New stuffing box getting hot no matter the drip rate

[degouwb]

Had the same problem.
Did the job of new flax packing last winter on the hard. My first time doing this project and worried about my spring launch being a gusher.
No problem, but no drops at all.
Loosened the nut and again no drips.
I pulled out the packing in the water (relax, not much water comes in) and replaced it with thinner diameter stuffing.
It was nicely dripping but continued to be too hot to touch even after loosening the nut again.
On further observation, the drips were not coming from the shaft end, but between the nut and locking nut.
I have to presume I initially tightened it too much and forced the stuffing too deep against the shaft and loosening it did nothing.
My third atempt was to slowly put in a new set ( 3) of stuffing and lightly tighten the locking nut and making sure it was dripping from the shaft end.
Crank her up and adjusted the drip rate.
Another lesson learned. ( I'm a bit slow).

[stnick]

Just use Gortex packing its new tech better mouse trap. Very little drip very little heat !
If you have heat its sure not the packing. Sounds like clasic shaft misalignment !
All the best

[old pirate]

If you're worried about replacing the packing while in the water !
Prepare everything, cut the coils, have all the tools at hand etc.
Go overboard and wind some food wrap, cling wrap, plastic wrap around the shaft where it enters the hull/cutlass bearing. Then do the restuffing. Overboard again to remove the food wrap and viola! All should be fine !

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by old pirate

If you're worried about replacing the packing while in the water !

Don't be. Only a small amount of water comes in. You can wrap a rag around the end of the stuffing box that slows that to no more than drips while you cut and insert the packing strips. I've done this many times on 3 different sailboats with no problems.

[seabreez]

[QUOTE=captlloyd;2688394]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Remove the packing they installed. Carefully measure for the right size packing. Some 1 inch shafts take 3/16" like mine, others even with the same boat take 1/4"!!! Go figure. Only way to do it right is for YOU to do it.

X2. The temperatures you mention are not exactly scorching hot. Personally I would just run it for a while longer and see what happens. That temperature is not going to hurt anything.

I have flax packing and that usually runs a little hotter. Do not worry about it. If it drips, that is good. Run it. When I install the ones that I have, I usually flatten the packing a little to make it easier to install and slip in all the way. I use 1/2" packing for a 2" inch shaft. Eventually the packing will seat in and set itself. We also have grease fittings to lubricate the packing and seal the water out if we leave the boat for a long period of time. If you want to replace the packing, it can be done in the water. Get ready with precut packing and tools ready. Some water will get in but not that much.

[Stu Jackson]

How to repack the Stuffing box – by Stu Jackson

[OrangeCrush]

Thanks for the replies. Here's an update...

Shortly after I posted this, I loosened the nut so that it came off completely, then I put it on and tightened pretty tight by hand, then I loosened it to about where it had been before with a very fast drip rate. I set off motoring (I'm cruising up the Hudson at the moment) and after throttling up I watched with the IR thermometer as the temperature once again climbed up to 115, 120, then 125...

But then the temperature suddenly began to drop, and it finally settled on about 95 degrees where it has remained ever since, even with high RPMs. Not sure what can account for the rather sudden improvement but it was a big relief.

Granted this is still with a pretty heavy drip rate. I can live with this for now and hopefully tighten it a little at a time until the drip rate is closer to the 1-2 per minute that the manufacturer recommends.

Yes the shaft spins easily in neutral. Not effortlessly, mind you, but I can spin it with my hand without too much force. There is no wobble or vibration or other sign of misalignment. No sounds coming from packing gland. The drips are coming from the front of the gland, not the lock nut area.

And I agree with the sentiment that I should be able to take it back to the yard and say "make it right". Unfortunately I don't think this will be so straightforward in real life. I ordered the parts myself from a propeller shop because the shaft log had to be custom built, and they put the packing in ahead of time. The new shaft came from a different shop and the boatyard assembled everything. Even on the phone, each side is eager to blame the others. Plus the boatyard is 100 miles away now. As long as I haven't done any major damage so far, I tend to agree that I have to do it myself to make sure it's done right.

If it gets hot again I will go ahead and repack it in the water, but if I can keep the temp down I will wait until haul out in the fall.

Thanks again, all.

[OrangeCrush]

Another clue I forgot to mention is that it is dripping almost as much when not in motion as it is while spinning. I'm starting to think that the packing material was cut or installed sloppily, and that I tightened it prematurely and/or over-tightened it trying to get the drip rate down. Water could be flowing through frayed ends or gaps in the packing without fully lubricating the shaft.

As always, MaineSail's article on the topic was particularly helpful.

[OrangeCrush]

Just wanted to follow up on this old post for posterity since I resolved this issue a while ago. I pulled out the old packing and replaced it with Ultra-X packing from Hamilton. I did it very carefully according to MaineSail's guidance. Since then, the drip rate has been great (once every 30-40 seconds while spinning, nothing while stopped) and the temperature has been no higher than 95 degrees (at full throttle on a hot day).

I'm pretty sure they just did a sloppy job installing the old packing. It was badly frayed (dull knife?) and only one of the rings was cut at an angle. Can't say for sure, but I think that they were all lined up with the cuts in the same position, not staggered 1/3 of the way around the nut like they should be. This allowed the water to stream through way too fast, and to get the drip rate down to a reasonable rate I had to tighten it so far that it was creating a lot of friction. The flax was blackened from all the heat, but the shaft looks/feels fine, just highly polished. The alignment also seems great.

As I predicted, this is another learning experience and another case of "If you want it done right you gotta do it yourself). Thanks for all the help!

[leegordoncooper]

Try a feeler guage around shaft and bronze nut. If its tight at on point it may be your hot spot

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Since it’s likely it’s going to be repacked, think about Gore-Tex. I went with Gore-Tex packing this time and It’s adjusted so there are no drips, you can see a water ring if you will where there is seepage and maybe it drips every ten minutes or so under power, but it runs cool.
I was worried at first, but it runs cool.
Been two hears and I haven’t had to readjust it once it got bedded in good.

Hi, I’ve just ordered a meter of GFO which is Gore-tex, it’s costing me $65. I could only find it in one place in Australia. I was initially after a project called Duramax Ultra but it seems that no one will stock it in Australia as it’s too expensive I was told.

Are you still happy with yours?