Shaft seals - what is the blue one below?

EugeneR

EugeneR

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I am new to boats on shafts so please forgive the newbie question.

While looking for our next boat, I noticed two types of shaft seals:

IMGP2260.JPG and IMGP2399.JPG

Am I right in assuming that the blue one is a drip-less variety, hence less rust / water marks etc?

If so, how much would it cost to replace the other one, with a similar drip-less one? Just ball-park i.e. £500, £1000, £5k, etc.

Any particular types I should look for / avoid?

Any shaft seal advice / education appreciated :-)
 
I haven't seen that particular one before but it looks similar to the PSS seal on my boat ( I have this one - http://www.shaftseal.com/en/categories )
It works by pushing a carbon flange against a stainless steel rotor. The rubber section with the clips compresses and puts pressure on the sealing faces keeping them together. In fact if you pull back on the rubber water will start to flow into the boat. I have never seen two pipes on them, mine has one pipe which on a faster boat is connected to a water pump for cooling and on my slower boat has a hose for venting above the water line. I guess on that one there is an input and output pipe for cooling.

I had mine fitted as part of a lot of work on the boat so don't know the exact cost. The part itself wasn't that expensive and I'd be surprised if the whole job (parts and fitting) is much more than £500.

Mine was fitted 4 years ago and I haven't had any issues with it.
 
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Looks to me like the PSS seal has been attached to the shaft log with a 'Samco' or similar ebay special blue silicon hose, not the correct part for that application. Proper stern gland hose has improved torsional strength, so if the PSS grabs on the shaft it won't rip the hose connecting the gland to the log causing a big panic/leak/sinking fiasco.
 
It's a Tides seal, look at the spare seal carrier and you will see Tides on it, they are supplied with the blue silicone hose and are very reliable.
 
aquapower said:
It's a Tides seal, look at the spare seal carrier and you will see Tides on it, they are supplied with the blue silicone hose and are very reliable.
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Yup excellent system and the ability to change the seal without taking the boat out of the water is a major plus
 
Deleted User said:
Yup excellent system and the ability to change the seal without taking the boat out of the water is a major plus
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Unlike others they don't usually let any more than a drip through when they fail, carbon faced ones are not so forgiving when they give up. Tides guarantee them for 2500 hours or 2 years from new.
 
Thanks everyone. I'm a sucker for keeping, or at least trying to keep, things clean and rust free so I'll add this to my list of things to change.

Volvopaul - yes, both are Phantom 38s, but neither is "the" one ;-)
 
aquapower said:
Unlike others they don't usually let any more than a drip through when they fail, carbon faced ones are not so forgiving when they give up. Tides guarantee them for 2500 hours or 2 years from new.
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If you're referring to the Deep Sea Seal, you're absolutely right. I had a near catastrophic failure of a Deep Sea Seal on my boat 2 years ago and I was shocked at what a poor piece of design it is. Basically it relies on a couple of hose clips to develop enough friction to clamp a rubber housing onto the shaft in order for both parts of the seal to make contact. If the hose clamps loosen off and the housing slips a little, you've got water gushing into the boat. I replaced both my Deep Sea Seals with Tides seals which IMHO is a far better design
 
I had Tides Marine sure seals fitted last year, and the kits were about £400 per shaft including the spare seal. The fitting charge was on top of that, and quite high because of very difficult access on an aft cabin boat! Never the less, well worth it and totally drip free.
 
The picture on the left is a proper traditional stuffing box, properly attached to the stern tube, not by some dodgy bit of rubber tube and Jubilee clips. Don't knock it, it is a bullet proof system, which will not let you down. Yes, in use, you will get some drips, so not good in a modern flat bottomed boat, but in a boat with a bilge, excellent.
 
I upgraded from ther traditional stuffing box to PSS seals and |I think it cost me a total of £2,300 then they leaked and it was put down to worn shafts so they stung me for another $4,600.
 
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