stuffing box issue

[Ric]

Guys i have a problem and i need some perspective.Back in 2000 when i was setting up the boat etc there was talk of stuffing boxes dripless and conventional etc.There was a discussion of the different kinds of packing.I remember at the time there was some opinions on the teflon packing as opposed to the conventional wax flax packing.The teflon was inferior etc.,.,well at that time i went with the teflon .,.,it was sticky icky.,.,.,and i did the stuffing boxes and the rudders etc.,.,.,well for 10 years it was all good.,.,at the end of last season, for whatever reason i noticed that my port stuffing box was heating up hot to the touch.,not the starboard .,so i thought well its time to change the packing.,.,so i took my little packing remover from the wall of the shed where it has been for 10 years .,new in the package .,.,looks like a corkscrew with a t on the top to turn the old packing out .,.,it worked like a charm .,.,out came 4 wraps each 6 inches long.,.,look like it was fossilized as it had no more lubricity., it had burnished the aquamet shaft but not seriously.,.,there was no heat coming from the starboard stuffing box but i decided to change them both out.,.,.,i bought wax flax packing .,.cut them into 6 inch lenghths put them in, staggered the cut edges inside the box and set the stuffing boxes where they had been for 11 years ,,,the discoloration of the threads on the shaft log etc told me where it had been set .,.,so thats where i set it.,.,.well i went out and it started getting hot .,.,.(,both sides )
So i magic markered the top of the stuffing box and backed it off ,,counting the turns.,.,nothing still hot.,.,then i unthreaded the box right off the shaftlog,,boat in the water no problem,,,,and put it back on, counting the turns on the threads three full turns and tightened up the locking nut.,.I am at the end of the threads the farthest back it can be ,I ,i thought i would start there and i can allways tighten it,i got water dripping but the boxes are still getting hot.,.,now your first thought is maybe there is metal to metal in the shaft log etc .alignment issue,.,NOPE nothing is hot,, not the threads,on the shaftlog , in back of the locking nut,,,not the shaftlog itself or the hose,,just the stuffing box itself.,.,its wicking and water is dripping but it is actually steaming and turning to steam as the water comes out.,.,way to hot for my liking.,.,,.they say minimum of three wraps in the box i put 4.,.,.,now i am thinking if i should take one of the wraps out.,.,.the shaft in front of the stuffing box going to the transmission coupling is getting warm.,.,i dont like it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,any ideas

[Stephan]

Flax packing mislabeled? Buck Algonquin has a chart for packing size for each type of its units in their catalog:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... 9_2011.pdf

[Pete Fallon]

Rick,
I would clean off both the shaft, nut and the inside of the stuffing box, right down to the bare metal. The teflon residue may be causing the new packing to just spin around on the old surface. Take some wet sandpaper and clean all surfaces to shinney metal, then install new flax packing no more than 3 wraps.
Another thought, how about the shaft tube is it clear of barnacles/mussels, maybe not enough water getting to the area to cool it. It's got to be something simple, there's only two things down there, the shaft and the log tube.
Are you sure that your shaft is not bent, check for alignment issues, bad motor mounts, loose mounting lag bolts, etc..
How come they didn't ask you to be on Wicked Tuna show?
Have a good weekend.
Pete Fallon

[Ric]

Nope i replaced that which i took out,same diameter ,just wax flax instead of teflon .Purchased right at the marina I understand the normal friction and wear in of new product but there are 14 hours on what shoulda been a normal wear in, wick out, water cooled, equilibrium reached. i just dont see it happening.At idle RPM its cool increase the RPM and its heating,,and the killer is the starboard side which i didnt have an issue ,is now an issue.

[scot]

Water can be hard to come by on plane. They rarely get hot idling. If they worked fine for 10 years, I would say that the deisgn of your set up is fine.

Less is better with packing. The more rings you install, the lower the radial loading is on the stuffing box and shaft. The lenght of the packing set eats up the torque. The idea is to have all the packing rings exerting the same radial load onto the shaft. My theory is that you have 1 ring (likley the last one) exerting a bunch of radial load, causing heat, and the other 3 rings are just sitting there watching the first one heat up.

I would go back with 3 rings, add some water pump grease onto the shaft as you assemble. Also, I wouldn't pay any attention to counting turns or where the packing gland nut is located. What counts is the how tight you have the gland nut. Start out barely snug = leaking a bunch, run around and see if it over heats. GRADUALLY tighten the gland nut untill you only have a slight drip. They need to drip a bit to cool.

Good luck.

[Ric]

Hi pete,,
yeah i changed out that wax flax
.,.,.,got some teflon in there and im cooling just fine.,.wax flax,.it was so hard and dense and tight.,and friction laden
.,.,anyway im good .
,.,.wicked tuna?,,,,,,,i considered it but i was eliminated as a participant as i have all my own teeth.......................... :wink:

[Pete Fallon]

Rick,
I'm glad you got the problem fixed, I know Brewster declined being on the program, I used to fish along side Billy Monte 30 years ago. Some of the situations they showed were realy bogus.
I hope you have a good season withthe two fin blunas, I'm still having major knee problems and will be going up to MGH for more tests and a possible solution after the middle of July.
Pete