Dripless Shaft Packings

[RonT]

I have been asked why I don't promote any of the "dripless" type shaft packings, and I still prefer the old stuffing boxes. I have tried virtually all the available dripless units out there and they all require a cooling hose to keep the seal cooled-or- water lubricated. My concern is if the water line is blocked, cut, or for any other reason water stops flowing, the seal will overheat and self-destruct. The end result could be major water leak into the boat, or scored shaft or both. I am rebuilding an '89 Advance with an aftermarket dripless unit, the front seal is cooked & brittle & the prop shaft is no longer 1" dia. where the unit was! Cause was a blocked cooler hose, a piece of shredded rubber impeller was stuck in the water hose then sand built up completely blocking the passage, the sand went a couple inches up the hose!
Pictures of this can be seen on Facebook at SkiBoatPartsOnline.com  page

[backfoot100]

I agree entirely Ron.

I've never personally used a shaft seal however I do know guys that have used them. The general consensus is that they really aren't worth the money.

I've been running GFO for about five or six years and am just in the process of replacing the plastic shaft stuffing box on my boat. As such I got to see what the GFO looked like that had several hundred hours on the clock. It looked like I replaced it a month ago. It was still in extremely good shape and virtually dripless anyway. A couple drips a minute is more than sufficient to keep things in check with that stuff. With the new GFO and Teflon shaft packing available shaft seals shouldn't even be an option.

Save your money and put it into gas. Go have fun.