Stern gland getting warm.

graham

graham

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After replacing the stern gland packing the gland is getting warm.

After about 2 miles at cruising speed it was quite warm ,I could keep my hand on it but warmer than before.

Measured by taping a probe thermometer to the gland it was getting up to 50 degrees C. Is this hot enough to damage the 1" diameter stainless shaft and will it sort itself out? Its definitely not too tight , getting the odd drip and could easilly turn the shaft by hand.
 
My engine compartment runs at 50c so everything in it reaches that temp.. That is no problem..
Getting the odd drip is a good sign.. It certainly wont affect the shaft at that temp. Just keep an eye on it and see how it goes..
 
I had the engine hatch off so the temp in the engine space was pretty cool .

Thanks for the replies put my mind at rest a bit.
 
How much grease are you pumping in?

If you put too much in it will run hot.

I put very little in mine and the shaft freewheels when sailing at quite low speed yet there is very little leakage through the gland.
 
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What type of packing are you using ? I repacked my sterngland with PTFE packing and it ran very warm with a constant drip of water coming through. As I was not happy with the temperature of the gland and it was far warmer than previously i removed 2 rings of the PTFE packing and replaced them with cotton Graphite packing , this restored the sterngland temperature back to its normal cool temperature.
 
Funny you should mention that kippers26 as I had to change to ptfe packing as that was all I could get locally in 5mm. For what it cost i may order some graphite cotton in and see if it runs cooler.
 
graham said:
Funny you should mention that kippers26 as I had to change to ptfe packing as that was all I could get locally in 5mm. For what it cost i may order some graphite cotton in and see if it runs cooler.
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I had exactly the same with PTFE packing. If it gets over compressed it doesn't seem to relax back once the pressure is removed and then runs hot, not helped by it not conducting heat very well! Changed back to graphite packing and it is now cold to the touch even with a drip every few minutes.
 
Got hold of some graphite cotton gland packing today pulled out the ptfe stuff .

Temperature at the same rpm today barely got up to 30 degrees C similar drip rate and dry when stopped.

Personally I wont use ptfe stern gland packing again though other people have told me they use ptfe without problems.
 
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Are graphite, bronze, stainless-steel and brine compatible bed-fellows? I would have thought PTFE would be sensible if we could get it set up properly. I have heat and leaks to fine tune as well, it's tedious.
 
Billjratt said:
Are graphite, bronze, stainless-steel and brine compatible bed-fellows? I would have thought PTFE would be sensible if we could get it set up properly. I have heat and leaks to fine tune as well, it's tedious.
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From a corrosion viewpoint these materials have been used together for so long without problems that I think we can accept that they are ok.
 
Billjratt said:
Thanks Viv. It's just that I've seen propshafts pulled out with horrible corrosion in the hidden sterntube area. (mine!)
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There are examples of crevice corrosion on propshafts on my website, under cutless bearings, rope cutters and glands and even under limpet shells. I am not aware of galvanic corrosion but would be delighted to see examples.
 
I have seen stainless shafts with crevice corrosion in the stern tube area.I believe it is caused by stagnant deoxygenated water in there.

If you have a slight drip the water will be refreshed and crevice corrossion should not occur.
 
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