I have just started to enjoy my cd27 having just motored her for about one hour and finding out where all of the special features are ..
I have not see one drop coming out of the stuffing box . I do see a stain ( old water?) leading down the inside of the boat but never seen a drop.
Any one have the same experience? how can I adjust the box to make sure she is being lubricated properly?
thanks!!!
Mibrinn@aol.com
stuffing box
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Ken Coit
Re: stuffing box
Marv,
Your stuffing box may have been serviced with the DripLess material that some of us are using quite successfully. It does not require constant dripping. It is Teflon-based and provides a slippery seal without the need of a water leak for cooling. If you can ask the previous owner, that would be a good idea. If not, you might disassemble the stuffing box and see what it contains; this is not easy without destroying the packing, so consider it before you dive in. If the box has been serviced with the DripLess material, you should have a round of ordinary waxed flax, a round of green material, and another round of ordinary waxed flax. Both flax rounds and the shaft should have been coated in a Teflon grease that is also green. If that is what you have, it shouldn't leak, but it should run cool to the touch. That is the ultimate test. Does it warm up when the shaft is turning? If it runs cool and doesn't leak, what more could you ask for?
Good luck in figuring out what you have. You will find other posts here by myself and others on the DripLess materials. West Marine carries the product.
Ken Coit
Parfait CD-35 #84
parfait@nc.rr.com
Your stuffing box may have been serviced with the DripLess material that some of us are using quite successfully. It does not require constant dripping. It is Teflon-based and provides a slippery seal without the need of a water leak for cooling. If you can ask the previous owner, that would be a good idea. If not, you might disassemble the stuffing box and see what it contains; this is not easy without destroying the packing, so consider it before you dive in. If the box has been serviced with the DripLess material, you should have a round of ordinary waxed flax, a round of green material, and another round of ordinary waxed flax. Both flax rounds and the shaft should have been coated in a Teflon grease that is also green. If that is what you have, it shouldn't leak, but it should run cool to the touch. That is the ultimate test. Does it warm up when the shaft is turning? If it runs cool and doesn't leak, what more could you ask for?
Good luck in figuring out what you have. You will find other posts here by myself and others on the DripLess materials. West Marine carries the product.
Ken Coit
Parfait CD-35 #84
marv brinn wrote: I have just started to enjoy my cd27 having just motored her for about one hour and finding out where all of the special features are ..
I have not see one drop coming out of the stuffing box . I do see a stain ( old water?) leading down the inside of the boat but never seen a drop.
Any one have the same experience? how can I adjust the box to make sure she is being lubricated properly?
thanks!!!
parfait@nc.rr.com
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Tom C.
Re: stuffing box
If you don't have the drip free type it's a simple adjustment to loosen the stuffing box. There is a double nut on the stuffing box. The bottom nut sets the tension and the upper nut locks it in place after it's set correctly. You loosen the locking nut and then back off on the tension nut a quarter turn. There should be a drip of water every ten seconds or so when the shaft is turning. The catch to this is that when you tighten the locking nut it often tightens the tension nut a little and changes your adjustment. So this is a back and forth process. Loosen the tension nut a little then lock it in place and start the engine and count the drips. Then re-adjust. 6 drips a minute is not a hard and fast rule. The main things is you need a little water to keep the shaft moist so it doesn't get hot and score. As your packing ages it will drip a little more until it gets annoying enough that you are willing to crawl down in there and re-adjust. BTW you probably don't want to pull the packing out of your stuffing box while you're in the water. That's a project for when you're hauled out and the ocean can't run in.marv brinn wrote: I have just started to enjoy my cd27 having just motored her for about one hour and finding out where all of the special features are ..
I have not see one drop coming out of the stuffing box . I do see a stain ( old water?) leading down the inside of the boat but never seen a drop.
Any one have the same experience? how can I adjust the box to make sure she is being lubricated properly?
thanks!!!
TomCambria@mindspring.com
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m.ritenour
Re: stuffing box
spartan marine makes a nice set of stuffing nut wrenches for the purpose and it makes adjustment sooo easy.
sea u,
mike
mritenouru@aol.com
sea u,
mike
mritenouru@aol.com
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Duncan Maio
Re: stuffing box
Marv:
Next weekend, I plan to replace the stuffing box hose on my CD27 and repack with Dripless Packing. I will report anything interesting.
I have found that, in order to see the drip in my stuffing box, I have to get inside the port locker (upside down) with a flashlight while the shaft is turning; just looking in, I can't see the underside of the shaft where the drip happens. Presently, the stuffing box does not drip at all if the shaft is not turning, and drips about 5-7 drips per minute under way. I found that tightening the box by hand, and then snugging down the lock nut, got it about right, but it's a trial and error thing, as others have said.
-Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37
dmaio@meganet.net
Next weekend, I plan to replace the stuffing box hose on my CD27 and repack with Dripless Packing. I will report anything interesting.
I have found that, in order to see the drip in my stuffing box, I have to get inside the port locker (upside down) with a flashlight while the shaft is turning; just looking in, I can't see the underside of the shaft where the drip happens. Presently, the stuffing box does not drip at all if the shaft is not turning, and drips about 5-7 drips per minute under way. I found that tightening the box by hand, and then snugging down the lock nut, got it about right, but it's a trial and error thing, as others have said.
-Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37
dmaio@meganet.net