Speedseal are coming back

Plum said:
The name SPEEDSEAL , for use in marine waterpump products, is not a registered trademark in the UK. So if the patent has expired both the design and the name can be used.
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That would need care. Trademarks can still be protected even if not registered, and using someone else’s product/company name can get you in bother for passing off.
 
I guess the question here is what happened to original owner -he was fairly local to us here in Ashtead and I believe Mrs Ashtead actually went to collect some spare bits once from him about 2007 or so I guess . He wasn’t that keen I think on personal collection I vaguely recall . Anyway on or Bavaria it worked well so welcome any new phoenix like rising from ashes under a new maker . It struck me as a bit of a cottage indusrty (perhaps like old self steering rigs as featured in Ym of the 1970s )
 
mikegunn said:
The slotted cover plate and thumb screws were the only parts of the Speedseal that were an improvement on the OEM’s design. In my experience the rotating discs were an exotic solution to a problem that never existed in the first place. Wasted my money, which I should have put towards a spare pump.
Mike
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Not an exotic solution, the disks were there so the pump could run dry and that is why the RNLI and the Military were keen on them.
 
FWIW, I have run about 4k engine hours with the first version speedseal, there are some signs of wear on the plate but no visible reduction in the pump flow, no leaks etc; I had bought the ''newer'' version with the disks but have had no reason to mount it so far. Even made a substantial amount of engine hours in very silty waters which made the internal housing of the pump all bright and shiny :)
Engine is a 4108, the Speedseal allows to open and check/replace the impeller (I also remove it while wintering) without having to scrape the old paper joint and get a new one every time, in all a very nice piece of kit for me.
 
Roberto said:
FWIW, I have run about 4k engine hours with the first version speedseal, there are some signs of wear on the plate but no visible reduction in the pump flow, no leaks etc; I had bought the ''newer'' version with the disks but have had no reason to mount it so far. Even made a substantial amount of engine hours in very silty waters which made the internal housing of the pump all bright and shiny :)
Engine is a 4108, the Speedseal allows to open and check/replace the impeller (I also remove it while wintering) without having to scrape the old paper joint and get a new one every time, in all a very nice piece of kit for me.
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I too see no benefit from the version of Speedseal with the plastic discs. My early version, without them, is still working well after 21 years.
 
I emailed Speedseal back in December of last year asking when they expected to resume production, and they replied to say they had no idea.
However, this morning, I received the following email from them

"Thank you for your interest in Speedseal. We are currently preparing for a relaunch and are not yet in a position to supply products.

We truly appreciate your patience and support. Your details are on file, and we will notify you directly as soon as Speedseal products are available again.

The relaunch is on track, and we look forward to welcoming you back as part of Speedseal’s next chapter. We expect to share more concrete news later this year, and the wait will not be long.

Kind regards,

The Speedseal Team"

So hopefully the relaunch is going ahead.
 
Gixer said:
I'll buy one for my 1GM10 if they start up again. Just missed them last time.
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It’s a big improvement for the 1gm10, especially the thumb wheels instead of the tiny bolts, but the top thumb wheel is still hidden behind the flywheel. I use a pair of needle nose pliers to slacken that one enough to pivot the plate around. I stick the new O ring to the plate with a very tiny amount of Vaseline before pivoting it back round into position.

I have a fair amount of wear on the brass plate, although I haven’t noticed any reduction in water flow. I would have the wear plate flattened out again but I don’t know how to make good the groove for the O ring if I did.
 
Beneteau381 said:
Not an exotic solution, the disks were there so the pump could run dry and that is why the RNLI and the Military were keen on them.
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In my experience the Speedseal did nothing to prevent damage to the impeller should the pump be run dry. The Speedseal discs only afford some protection to one face of the impeller. The innermost face and the outside edges of the vanes are rapidly destroyed by friction should a pump be inadvertently starved of water. I’ve experienced at least two such occasions and as a result fitted a water flow sensor to give an immediate alarm should the pump suffer a lack of water for any reason.
The discs also displayed an inordinate degree of wear and so I reverted back to the OEM’s configuration.
Mike
 
mikegunn said:
In my experience the Speedseal did nothing to prevent damage to the impeller should the pump be run dry. The Speedseal discs only afford some protection to one face of the impeller. The innermost face and the outside edges of the vanes are rapidly destroyed by friction should a pump be inadvertently starved of water. I’ve experienced at least two such occasions and as a result fitted a water flow sensor to give an immediate alarm should the pump suffer a lack of water for any reason.
The discs also displayed an inordinate degree of wear and so I reverted back to the OEM’s configuration.
Mike
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Yes, the discs inside the front cover achieve nothing, in my experience, but the O-ring to seal the front plate and the knurled thumb screws are a great and worthwhile improvement over the paper gasket and original slotted screws
 
Dockhead said:
If it's been announced as being re-launch, I would guess someone has bought whatever had value from the old guy, who may or may not still be alive. Or maybe inherited, or something.

There is nothing stopping anyone from designing or copying (using the patent drawings) such a device, finding someone to make them, and marketing them under a new tradename. It's a very simple product which could be produced on a CnC machine, even yourself in a maker centre.

I think it's a fundamentally good product, a nice thick soft brass cover plate, with a groove for the o-ring, and nice big thumbscrews. They wear faster than the stock steel ones, which is no doubt how the old guy got the idea for the teflon disk version, but I think the original version is fine if you just keep the wear rates in mind and keep spares. Should be priced accordingly -- as a consumption item -- so cheaper than the used to go for.
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I'm curious to know what the advantage is of making these in brass as opposed to steel or stainless steel?
 
petem said:
Looking back at the old website for speedseals, did they only ever make them in two sizes? Can anyone remember what the sizes were?
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There were several, this is/was from their French distributor
Couvercle de pompes SPEEDSEAL
couvercle-de-pompes-speedseal.jpg
 
I suspect that the inside shape is basically round on all of them as the impellor just rotates a circular motion. It is only the cover that has the different shape. I made my own cover for the raw water pump on my volvo MD2020. I cut a piece of brass with a large hole saw ( no centre drill) & drilled the screw holes to suit. The odd shape of the original cover was of no concequence
.
As an aside if anyone needs a new cover; a cheap option is to buy a small piece of 3 or 4mm brass from M-Machines for about a fiver ( I got enough for 2 for £4.50 plus postage) & drill the holes using the old cover as a pattern. One could just hacksaw to a rough shape or cut it to a round as I did. then using a gasket compound fit it in place. I have never had any luck with the paper gasket. I just hated paying the Volspec £14.50 price quoted at the time for an hour DIY
 
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