Dripless Seals - Choices

[DDabs]

It seems like the Tides Marine unit has a bellows as well, but just a beefier silicone. Boatbod, what is it about the PSS that you hate so much?

[newtonsailor]

Originally Posted by sailormed

I installed the volvo dripless seal a couple of years ago. Nearly maintenance free, you only have to put in a teaspoon of grease once a year and not forget to purge air after a haul-out. Volvo manual states to replace every 5 or 6 years. As the manufacturer they are of course over cautious. I had a neighbour that replaced his after 18 years, although it was still perfectly functional. You will have a bone dry hull. As far as I know, the Volvo is used by many fishing vessels, simple reliable solution. Look into the Volvo seal, you will not regret it.

I have this seal on my 2008 Beneteau, 16,000 NM, out of water most winters, works flawlessly, never a drop of water, and simple maint. The boat was built with this seal in the US, so it is not just a European solution.

[damaib]

Have had Norscot on my boat for the past three years. No drips and no problems.

[sailcrazy]

We've had the PSS installed since 2002, and its given us excellent service. I've changed the bellow once, and lapped the carbon block with wet/dry sandpaper once......other than that, I've done nothing to it. FWIW, we haul every winter, and when we resplash, it must be "burped", to ensure there is cooling water inside the bellows.

[foxfire]

An unusual salvage job I did once, on a vessel with engines removed that had dripless style shaft seals. It sat in the water all winter with no issues and then was moved to another slip for engine installation. Next morning it was on the bottom. When towed to the slip, it was pushed backwards, the shafts, without the engines to restrain them, walked forward in the hull and opened the seals. Water ingress was enough to sink it overnight. Not something you might anticipate, so I thought I would share that.

[davewtsnape]

PSS when I bought it six years ago checked this year OK no idea how old it is. Probably depends how much motoring you do.

[Sailmonkey]

PSS installed in 2010, 1000 ish hours of motoring, no salt spray.....no packing to adjust. Happy!

Adjusting a packing gland on our boat requires breaking two or three ribs and collapsing your lungs to get beneath the cockpit.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[boatbod]

Originally Posted by DDabs

It seems like the Tides Marine unit has a bellows as well, but just a beefier silicone. Boatbod, what is it about the PSS that you hate so much?

The Tides has a bearing built in to the end of the seal so it self-aligns with the shaft. The PSS does not, and can frequently be found off-center with the side of the carbon seal resting against the shaft. Any shaft wobble gets amplified by the seal especially if it runs off-center. Small leaks develop, which lead to deposits on the seal faces then more leaks until the thing leaves a black spray line inside your boat.

Also, the stainless rotors are very prone to pitting corrosion and the rubber bellows loose their springyness after a couple years. When the bellows tension is reduced the seals start to leak...

With all this in mind, the Tides is not without it's own disadvantages. The built in bearing I mentioned earlier is a great idea, but not if you loose water injection; in high speed applications (power boats, large shafts) I've seen it melt and fail spectacularly! The lip seal is very reliable, but like all lip seals it can be damaged during installation and it can also wear the shaft on which it rides.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by DDabs

I don't want this to become a traditional stuffing box vs. dripless shaft seal discussion. I have decided I want to pull the trigger and swap out my old stuffing box assembly with a new dripless shaft seal. I have done some research on the different brands and it seems the top three are:

-PSS
-Lasdrop
-Tides Marine

David

===

I bought PSS about 10 years ago on the advice of marine professionals. After about 46,000 nautical miles under power, they have been trouble free.

[ski69sail]

I have a Kiwi Seal drip less unit made in New Zealand... very happy with it. The quality of the product has to be of high quality to compete with the big boys. It is a heavy duty fitting.


Blue Water Shaft Seal - Standard Model

The lip seal can be easily removed should it be damaged or need replacing with no need to replace the entire unit as new lip seals are readily available from our spare parts department.

[OzClipper]

Volvo seal since 2004 re-power, never a drip, just removed and cleaned out the grease line last month for maintenance rather than being needed.

[dmalcol1]

I have had problem with PSS dripless the bellows became stiff and leaked after two years or less than 200 engine hours. It is my opinion that the bellows cannot take any exposure to diesel. Replaced bellows 150 hours ago bellows still ok at this time.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Teflon packing and grease in the traditional stuffing box. Six years without a drip.

What grease did you use?

[DDabs]

I like the Volvo for its simplicity- it seems like one piece compared to the other seals.