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Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 8:01 am
by Curt233
My question is,
How much grease should be pumped into the stern shaft packing gland. The diameter of the shaft is about 14", the packing itself is about 1 1/4" thick. How much grease is too much, and how much is too little? Should it be greased every day? Twice a day? Or once a week? The vessel is basically none stop.
Thanks.
Curt

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 12:38 pm
by D Winsor
The short answer no grease should be pumped into a stern shaft packing gland. Besides the risk of injecting a potential pollutant into the water grease should not be used to lubricate the packing gland. The packing gland should be adjusted to allow sufficient water to leak past the gland to keep the packing lubricated.
The grease injector fitted to some water filled sterntubes is used inject some sort of sealant into the sterntube to reduce the water pressure on the gland so it can be repacked without tipping or drydocking the vessel or if the vessel is to be laid up not lubricate the gland.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 7:53 pm
by Curt233
Thanks,
I had never greased it till another engineer came on the vessel, and he started greasing it every day. Which is why I asked the ?
So the only purpose for that grease fitting is to slow down the water flow while changing packing while still in the water correct?
Curt

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 11:17 pm
by Merlyn
We have to remember that when fitted from new the packing is impregated with waterproof grease during manufacture into all its woven turns and it's advisable to have a small drip allways present as opposed to a smoking stuffing box. Don't forget when adding turns to ensure your gap is 180 degrees to the last turn of packing. ( bit like piston rings ) Still got my old packing extractor kits.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 7:51 am
by Curt233
Thanks for the replies.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 8:15 am
by Merlyn
You greasenipple/turn cap on the packing end or is it greasing a whitemetal bearing further down the shaft?

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 2:50 pm
by Curt233
It goes into the packing gland. Near the first ring.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 11:18 pm
by Merlyn
Blimey then, looks like it was designed to be greased ? Make up a electric over air auto greaser and give it a squirt three times a week on a timer. More time spent in the bar that way. It's called effiency and modernisation I believe.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 8:48 am
by Curt233
Ya when I got back on the boat again, I had a look at where exactly where the grease line was fitted. It's in the middle of the packing.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 10:52 am
by Merlyn
Wonder who the manufacturer is of the stuffing box gland? So it is greasing the packing and not the whitemetal or whatever bearing fitted?

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 7:38 pm
by Curt233
Ya, from what I see, it's right where the lantern ring should be. I took a picture of it, but I'm on my phone, and don't see a way to load the picture. When the shaft was out two summers ago, I didn't see anywhere for lubrication after the gland seal except just from the sea water.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 7:41 pm
by Curt233
This is on a 95ft tug, the Ocean Clipper built in 1965 in New Westminister.

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 7:57 pm
by Curt233
This is how it's set up, except for the water service part. It's looks like on the tug it use to have a water service line but has a plug in it. There are actually two plugs, one at either end of the packing gland with plugs in them. Not sure if it actually had a service line to it, but it looks the same as the picture on the website.
http://enginemechanics.tpub.com/14075/c ... gs-127.htm

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 3:36 am
by Merlyn
Ha, I think I have your set up now, 1965 and water cooled stern glands. Dear old soul.
I am thinking you may well have a cuckoo in the nest here re the greaser.
I well remember back then those water cooled stern glands and a lot of ships of that size were fitted with flow indicators , a lot of the power boats had on deck in the scuppers in a corner a half inch Stainless Steel pipe like a small walking stick radius discharging salt water into the purpose built drain and thence over the side for all to view.
This was sometimes teed off the secondary sea water coolant system, via the watercooled exhaust manifold and thence to the main exhaust sea water injection bend and thence back into the sea via the transom.
Your two blanking plugs, I wonder if one was at one time an inlet for sea water and the other to a tell tale device to show you a flow was occurring?
Perhaps the feed pipe is still there, hidden and blanked off?
Can't figure the greaser angle, did some wag fit it as an after thought?
Of that era the outboard bearing would possibly be white metal or Tufnol turned material, watercooled which then leaves only the packing which lubed by water does not normally require a greaser?
A tiny drip is the necessary indicator for the packing that all is ok.
Thinking about the water feed to the stern gland I suppose a gauge on a pipe from the second fitting ( the one to the prop end ) or a sight glass with a float in it or even a visual one would suffice.
Be interested in whether the stern gland was originally set up for a water feed by locating that blanked off and hidden pipe.
What you got pushing the shaft around?

Re: Greasing stern shaft packing gland

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 3:38 am
by Merlyn
Hope you make Stillwater before closing time