the rings.

I think it was mentioned already, but don't over-tighten the packing nut. Hand tight to start, then tighten 1/2 turn or so at a time until no drips (sitting still). Take it out with the engine turning and watch for a drip. Mine does not drip much, but stays cool while motoring. I check it periodically with an infrared thermometer while motoring.

You can change the packing in the water if you have to. Someone on this forum has a good procedure using fishing line wrapped around the prop shaft at the end of the stuffing box.

Greg
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
And the second is of the hose that goes from the heat exchanger to the shaft log.
Looking at a closeup of your photo:

Packing.jpg


As Tally Ho says, just a garden variety spud type stuffing box. The small hose only goes to the shaft log coupling hose and is anyone's guess as to what it does. Just no accounting for previous owners and what the can come up with.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Can you explain/tell us where the hose from the HX comes from? Raw water most likely, but the raw water OUT should go to the muffler. It's a very confusing hook up.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
The HX has a hose connection 1/4 in at the raw (sea) water input end of the HX. The hose attaches there and at the shaft log. I asked the seller's mechanic. "What's the hose for?" Said it feeds raw water to the shaft log to limit the chance of an air bubble in the shaft log that could cause over heating of the shaft. Being the inquisitive type I removed it and found it clogged. I cleaned out the clog and sea water spouted in from the shaft log. I reapplied the hose. The PO's mechanic said he had removed the HX and cleaned it when I complained about the over heating during the first sea trial. During the second sea trial to verify the engine was operating within normal temps his effort appeared to have resolved the heating issue.
This Spring i plan to remove the HX, inspect it and see If I can get the zinc cap unseized.