Shaft Packing Installation
Get the answers to all your Installation questions
Replacing the shaft packing in your stuffing box can be a major task or in some cases a reasonably simple job. Much of the frustration related to this job comes down to access to the area of the stuffing box. Based on experience it would appear that some boat designers have no clue as to what the stuffing box is for or why a person would want to have access to it. I suppose if the designer had to stand on his head to replace the shaft packing, he might have more insight on making the access to the stuffing box more reasonable. Be that as it may, just assume for this set of circumstances access to the stuffing box is reasonable.
The number one question that comes up when contemplating the replacement of the packing in the stuffing box, is, what size shaft packing goes in my stuffing box? This age old question is one that has been the pivot point of many mistakes on the road to packing replacement. Too large of a packing causes excess friction and heat buildup. Too small allows water to by pass the seal the packing is suppose to create.
Shaft Packing info
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Do you have the correct size square braid packing as a retainer?This is the number one cause of overheating. Forcing oversized packing into the stuffing box will cause overheating.
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Is there a problem in the drive train that might contribute to the overheating?Shaft out of alignment, strut bearing issue or a motor mount that may have failed. Check it all out.
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Do you have the stuffing box nut too tight?Number two (2) reason for overheating. Everyone wants to tighten the nut on the stuffing box right? Wrong! Tighter is not better. It simply compresses the packing and the seal it forms is less effective. Hand tighten and then a slight additional pressure with a wrench will do the job.
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Is the packing leaking?During the first few hours of operation, some of the paste you put on the square braid packing will leak out of the stuffing box, this is normal. If you encounter paste and moldable material leaking out of the stuffing box, you may have installed a square braid packing, as a retainer, that is too small for your stuffing box. If that is the case you will need to replace the retainer square braid packing with the correct size as the moldable material will continue to leak out of the stuffing box.
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What can I do with the leftover materials?The left over moldable material can be used to stop leaks in your rudder stuffing box. It is the same procedure as the stuffing box except you may tighten the rudder post nut tight after the installation of the packing and the moldable material.