Stuffing Box

[bacchante]

Hello, I have a 43 T built in 1985 and the stuffing box's life time will be over soon I think . I heard from some experiences sailors that VOLVO STUFFİNG BOX is very usefull . These sailors has different brands of yachts , I wander if there is any Hans Christian owner who replaced their stuffing box with Volvo ?

[jonneely]

Why do you think the stuffing box is at the end of its life? Has the shaft warn into the bronze? When prism was out we repacked the stuffing with g-flex dripless packing. The stuff is not cheap compared to traditional packing but it lives up to its name. Dry bilge and virtually no maintenance. Measure you input tube and the rear of the packing gland and get new clamps and hose, you will back back in action in no time!

[bacchante]

I think it is almost at the end of its life because , it needs adjusting every 5-6 months and the spin is out of center like 0.5 cm.
I will try new clamps and hose when I took my boat out of water in June.
Thank you for advices,
Regards.

[jonneely]

sounds like it needs new packing

[bacchante]

Thanks for experienced ideas.
Regards

[edelweiss]

Your stuffing box condition may warrant replacing the bronze stuffing box and it is difficult to say without a picture or two. It is uncommon however, as many of these have been in continuous use for 30 plus years. If the bronze is well worn you have a potentially serious shaft alignment problem.
We have completely removed ours at different times and cleaned them up and put them back in place with little worry as we also replaced the stuffing material ( FLAX ). The hose made need replacement and this is a very specialized hose that is very thick. Check out "Buck Algonquin stuffing box hose" website. That is the best stuffing box hose. DO NOT substitute with exhaust hose. It is too thin and will twist and fail. Another alternative is the PYI PSS packless dripless. I do not have any experience with these and I can not comment.

By the way, adjusting your stuffing box for a small drip every 6 months( which you could count and measure ) does not sound excessive. Some people over tighten them and they over heat creating additional problems. As you know stuffing boxes are intended to leak by design and that cools the shaft and decreases the corrosion risk on the shaft inside the stuffing box by providing fresh water.

Mark

[mike]

[attachment=0]Boat Repairs. We changed ours for a dripless type some 5 years ago, you've got to feed them with water T'd off them the exhaust cooling system otherwise they can run dry when sailing as the forward motion tends to draw the water out of the stern tube. When removed it was found that the conventional stern gland was quite worn.
Never had a drip since!

The pictures show the new unit fitted and the home made T which was fitted into the anti syphon water feed under our galley sink, you must make sure the T is on the 'IN' going side of the anti syphon away from exhaust mixer otherwise you could back fill your engine through the dripless unit.

Mike