Packing Gland Questions / is this smart or foolish?

[Rich M]

I replaced my stuffing box at the beginning of the season and everything seemed to be just fine, except I'm not getting the drips I had been accustomed to. However after motoring for a while (an hour +) I checked the gland, the shaft and everything around it and it was all very cool. )Motor off obviously!. Is this OK or should I "make it drip"?

 

[Rich Stidger]

Normally my packing gland will drip about 5-8 drips per minute when running and after it is stopped for a while (maybe 10 minutes?) no more drips will occur.

I would check the temperature of the packing gland when the shaft is turning. Watch your hands obviously, but you should be able to feel the temperature and observe any drips when the shaft is turning.

I have also found that after replacing the packing, I need a couple of incremental adjustments to get to the "proper" drip rate. If you hit the adjustment on the first time, either you are incredibly lucky!!

Since the packing takes a "set", I would not loosen it to get a drip if the temperature of the gland is cool. Some of the new lubricated "dripless" packings may drip very little or even not at all.

Bottom line is that I would go by the temperature and not an arbitrary drip rate.

 

[Benny]

Don't get obssesed with the drip count. As long as you have a drip when the shaft is turning and the temperature of the packing gland is cool to the touch you should be fine. Excesive drip has no ill effects on the shaft wear and may only result in your bilge pump perhaps working a little harder. It is normal for a packing gland to stop dripping after the engine has been off for a while and the shaft has not turned.

 

[ggrizzard]

I have a similar problem: Old gland wore out and was replaced. Now I either have a flood or no drip. I checked the 'temp' on the stuffing box after running in gear with no drips and found it warm, not hot. So, what is 'cool'?

 

[Warren Milberg]

After repacking my bronze gland on my H28.5 with GTU Gore packing material, I had to adjust the compression nut a few times to seat the new material properly. Initially, the gland leaked at lot so I tightened the nut a "flat" at time. Now the gland has no drip when the engine is off and a little to no drips per minute when running. This type of packing material is intended to be "virtually" dripless. In adjusting the compression nut, I find it useful to turn the shaft by hand at the coupler to see how much friction there is. The key is finding the balance between turning easily, not dripping excessively (or at all), and the gland staying "cool/warm" when running in gear. Sounds to me like you've found that balance point.

 

[ggrizzard]

Thanks Warren. I'll try it out in a week or so and check the temp by hand. It may start dripping after it runs under load for awhile.