I am new to sailing and talking with friends about my 85 O'Day 28 there are telling me the stuffing box is dripping to much. ( one drip per second. What is the proper what to fix this. Also I get a build up of water in the engine compartment and it does not drain into the bilge. I can not find a drain, is there one. Thanks
Leaking Stuffing Box
- Thread starter Seekswind
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1 drop a minute
about a drop a minute is what you should aim for. You need a couple of big wrenches, back off the locking nut and then tighten the other part a turn or so. If it won't turn any more and is still dripping a lot you might have to repack the stuffing box.
about a drop a minute is what you should aim for. You need a couple of big wrenches, back off the locking nut and then tighten the other part a turn or so. If it won't turn any more and is still dripping a lot you might have to repack the stuffing box.
Stuffing boxes
When the shaft is not turning there should be NO drips at all. When it is turning there should be 3-5 drops per minuite. Rick is right but I'd use my hand on the packing nut. You can wrench down on it hard enough to cause a wear ring on the shaft which will be hard to seal when you replace the packing eventually. After backing off the stop nut tighten the packing nut by hand till the drip just stops. If you can't get the dripping to stop by hand the packing needs to be replaced.
When the shaft is not turning there should be NO drips at all. When it is turning there should be 3-5 drops per minuite. Rick is right but I'd use my hand on the packing nut. You can wrench down on it hard enough to cause a wear ring on the shaft which will be hard to seal when you replace the packing eventually. After backing off the stop nut tighten the packing nut by hand till the drip just stops. If you can't get the dripping to stop by hand the packing needs to be replaced.
It is illegal to have a drain from
the engine comparment to the bilge to avoid the possibility of oil contaminated water being flushed out of the boat. Just tighten the packing gland so that the flow is reduced to 1 or two drops per minute.
the engine comparment to the bilge to avoid the possibility of oil contaminated water being flushed out of the boat. Just tighten the packing gland so that the flow is reduced to 1 or two drops per minute.
Illegal drain?
Benny et al In contemporary boat construction, i know it's common to have a self-contained pan under the engine to isolate oil from the bilge, however, I've never heard any state/Fed statute which prohibits a drain. Just curious - Is this a local or Florida statute or just someone's imagination? Don
Benny et al In contemporary boat construction, i know it's common to have a self-contained pan under the engine to isolate oil from the bilge, however, I've never heard any state/Fed statute which prohibits a drain. Just curious - Is this a local or Florida statute or just someone's imagination? Don
It is illegal to pump
oil, or oily water, etc., overboard in coastal waters, but I do not think it is illegal to have a drain under your engine to allow drips from the stuffing box to run to the bilge and be pumped overboard. Benny may be assuming that all engines leak oil; mine does not. But if you ever happen to see a large commercial ship pumping its bilges, you'll see what appears to a lot of stuff going overboard of a questionable make-up. No one seems to care much about that. It's like being behind a big diesel bus or truck and getting a blast of its exhaust in your face while you are on your way to the state emissions inspection station to get you little compact car inspected while the busses, trucks, airplanes and all the other big polluters are exempt from this requirement. Such is life in the fast lane...
oil, or oily water, etc., overboard in coastal waters, but I do not think it is illegal to have a drain under your engine to allow drips from the stuffing box to run to the bilge and be pumped overboard. Benny may be assuming that all engines leak oil; mine does not. But if you ever happen to see a large commercial ship pumping its bilges, you'll see what appears to a lot of stuff going overboard of a questionable make-up. No one seems to care much about that. It's like being behind a big diesel bus or truck and getting a blast of its exhaust in your face while you are on your way to the state emissions inspection station to get you little compact car inspected while the busses, trucks, airplanes and all the other big polluters are exempt from this requirement. Such is life in the fast lane...
Drips
An earlier poster stated you should have no drips while not running. That may be true for his engine, my Yanmar manual says it should be dripping 1 to 2 drips per min while the engine is not on/turning.
An earlier poster stated you should have no drips while not running. That may be true for his engine, my Yanmar manual says it should be dripping 1 to 2 drips per min while the engine is not on/turning.
Stuffing box leak
Just to clarify, it depends not on the engine but only on the type of stuffing you put in the traditional box. There are two types of dripless boxes: One which is made by PYI and is a bellows around a graphite seal; the other being the OEM stuffing box in which flax packing is placed (stuffed). Of the latter, there are two types of stuffing, one of which when lubricated with teflon grease allow you to tighten the nuts so that no dripping occurs either when running or at rest and will not score the shaft or overheat.
Just to clarify, it depends not on the engine but only on the type of stuffing you put in the traditional box. There are two types of dripless boxes: One which is made by PYI and is a bellows around a graphite seal; the other being the OEM stuffing box in which flax packing is placed (stuffed). Of the latter, there are two types of stuffing, one of which when lubricated with teflon grease allow you to tighten the nuts so that no dripping occurs either when running or at rest and will not score the shaft or overheat.
Not to worry
Reading these seven replies may leave you confused. Just chat up the guy in the next slip and he'll walk you through the concept of tightening the nut. You may be able to avoid replacing the stuffing flax until the end of the season when you can pull the boat out of the water. By all means, don't try it with the boat in the water.
Reading these seven replies may leave you confused. Just chat up the guy in the next slip and he'll walk you through the concept of tightening the nut. You may be able to avoid replacing the stuffing flax until the end of the season when you can pull the boat out of the water. By all means, don't try it with the boat in the water.
I always replace the packing in the water
Bill, I have never replaced the packing with the boat out of the water. After all, how do you know it needs repacking unless you're in the water. Always do it in the water. In fact just did it again last week. I keep some bicycle tire inner tube rubber on the boat. When I've backed the stuffing box off the shaft I wrap the tubing around the stern tube and the shaft and tie it off. Get much less than a gallon of water in the boat while I'm wrapping and none at all once the rubber's in place.
Bill, I have never replaced the packing with the boat out of the water. After all, how do you know it needs repacking unless you're in the water. Always do it in the water. In fact just did it again last week. I keep some bicycle tire inner tube rubber on the boat. When I've backed the stuffing box off the shaft I wrap the tubing around the stern tube and the shaft and tie it off. Get much less than a gallon of water in the boat while I'm wrapping and none at all once the rubber's in place.
Let me rephrase for the jurists out there.
It is illegal to dump oil in the water. The penalties involved are very stiff so the boat manufacturers protecting your interest and "their liability" have begun to use pans under the engines with no drains. An engine pan that is modified to drain into the bilge may cause you to break the law. Very little defense for negligence. On our 27 which does not leak oil I had an oil line break at one of the support clamps. (S___t happens) All the oil was contained in the pan which made the cleanup much more easier than had it gone in the bilge. In this particular boat the stuffing box drippings drain separately into the bilge but on our H320 they are both contained.
It is illegal to dump oil in the water. The penalties involved are very stiff so the boat manufacturers protecting your interest and "their liability" have begun to use pans under the engines with no drains. An engine pan that is modified to drain into the bilge may cause you to break the law. Very little defense for negligence. On our 27 which does not leak oil I had an oil line break at one of the support clamps. (S___t happens) All the oil was contained in the pan which made the cleanup much more easier than had it gone in the bilge. In this particular boat the stuffing box drippings drain separately into the bilge but on our H320 they are both contained.
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